Craig's Cogitations

Taking A Break

2009-08-26T08:09:00.002-04:00

I am taking a break from blogging. I know I haven't been active, but I guess I wanted to make it official. I don't want to delete the blog, so I am just going to stop posting for a few months. I expect to be back near the end of the year.

Please Pray For Me

2009-07-24T16:10:00.002-04:00

As for those who know me personally, you are aware of the marital problems my wife and I are having. To those who do not know, it was only a few weeks ago when my wife of nearly seven years told me that she no longer loves me and wants a divorce. Those words pierced my heart and have haunted me everyday since. We are currently trying a separation, but she does not want to have anything to do with me at all. She has the divorce papers ready to turn into the court and I recently found out that she is seeing someone else.

Anyone reading this is probably wondering why I am sharing all of this and honestly, I don't know. I am not looking for advice, as we have tried counseling and she wanted to stop. I have tried to change and she acknowledges that, but says it is too late. We are currently talking to our previous pastor who married us, but there is little optimism because she does not want to accept scripture and her heart is so hardened towards me. Please don't misunderstand, I am not saying I am blameless. I was not a good husband. While I never physically abused her or committed adultery, I was selfish and insensitive to say the least. I blindly treated her bad and we both became callused to it until she could not take it anymore.

I suspect the main reason I am able to share this is because it is the most humbling experience I have faced. Not until recently I tried to control the situation by myself and fix it by myself. I could only take so much crying, nausea and heartache before I found myself pleading to God to save my marriage. Fortunately for me, God has placed a good Christian family and friends to help me.

On the other hand, I have been praying for God to soften her heart and revive our marriage. So far those prayers have not only gone unanswered, but just when I think things can't get any worse, they do. I trust God because I know He is the only one that can save my marriage. I know I am on His side by trying to save our marriage. Malachi 2:16 says God hates divorce. Knowing this makes it frustrating to have my prayers go unanswered. This whole situation is inconceivable to me. I never thought this would happen to me.

I hope this is coherent as I have a million thoughts running through my mind. I will end by listing some specific things I think need to be prayed for.

- Pray that God will comfort me and give me strength to keep fighting for our marriage.
- Pray that God will help me be a better husband. A husband that my wife deserves.
- Pray that God will soften my wife's heart to His word.
- Pray for my wife's health, as this is very stressful for both of us.
- Pray that God will save our marriage for His glory. The covenant of marriage was His plan from the beginning.

I want to thank everyone who is willing to pray for us. I am truly grateful because while this is the most humbling experience, it is also the most painful.

Obamopoly

2009-07-20T14:25:00.002-04:00

I saw someone post this on Facebook.

Isaiah 58

2009-07-12T22:29:00.004-04:00

Isaiah 58

1 “Cry aloud, spare not;
Lift up your voice like a trumpet;
Tell My people their transgression,
And the house of Jacob their sins.
2 Yet they seek Me daily,
And delight to know My ways,
As a nation that did righteousness,
And did not forsake the ordinance of their God.
They ask of Me the ordinances of justice;
They take delight in approaching God.
3 ‘ Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and You have not seen?
Why have we afflicted our souls, and You take no notice?’

“ In fact, in the day of your fast you find pleasure,
And exploit all your laborers.
4 Indeed you fast for strife and debate,
And to strike with the fist of wickedness.
You will not fast as you do this day,
To make your voice heard on high.
5 Is it a fast that I have chosen,
A day for a man to afflict his soul?
Is it to bow down his head like a bulrush,
And to spread out sackcloth and ashes?
Would you call this a fast,
And an acceptable day to the LORD?
6 “ Is this not the fast that I have chosen:
To loose the bonds of wickedness,
To undo the heavy burdens,
To let the oppressed go free,
And that you break every yoke?
7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out;
When you see the naked, that you cover him,
And not hide yourself from your own flesh?
8 Then your light shall break forth like the morning,
Your healing shall spring forth speedily,
And your righteousness shall go before you;
The glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.
9 Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer;
You shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’

“ If you take away the yoke from your midst,
The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,
10 If you extend your soul to the hungry
And satisfy the afflicted soul,
Then your light shall dawn in the darkness,
And your darkness shall be as the noonday.
11 The LORD will guide you continually,
And satisfy your soul in drought,
And strengthen your bones;
You shall be like a watered garden,
And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.
12 Those from among you
Shall build the old waste places;
You shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach,
The Restorer of Streets to Dwell In.
13 “ If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath,
From doing your pleasure on My holy day,
And call the Sabbath a delight,
The holy day of the LORD honorable,
And shall honor Him, not doing your own ways,
Nor finding your own pleasure,
Nor speaking your own words,
14 Then you shall delight yourself in the LORD;
And I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth,
And feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father.
The mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

NOTES

58:3-5 - The people voiced their concern that they were in difficulty though they seemed to be doing what the Law required. They fasted and humbled themselves, but they feared that God had not seen it or noticed. Apparently they thought that by going through the "motions" of religion they would be blessed.

