Christianity 101

What Strangers Think

Andrée Seu has another thought-provoker over at WorldMagBlog:

“Lazarus, listen, we have things to tell you. We killed the sheep you meant to take to market. We couldn’t keep the old dog either. He minded you; the rest of us he barked at. Rebecca, who cried two days, has given her hand to the sandalmaker’s son. Please understand — we didn’t know that Jesus could do this.

“We’re glad you’re back. But give us time to think. Imagine our surprise….We want to say we’re sorry for all of that. And one thing more. We threw away the lyre. But listen, we’ll pay whatever the sheep was worth. The dog, too. And put your room the way it was before.” (”Adjusting to the Light,” by Miller Williams)

I have been praying (almost mechanically after a while): “Teach us to number our days, that we may get a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:12). And God has been answering: a perfect new dog-walking track that thrusts in my my face rows of granite headstones on which beginning and end dates compress full lifetimes to, well, a “mist,” a “vapor” (James 4:14). All these people I jog past are forgotten, every one. If they were anything like me, they wasted entirely too much time worrying about what total strangers thought of them.

On the other hand, let’s not forget that the impressions we create in strangers do matter. We are God’s epistle, known and read of all. We are light in the world.

Above all, of course, the child of God strives to show himself approved before God.

Unclaimed Entitlements Gifts

What’s this post doing under Christianity 101?!

Unclaimed Entitlements

Uncashed checks and money orders, non-refunded deposits, bank accounts and safety deposit boxes you forgot you had, insurance and retirement benefits, abandoned stocks, matured and unredeemed savings bonds, undelivered tax refunds, unclaimed trust fund payments, unpaid retirement benefits, unpaid distributions to creditors, lost securities accounts, unpaid Social Security, of VA benefits. A conservative estimate puts it at $30 billion owed to 80 million owners, held in the “protective custody” of the government.

Read the whole article and you’ll see.

(Really — click the link and read the article. It’s short.)

Written in the Stars?

A Frame of Reference for the General Election — full of boring concepts to the uninterested and uninitiated. Whether I’m an un or an in I shall not reveal. And whether you’re one or the other, consider these two paragraphs:

What does this mean for November?

Ultimately, it comes down to whether human agency can affect processes that are largely governed by macro conditions. Presidential elections are one such process. We know they are governed in part by vague, impersonal forces. To what extent are they also governed by the actions of human beings? We have seen both parties try to influence this election. Both have positioned themselves in light of what they know. Will their positionings make a difference, or is the outcome already written in the stars?

The outcome is already written.

In the heart of God.

The identity of the next President of the United States has long been known to God.

As is what He will accomplish through him (or her).

I’m curious to see whom the Almighty will set up this time.

Defraud Not

“Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well” (Proverbs 5:15).

Guys, if the girl isn’t your wife, keep your hands off.

Gals, if the fellow isn’t your husband, keep your hands off. (And his as well!)

Kissing, holding, handling, hugging, fondling, cuddling — even that, if between non-spouses, violates the above verse. In my opinion.

Even if I indulge in it “only” in my mind, I have sinned. Jesus said so.

As the world’s standards of morality continue their downward trend, I purpose to be faithful to my God and to my wife.

As the church herself becomes increasingly lax in far too many instances, I purpose to keep up my guard.

It’s tough.

Is Faith Worth It?

New Christians Face Ultimatum

A Christian family in Jharkhand, India, is facing an ultimatum from the people of their village. On May 25, Boykin Raj and his family were told to either leave Christ or leave their village.

Boykin and his family, which includes his parents and sister, are part of a church where Gospel for Asia missionary Kijor Bune ministers. They are the only Christians in their community and just recently chose to follow Jesus. But things have not been easy for them since their decision.

“Since the time they came to faith, they have been threatened constantly by their relatives as well as the villagers,” GFA’s field correspondent wrote.

When the villagers gathered together on May 25 to decide what to do with the Christians, Boykin and his family chose to trust the Lord, whatever the outcome.

“Boykin and his family resolutely told them that they would not leave their Christian faith,” the correspondent wrote, “and they were ready to pay any price.”

They ask for prayer for the family, as the police have refused to protect them in this “religious matter.”

Adrift Down the Tubes

Three news items for you to chew on.

Most Americans Say Divorce is Morally Acceptable

A record 70 percent of Americans believe divorce is morally acceptable, according to Gallup’s 2008 Values and Beliefs survey. That’s an 11-point increase from seven years ago.

[…]

Of the poll’s 16 ethical issues rated for moral acceptability, divorce topped the list, followed by gambling, embryonic stem-cell research, homosexuality and abortion. Extramarital affairs — often a cause of divorce — are at the bottom of the list, with just 7 percent of Americans finding them morally acceptable.

By what moral law and standard do my fellow Americans make this judgment? (At 70%, that includes a lot of real — as well as nominal — Christians. Wow!)

And why does that moral law and standard make extramarital affairs so unacceptable?

OK, here’s the second story:

Boston Doctor Offers Sex Change Treatment to Kids

Dr. Norman Spack, a pediatric specialist at the hospital, has launched a clinic for transgendered kids — boys who feel like girls, girls who want to be boys — and he’s opening his doors to patients as young as 7.

So Doc Spack is catching lots of flak. I wonder if it’s coming from any in the 70% mentioned above. And why.

Now from the Mail Online (UK), the third story:

Fathers aren’t needed say MPs: Commons decides IVF babies can do without a male role model

Fathers were last night effectively declared an irrelevance in modern Britain.

The requirement for fertility doctors to consider a child’s need for a male role model before giving women IVF treatment was scrapped by MPs.

In a free vote, they swept away the rule despite impassioned pleas that the Government plan would “drive another nail into the coffin of the traditional family”.

Labour rebels said it would send entirely the wrong signal to society as Britain faces a crisis in responsible parenting. The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, had warned it would remove the father from the heart of the family.

Representing the USA

Interesting news story, for what it says about running scared:

U.S. soldier riddles Koran with bullets in Iraq

An American soldier has been disciplined and ordered from Iraq, the U.S. military said on Sunday, for using a copy of the Koran for target practice at a shooting range near Baghdad.

[…]

CNN said when Major-General Jeffery Hammond, the commander of U.S. troops in Baghdad, and other officers arrived to deliver the apology to local leaders in Radwaniya they were met by hundreds of protesting Sunni Arab tribesmen.

“I am a man of honor, I am a man of character. You have my word this will never happen again,” Hammond told the crowd.

“In the most humble manner, I look into your eyes today and I say, please forgive me and my soldiers,” CNN reported on its website.

It said Colonel Ted Martin, a brigade commander, held up a new copy of the Koran which he kissed and touched to his forehead as he handed it to the tribal elders.

“I hope that you’ll accept this humble gift,” Martin said.

And for what it says about representing one’s country.

Which of the above three men accurately represented the United States?

(Oh, Mr. Hammond — Do you realize your statement above could seem to suggest that you authorized the incident for which you are issuing a No-Repeat guarantee?)

But far more importantly to me, am I an accurate representation of the Kingdom of Heaven?

When I as a Christian take the name of Christ, am I portraying an accurate representation of my King?

I think this story is tragic for what it says about the US…and for the ill it portends for this country.

But I think that’s far less tragic than Mark Roth (and you?) being a poor representative of and ambassador for Jesus Christ.

Above all, love God!