The Lord responded by pointing out that He was more interested in their obedience than their rituals. Unfortunately they, like many people, had confused rituals with relationship, outward acts with true obedience.

Their fasts did not alter their poor relationship with others. They were disregarding other peoples' needs by quarreling and fighting. Therefore their prayers would not be heard, for their kind of fasting was not what the Lord accepted.

58:6-7 - Fasting was to encourage a person to respond positively to God's commands. Ironically, on the other hand many specific commands were not being followed. So the Lord reminded the people that they should be just (v. 6) and openhanded with those in need - the hungry (v. 10), the poor...the naked (v. 7). The Israelites were to consider themselves members of one family who at one time had been slaves in Egypt. Therefore they were not to neglect each other. When someone shared with one in need, it was a reminder that everything he owned belonged to the Lord.

58:8-12 - If the people had inner righteousness then the Lord would bless them (Deut. 28:1-14) with light, healing, righteousness, protection from trouble, and answered prayer. If they would do away with oppression and gossip and would help others in need, then the Lord would bless them. He would give guidance, satisfaction, strength, fertility and physical restoration.

58:13-14 - Sabbath observance was a barometer of one's faithfulness to the Mosaic Covenant. By following the rules for the Sabbath a person acknowledged the importance of worshiping God and showed that he depended on God to bless him materially for that time he took off from work. By putting God first and not seeking to do as he wished, a person would have joy, not only in spiritual salvation but also in prosperity.

Jesus and Capitalism

2009-07-09T11:43:00.002-04:00

Holy Policy
Written by Tony Woodlief
link

It’s a tough row to hoe, making the case that Jesus is a capitalist. For example, there is the fact that the first church appears to have adopted voluntary socialism. And that business about seeking not the treasures of this world—that hasn’t stopped conservatives from spilling gallons of ink to refine our understanding about the camel, the eye of the needle, and the rich man until that discomforting verse almost seems to cry out for leveraged buyouts and complex derivatives. When we put our minds to it, we can work the Bible around to supporting just about anything we like.

This is all to say that it’s a bit unseemly to use religion to justify one’s policy preferences. This observation would have been less welcome at the height of the Christian Coalition’s power. After all, isn’t a believer in the flat tax and a strong missile defense a believer in truth, which is another way of saying a follower of the Truth? It requires a bit of smug self-assurance, this logic, but let’s be honest: We conservatives know we’re right. And while Jesus never released a comprehensive economic plan, we can be pretty sure he didn’t favor self-delusional economic thinking and the waste of resources.

Still, we have to admit He has more important things on his mind. Whether or not we get global warming legislation is probably toward the bottom of the list. This isn’t stopping a new coalition of leftist organizations from taking their case to the pulpit, arguing that failure to enact sweeping environmental regulations is an act of poor stewardship, i.e., sin.

It’s hard to imagine, inside the echo chamber of the right, how global warming could be a real phenomenon. I mean, we all just know it’s junk science. Likewise, it’s hard for anyone inside the left’s echo chamber to imagine how global warming could be anything other than a dire emergency. We know, of course, that we’re right and they’re wrong, that we’ve considered the matter objectively while they’ve just listened to Al Gore. But still, it’s hard to fault them for making a biblical case out of this and other policy matters, given the precedent conservatives have set over the past 30 years. When prominent self-styled Christian leaders opine on everything from health care reform to “taking out” Venezuelan thug Hugo Chavez, it’s hard to put the genie back into the bottle now that liberals want to get in on the if-Jesus-were-a-presidential-cabinet-member routine.

All of which, I think, serves the name of Christ poorly. By bringing policy disputes into the faith arena, we bolster the notion that Christianity is just a bunch of self-interested talkers using the Bible to get what they want. We create divisions among brothers and sisters who ought not to be divided. This is evidenced in our affinity for political comrades over faith comrades. By way of illustration, consider whether conservative Christians you know are more favorably disposed toward Ann Coulter or Jimmy Carter. Nothing in Coulter’s behavior suggests Christian love, whereas Carter endeavors to live it out, even when this means giving a hug to every tin-pot dictator he can reach by chartered flight. When politics get elevated to the level of faith, it’s no wonder that we begin to forget who are our real brothers and sisters.

All this is not to say that Christians should be silent about public policy, especially those policies where there is a strong case for biblical guidance (e.g., protecting life, treating prisoners with humanity, caring for the elderly). In fact, maybe it’s a good thing that leftists are coming out now to argue that Christian ethics demand this or that policy prescription. It would be nice, however, if we could all do so with a bit more reverence for the flaming sword that is the Word of God, and with a good deal more charity toward people who are, after all, striving toward the same home as we.

Tell Your Wife Everything?

2009-06-16T21:59:00.003-04:00

I thought this was an interesting thought...

Tell Your Wife Everything?
Written by Anthony Bradley

Should wives and husbands tell each other everything? I am inclined to say no. Here’s why: Suppose John and Sam have an accountability relationship with each other. John decides, based on the principle of “truth with his wife no matter what,” breaches confidence and tells his wife about Sam’s struggles without Sam’s knowledge. John feels justified in telling his wife about Sam’s sins and struggles because their marriage is built on honesty.

One day Sam noticed that John’s wife began acting weird around him but he didn’t know why. At first, he simply chalked it up to the fact that she might not like him. A few months later, however, it all made sense when John finally told Sam, “Hey, I told my wife all that stuff you told me a few months ago.”

I wish this were a hypothetical situation, but it recently happened to someone I know. For many guys this kind of story puts men in a position where they may always need to ask accountability friends a series of questions: “Are you going to tell your wife what I just you, and if so, what are you going to tell her?” Some guys, it seems, have no filter even with their wives.

I learned that some wives actually badger their husbands until the guy folds saying, “Well, I am not supposed to tell anyone, but. . . .” It seems that there can be a healthy level of withholding information between husbands and wives that does not violate vows of honesty. Does she need to know everything? Does she have a right to know everything about your friends? Should she even ask to know everything? The answers to all these questions are “no,” right?

Sam and hopefully his other friends know that John is the type of guy who cannot be trusted. If you confess something to him, expect him to go home and tell his wife. With John, then, be prepared for the possibility that she too will say to someone else, “I’m not supposed to tell anyone, but. . . .” This situation helps me understand better why most guys do not have friends with whom they can be completely honest, vulnerable, and accountable. This may also explain why some guys are willing to pay a professional friend $120 per hour to listen to them because they do not know any men whom they can trust.

In the end, your friend telling his wife things you confess to him may be part of the risk of being vulnerable, because your friend may have no information boundaries, or his wife will badger him until what you thought was confidential is on a PowerPoint presentation. Perhaps it is good at least for men to ask each other about boundaries with wives before deciding if trust can be assumed. Otherwise you may be setting yourselves up for pain and conflict down the road.

LINK

Church Blesses Pets

2009-06-15T09:52:00.001-04:00

Community members and their pets gathered outside East Lansing's University United Methodist Church Sunday afternoon for a Blessing of the Animals ceremony.

This is the first time the church has held such a ceremony, which included prayer, song and a moment of remembrance for pets that have died, said Pastor John Ross Thompson.

About 40 people attended, bringing with them around 25 animals - mostly dogs, some cats and a few more exotic animals from the Potter Park Zoo.

"They're part of our family," Thompson said of the animals. "They are God's creation, and we pray for all of God's creatures."

As part of the ceremony, animals received individual blessings, and their owners received small St. Francis of Assisi medallions.

LINK

- What do you think of this?

Saved By The Bell Reunion

2009-06-10T17:56:00.005-04:00

In case you haven't heard, Jimmy Fallon is trying to start a Saved by the Bell reunion. I have to say, even though it is a bit embarrassing, I wouldn't mind seeing that happen. Here is a clip from his show.

- What do you think of a reunion?

- Are there any other shows you would like to see have a reunion?

Second Korn Member Becomes Christian

2009-06-07T15:03:00.004-04:00

This happened a few months ago, but I just heard about it.

A second member of the rock band Korn has written a book on how becoming a Christian helped him overcome his drug addiction.

Reginald “Fieldy” Arvizu, the basist of Korn talks in his book about how he was a strong drug addict and a womaniser until his born-again Christian father told him that his dying wish was that his son would find God.

In the book, Got the Life: My Journey of Addiction, Faith, Recovery and Korn, Arvizu states that Jesus Christ and the Bible where his only rehab, and that the change in his life is “an amazing and powerful thing”, reports the Associated Press.

In 2005 Brian “Head” Welch” left the band after becoming a Christian and in 2007, released a book on his journey from drug addiction to faith - Save Me From Myself: How I Found God, Quit Korn, Kicked Drugs, and Lived to Tell My Story.

After only one week, the book became one of the top 20 books on the New York Times Bestsellers list.

ARTICLE

I think Romans 6 explains it best.

"What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness.

For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

What Life Would Be Like

2009-06-02T17:48:00.002-04:00

2 Corinthians 5:20-22

"Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."

Trials

2009-05-28T20:51:00.004-04:00

James 1:1-8

"James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad: Greetings. My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways."

Too often our response to trials is to complain. This response does not reflect a Christian attitude. James gives sound advice on how to respond during these times.

First, trials should be faced with an attitude of joy. Trials should not be viewed as a punishment, curse or calamity. Do not be mistaken, James is not implying to be joyful for the trial, rather be joyful in or during the trial.

In addition, there is profit from trials. Trials produce patience, which can also be translated as endurance or perseverance. Through tests a Christian will learn to withstand the pressure of a trial until God removes it at His appointed time. For example, 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 talks about Paul having a thorn in his flesh. Paul longed for relief, but God would not remove the thorn as Paul requested. However, God continually supplied him with grace to endure it. There is no gain in endurance without some investment in trials.

Do not misinterpret verse 4, "perfect" does not mean sinless perfection. A better translation would be mature. Thus, if perseverance goes full-term it will develop a thoroughly mature Christian.

James' argument may seem logical, but it is still difficult to see how trials can be welcomed with an attitude of joy. Verse 5 describes the assistance God gives. Only divine wisdom enables believers to be joyous and submissive in trials and God will not only provide wisdom, but will do so generously. However, God's provision has some prerequisites. First, the believer must ask in faith and not doubt. This refers to a distrust in God. God compares someone who doubts His ability or willingness to provide wisdom to a "wave of the sea". This person is "double-minded", meaning that their mind or soul is divided between God and the world. A hypocrite, who who occasionally believes in God but fails to trust Him when trials come and thus receives nothing.

Humility Is Disarming In This Culture

2009-05-14T22:53:00.002-04:00

Written by Dave Burchett

Once the word gets out that I am a practicing “evangelical,” I get lots of comments about the church. I hear about hypocrites in the church and about national leaders whose lives fall far short of their rhetoric. A lot of the comments are true. So how do you handle those accusations? Ideally you can reach a point where you can explain the Christian theology of original sin and that redemption is only because of Christ and not because of works. But the old bumper sticker argument that “I am not perfect . . . just forgiven” is not a compelling defense for those who don’t understand the gospel and who witness the daily shortcomings of Christians.

I thought about a church in my town that decided last fall to own up to their failures. They made a bold decision to confess in humility and see what might happen.

The headline in an ad that ran in The Dallas Morning News screamed out in big, bold letters:

We Were Wrong

We followed trends when we should have followed Jesus. We told others how to live but did not listen ourselves. We live in the land of plenty, denying ourselves nothing, while ignoring our neighbors who actually have nothing. We sat on the sidelines doing nothing while AIDS ravaged Africa. We were wrong; we’re sorry. Please forgive us.

That is a powerful and sobering admission. I was shocked. And I was greatly encouraged by the courage and the humility needed to admit such an embarrassing message to the public.

REST OF ARTICLE

What We Need

2009-05-11T22:58:00.004-04:00

As many of you know, my favorite musical group is the O.C. Supertones. Last week I was listening to them and one particular song caught my attention. The song is Return of the Revolution. I have heard this song hundreds of times, but this time it really resonated with our current times.

Morally, we are going backwards. In addition, times are difficult economically. The unemployment and foreclosure rates are extremely high. Companies that were once giants are now considering bankruptcy.

Who do Americans turn to? President Obama. People are putting their trust in President Obama to help the poor and bring peace in the world. This is not a personal attack on Obama, I don't care who is president. He will not succeed. He will not bring true peace and what does Jesus say about the poor? Answer: Matthew 26:11. We will always have the poor. We should only place our trust in God. 1 Peter 5:6-7 says we need to cast all our cares upon Him because He cares for us.

Furthermore, Luke 12:22-26 says "Then Jesus said to his disciples: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! 25Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?"

This is where the song Return of the Revolution fits in. What are Christians doing today? The Bible says study the word (2 Timothy 2:15). Hebrews 5:13-14 talks about advancing in knowledge. Here are excerpts from the song:

"See wisdom and knowledge is one thing that we lack
You’ve been a Christian how long and you’re still on similac"

"And we can’t defend our faith ’cause we don’t even know it
We say we love His word but pick a funny way to show it.
And the world walks by and we don’t have a thing to say
I call ’em like I see ’em
And that’s what I see today"

The song mentions people who started a surge in the faith such as Martin Luther and John Edwards. There is a battle going on. We need to pick a side and not sit on the bench. The song fittingly ends by asking "So what about you? Will you join us?

Hawaii Votes For Islam Day

2009-05-08T08:02:00.001-04:00

Hawaii's state Senate has overwhelmingly approved a bill to celebrate "Islam Day," despite the objections of a few lawmakers who said they didn't think the state should honor a religion connected to Sept. 11, 2001.

The resolution to proclaim Sept. 24, 2009, as Islam Day passed the Senate on a 22-3 vote Wednesday. The bill was previously passed by Hawaii's House of Representatives.

The bill recognizes what it calls "the rich religious, scientific, cultural and artistic contributions" that Islam and the Islamic world have made.

But the Senate's two Republicans argued that radical Islamists cheered the 2001 attacks. They also noted that other religions didn't have a special day honored.

The lone Democrat voting in dissent opposed it on church-state separation grounds.

LINK

U.S. Military Destroys Soldier's Bibles

2009-05-05T18:20:00.001-04:00

The U.S. military is confirming that it has destroyed some Bibles belonging to an American soldier serving in Afghanistan.

Reuters News says the Bibles were confiscated and destroyed after Qatar-based Al Jazeer television showed soldiers at a Bible class on a base with a stack of Bibles translated into the local Pashto and Dari languages. The U.S. military forbids its members on active duty -- including those based in places like Afghanistan -- from trying to convert people to another religion.

Reuters quotes Maj. Jennifer Willis at the Bagram Air Base, north of Kabul, who said "I can now confirm that the Bibles shown on Al Jazeera's clip were, in fact, collected by the chaplains and later destroyed. They were never distributed."

According to the military officials, the Bibles were sent through private mail to an evangelical Christian soldier by his church back home. Reuters says the soldier brought them to the Bible study class where they were filmed.

The Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, told a Pentagon briefing Monday that the military's position is that it will never "push any specific religion."

Calling vs. Desire

2009-04-29T18:24:00.002-04:00

What are your thoughts about this article?

Calling vs. Desire
by Anthony Bradley

Many Christians consistently misuse the word “calling,” which leads to a person who has a “desire” to do something being wrongly viewed as unspiritual or “fleshly.” Is it accurate to say “I feel called to be pilot” or “We feel called to live in the city”? Not really. I guess God could “call” people to vocations and ZIP codes, but that’s not the main emphasis of the concept in the Bible. Calling has more to do with becoming a member of the people of God and living a holy life rather than deciding which job to take or whom to marry. Those items are actually choices.

The Greek word that Paul uses to describe his “calling” to be an apostle is the same word he uses to express the divine calling to be in union with Christ (Romans 1:1, 1 Corinthians 1:1) and is only used 10 times in the New Testament. To say that you’re called to missions or to parenting like Paul says he was called to the office of the apostle is to grossly misuse the term or concept.

As a matter for fact, the Bible primarily explains that when God “calls” people, he calls them to intimacy with Him, union with Christ, join the Kingdom, get saved, live holy lives, and so on (Matthew 22:14; Romans 1:7, 8:28-30, 9:26; 1 Corinthians 1:9, 1:24, 1:26, 7:15-24; Galatians 1:6, 1:15, 5:13; Ephesians 1:18, 2:11, 4:4; Philippians 3:14; Colossians 3:15; 2 Thessalonians 2:14; Hebrews 9:15; 1 Peter 2:21; etc.).

We spiritualize our desires as if wanting to be a missionary, cop, pastor, seminary student, or mom, or wanting to live in Peru, Kenya, Spain, the city, the suburbs, and the like, for a season, were all unspiritual as personal preferences. If it’s true that God gives us the desires of our hearts, and it’s true that all good things come from God, why is not OK to say, “I want to be a missionary for a while.” Why add “calling” to a choice or desire as if one were speaking in ways consistent with the Bible’s use of the concept.

The Holy Spirit can equally compel preferences, desires, and choices, but this is different from “calling.” The misuse of the word “calling” can lead to painful theological crises whenever situations don’t turn out as expected. “But I thought I was called to this,” we wonder. You weren’t called. You freely chose what you did and it didn’t work out. So what? Move on something else. Your decision was not necessarily wrong, and God’s not punishing you (unless it was clearly a sinful choice).

Since a Christian’s “calling” is to live in righteous harmony with God, this can be done in any vocation or geographic area. I’m cautious now when I write checks to people who say they are “called” to “this” or “that” ministry, vocation, region, because I would hate to send people off with a bad functional theology. The good news about freedom in Christ is that desires and preferences change, but callings do not.

link

Equal Pay

2009-04-28T07:42:00.002-04:00

Today is "Equal Pay Day" for women -- but not all women agree the day is necessary.

Equal Pay Day -- started in 1996 by the National Committee on Pay Equity -- is allegedly the day in the year when women have worked far enough to make up for the pay discrimination they faced the previous year. According to government statistics, women only make 78 cents for every dollar a man earns.

Allison Kasic with the Independent Women's Forum comments on those findings.

"Now while that is technically correct if you look at the Department of Labor statistics, it's only a single variable comparison. It's only comparing the median wage of the full-time working woman to the median wage of the full-time working man," she notes. "It doesn't take into account a variety of other factors that need to be taken into account if we're going to have a realistic conversation about wage issues."

She says the study does not consider other factors such as workplace experience, education level, or occupation. Once such factors are taken into account, she says, any "wage gap" shrinks away.

Kasic believes equal pay is mostly a non-issue, and that new legislation -- like the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, or the Paycheck Fairness Act -- is not needed to tackle any perceived problems. She argues that sponsors of such measures are "exploiting" the wage gap to advance their own agenda.

ARTICLE

FDA Approves 'Plan B' Pill for 17-Year-Olds

2009-04-22T20:38:00.002-04:00

Responding to a federal judge's directive, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday that it will now allow 17-year-olds to get the controversial "morning-after" birth control pill without a doctor's prescription.

In 2006, the FDA said it would limit over-the-counter access to the pill, also known as Plan B, to women 18 and older. But U.S. District Judge Edward R. Korman ruled last month in a New York lawsuit that the FDA had to reconsider whether to make the drug available to all women, regardless of age, without a prescription.

Plan B is an extra high dose of regular birth control that needs to be taken within 72 hours of unprotected intercourse to be effective. Essentially, the drug prevents pregnancy by delaying ovulation. It does not interrupt an already implanted pregnancy.

Religious conservatives object to Plan B, saying it is the equivalent of an abortion pill because it can prevent a fertilized egg from attaching to the uterus, and could also encourage premarital sex.

Supporters of broader access to Plan B argue that it is safe and effective in preventing unwanted pregnancy, and could also help reduce the number of abortions. They also contend that the FDA's decision to limit access to the drug to women 18 and older was a concession to the conservative views of then-President George W. Bush and his administration.

The FDA originally approved Plan B as a prescription drug in 1999. It is manufactured by Duramed Research Inc. of Bala Cynwyd, Pa.

FULL ARTICLE

McCain Faces 2010 Primary Challenge

2009-04-21T17:50:00.005-04:00

Social conservatives tolerated John McCain as the party's nominee, but never trusted him, and he now appears to be facing a serious primary from the right in Arizona next year.

Chris Simcox the founder of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps and a prominent figure in the movement to clamp down on illegal immigration, will be announcing tomorrow at an event on the Mexican border that he's resigned from the group to run in the 2010 Senate primary.

From a forthcoming release:

"John McCain has failed miserably in his duty to secure this nation's borders and protect the people of Arizona from the escalating violence and lawlessness," Simcox said. "He has fought real efforts over the years at every turn, opting to hold our nation's border security hostage to his amnesty schemes. Coupled with his votes for reckless bailout spending and big government solutions to our nation's problems, John McCain is out of touch with everyday Arizonans. Enough is enough."

McCain was forced to abandon his own immigration reform legislation during last year's Republican Primary, a move that may have cost him substantial Hispanic support to which his record could have given him access.

So he's basically getting it from both sides on this one.

Simcox, with a national base and a high profile on the right, is well positioned to give McCain a serious local headache. He'll find some allies among the conservatives who recently took over the Arizona Republican Party from McCain's allies, and he has a national fundraising base.

I remember seeing Chris Simcox at an event and multiple protesters were arrested. I must say that Chris Simcox was very polite and calm. I would like to hear him discuss other issues besides immigration. What would the perception be of the Republican Party be if the presidential candidate lost the following election? It would be a primary so I guess it would show either no leadership in the party or shifting more conservative or both.

ARTICLE

SIMCOX CAMPAIGN WEBSITE

RNC Beats DNC In March Fundraising

2009-04-20T22:05:00.002-04:00

Even with the president on its side, the Democratic National Committee's (DNC) fundraising woes continued in March as the party earned fewer individual donations than did its GOP rivals.

The Republican National Committee, under new Chairman Michael Steele, pulled in $6.7 million in March, padding the committee's swollen bank accounts and ending the month with $23.9 million cash on hand. That's higher than the $5.26 million the RNC raised in February, Steele's first month as chairman.

The DNC, which hosted President Obama's first fundraiser since being sworn in in January, posted just $5.57 million raised from individual donors, down from the $6.6 million raised in February. Obama's fundraiser brought in $3 million, a DNC source told The Hill.

Still, the party got a boost from Obama's presidential campaign, which transferred $2 million to the DNC in March. In total, the DNC will report $7.57 million in contributions last month, with $9.7 million cash on hand.

But Democrats still face a pile of unpaid debt. The committee reported $6.9 million in debt at the end of February, and a DNC spokesman estimated that the number for March would be about the same. Exact figures were not immediately available Monday morning.

Republicans, meanwhile, remain debt-free.

Democrats said their February numbers were artificially lower thanks to the committee's new chairman, Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine (D), who was barred by state law from raising money while the state legislature was still in session. But money did not start flowing once legislators adjourned from their regular session Feb. 28.

And Republicans apparently went on a spending spree in March. In a press release Friday, the committee claimed it would report $23.9 million on hand, $100,000 less than the party had in the bank at the end of February. Though operating expenses remained largely static, the RNC transferred $1 million each to the National Republican Congressional Committee and the National Republican Senatorial Committee in March.

Fundraising numbers for both parties' congressional and senatorial campaign committees, as well as for the national committees, are due by the close of business Monday.

ARTICLE

Hobby Lobby Gives Pay Raises To Employees

2009-04-16T07:58:00.002-04:00

In these difficult economic times many stores are cutting back. Yet Hobby Lobby a craft store known for using biblical principles in their business practice is now giving pay raises to their employees. Some things I noticed about Hobby Lobby is the Christian music being played in the store. Also, the store is not opened on Sundays. Here is their statement of purpose:

"In order to effectively serve our owners, employees, and customers the Board of Directors is committed to:

Honoring the Lord in all we do by operating the company in a manner consistent with Biblical principles.

Offering our customers an exceptional selection and value.

Serving our employees and their families by establishing a work environment and company policies that build character, strengthen individuals, and nurture families.

Providing a return on the owners' investment, sharing the Lord's blessings with our employees, and investing in our community.

We believe that it is by God's grace and provision that Hobby Lobby has endured. He has been faithful in the past, we trust Him for our future."

There are 416 stores in the Hobby Lobby chain. Employees at all of the stores were gathered to be notified of pay raises. The privately owned store chain said it was increasing pay for more than 6,900 of its employees because business has been good in the past few years. The company plans to hire 1,000 new workers this year and continue store expansion plans. "Our employees are the backbone of our company, and we believe that giving them the opportunity to share in our success is the right thing to do," said David Green, CEO and founder of Hobby Lobby. Frame shop Manager David Perry said he wasn't shocked the company issued the pay raise. Hobby Lobby has a history of caring for employees, he said, as evidenced by the chain's policy of remaining closed on Sundays so employees can have family time.

Article

Practical atheism

2009-04-14T22:12:00.003-04:00

Better to abandon the Christian label than make it meaningless | Tony Woodlief

Consider this in light of charges that America is becoming, according to a Trinity College survey, less Christian. It's not that Americans are converting to other religions, it's that they are more willing to avow nothing. One researcher blames Christianity's association with conservative politics for turning people away. Sexual abuse by Catholic priests also tarnished us, he says. Underlying it all is a cultural shift that makes atheism more publicly acceptable. Recognizing this trend, President Obama became the first president to pay homage to nonbelievers in his inaugural address.

Regardless, Christianity is still hip among Americans. Although those claiming to be Christian have decreased from 86 percent in 1990 to 75 percent today, that's still a sizeable portion. What we ought to care about, however, is not what labels people choose, but what they believe and do. In surveys aimed at discerning Christian worldview (e.g., whether respondents believe that absolute truth exists, that Christ was sinless, etc.), Barna Research Group finds the portion with consistent biblical beliefs holding steady the past dozen years, around 10 percent. Similar surveys reveal disturbing ignorance of dogma among professing Christians.

While the vast majority of Americans claim to be Christian, in other words, a good many of us don't seem capable of explaining what that means. Little wonder the comically vicious Bill Maher had such a field day filming a mockumentary wherein he accosted Christians about their faith. Not knowing what we believe makes it awfully hard to answer why we believe it. It shouldn't surprise us if Christians who can't articulate what they believe have children and grandchildren who don't even bother to try. And this is exactly what we are seeing, as large numbers of young people stop attending church altogether upon leaving home.

The way many churches respond to declining public interest exacerbates the problem. The Christian church grew when its leaders stressed biblical study and fervent prayer, each of which was considered, in the early church, a means of knowing God. The modern feel-good church, meanwhile, de-emphasizes both in favor of "messages" that are "relevant to my life." (Don't tell me what Job said about the imponderable glory of God, tell me how to have fulfilling personal relationships.) That kind of offering can only be as stimulating as its deliverer, which explains why telegenic showmen find their congregations swelling, and so many other churches are shrinking. Eliminate the theologies of Word and prayer, and all you have left is a competition to see who can provide the best circus.

What we are in danger of—in our country, in our churches, in ourselves—is practical atheism. This is not a considered embrace of godlessness. It is instead the slow slide into lives where God is irrelevant. The people who walk away from churches likely haven't pondered Christian theology and rejected it; they simply haven't been exposed to theology in the first place. Absent knowledge of—and communion with—the living God, why would anyone in his right mind keep coming back?

Practical atheism isn't limited to people who abandon church; it extends to all we who drift from Christ, even as we dutifully attend Sunday services. It's in the brief morning prayer that eventually becomes no prayer at all. It's in the way we emulate men rather than the God-man. It's in the way we brood, as if the things that vex us don't pass through the hands of a loving God. I don't know if practical atheism afflicts you, but I slip into it every day. Surveys tell us more people are forgoing the Christian label. What ought to concern us is how many—perhaps most of all ourselves—are willing to keep the label without fully living the life it requires.

FULL ARTICLE

Celebrity Salaries

2009-04-12T20:38:00.001-04:00

Jennifer Aniston, 40 Actress
$27 million

Alex Rodriguez, 33 Baseball player
$34 million

Kelly Ripa, 38 TV host
$8 million

Britney Spears, 27 Singer
$2.25 million

Patrick Dempsey, 43 Actor
$3.5 million

Tiger Woods, 33 Pro golfer
$110 million

John Grisham, 54 Author
$25 million

Rod Blagojevich, 52 Ex-governor of Illinois
$177,400

Will Ferrell, 41 Actor/comedian
$31 million

Sarah Palin, 45 Governor of Alaska
$125,000

Chesley Sullenberger, 58 Airline pilot
$100,000

Beyoncé, 27 Singer
$80 million

Taylor Swift, 19 Singer
$5.5 million

Carolyn Murphy, 33 Supermodel
$4.5 million

Jay-Z, 39 Rapper
$82 million

Barbie, 50 Doll
$3.3 billion

Michael Bloomberg, 67 Mayor of New York City
$1

Tyler Perry, 39 Actor/director
$125 million

Danica Patrick, 27 Racecar driver
$7 million

Rush Limbaugh, 58 Radio host
$38 million

Tina Fey, 38 Actress/comedian
$4.6 million

LINK

Student Gets Kicked Out of Eastern Michigan University Program For Christian Beliefs

2009-04-09T18:16:00.004-04:00

A college student in Michigan has been formally dismissed from a graduate program based on political correctness gone awry.

Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) senior counsel Jeremy Tedesco explains that Julea Ward encountered resistance from Eastern Michigan University when she refused to affirm a counseling client's homosexual behavior.

"What we have here is a Christian who is a student in a master's counseling degree program who was dismissed, kicked out of the school, simply because she was unwilling to violate her own religious beliefs in not advocating for homosexual behavior within the context of the counseling relationship," he points out.

When Ward's supervising professor suggested she refer the client to another counselor who did not take issue with homosexual behavior, she followed the advice. However, the school said she could stay in the counseling program if she would undergo a "remediation" program to reconstruct her belief system and help her "see the error of her ways." Ward refused.

Tedesco believes the school is guilty of religious and viewpoint discrimination. "Any orthodox Christian ought to look out if they try to apply for admission to the counseling program at Eastern Michigan University because they're not going to get a degree there," Tedesco contends.

Ward underwent a formal hearing that concluded with her dismissal from the counseling program on March 12. She appealed the decision to the dean of the College of Education, who upheld the dismissal on March 26.

Alliance Defense Fund has filed suit on her behalf.

ARTICLE

Rick Warren Disavows Support for Prop. 8

2009-04-08T17:29:00.002-04:00

Monday night on CNN's Larry King Live, Pastor Rick Warren apologized for his support of Prop. 8, California's voter-approved marriage protection amendment, saying he has "never been and never will be" an "anti-gay or anti-gay marriage activist."

"During the whole Proposition 8 thing, I never once went to a meeting, never once issued a statement, never -- never once even gave an endorsement in the two years Prop. 8 was going," Warren told the CNN audience on Monday. "The week before the -- the vote, somebody in my church said, 'Pastor Rick, what -- what do you think about this?' And I sent a note to my own members that said, I actually believe that marriage is -- really should be defined, that that definition should be -- say between a man and a woman."

However, just two weeks before the November 4 Prop. 8 vote, Pastor Warren issued a clear endorsement of the marriage amendment while speaking to church members. "We support Proposition 8 -- and if you believe what the Bible says about marriage, you need to support Proposition 8," he said.

The following is a complete transcript of Warren's comments just weeks before the Prop. 8 election:

"The election's coming just in a couple of weeks, and I hope you're praying about your vote. One of the propositions, of course, that I want to mention is Proposition 8, which is the proposition that had to be instituted because the courts threw out the will of the people. And a court of four guys actually voted to change a definition of marriage that has been going for 5,000 years.

"Now let me say this really clearly: we support Proposition 8 -- and if you believe what the Bible says about marriage, you need to support Proposition 8. I never support a candidate, but on moral issues I come out very clear.

"This is one thing, friends, that all politicians tend to agree on. Both Barack Obama and John McCain, I flat-out asked both of them: what is your definition of marriage? And they both said the same thing -- it is the traditional, historic, universal definition of marriage: one man and one woman, for life. And every culture for 5,000 years, and every religion for 5,000 years, has said the definition of marriage is between one man and a woman.

"Now here's an interesting thing. There are about two percent of Americans [who] are homosexual or gay/lesbian people. We should not let two percent of the population determine to change a definition of marriage that has been supported by every single culture and every single religion for 5,000 years.

"This is not even just a Christian issue -- it's a humanitarian and human issue that God created marriage for the purpose of family, love, and procreation.

"So I urge you to support Proposition 8, and pass that word on. I'm going to be sending out a note to pastors on what I believe about this. But everybody knows what I believe about it. They heard me at the Civil Forum when I asked both Obama and McCain on their views."

During his CNN interview on Monday, Warren expressed regret for backing Prop. 8. "There were a number of things that were put out. I wrote to all my gay friends -- the leaders that I knew -- and actually apologized to them. That never got out," he admitted.

Additionally, Pastor Warren said he did not want to comment on or criticize the Iowa Supreme Court's decision last week to legalize same-sex "marriage" because it was "not his agenda."

ARTICLE

Transcript

Video of Warren endorsing Prop. 8