Christianity

To What Kingdom Does That Belong?

I don’t watch TV or movies. Not even on my computer via the Internet. But I could. And I could become addicted to both. I know. (I even could become addicted to blogging, Facebook, and other social media.)

Maybe you don’t watch TV or movies either.

But we read. (Well, some.)

This applies to our reading as well as our viewing:

We went to Blockbuster and rented one season’s worth of episodes.

[…]

I overlooked it and kept watching for the laughs. […] The feeling lingered and I went to bed feeling oddly soiled. I prayed. I sought God’s perspective on the TV show. I made two lists […]

Here were the reasons in my second list for not continuing to watch the TV series:

  1. The dirty feeling afterward.
  2. We are told to “walk as Jesus walked” (1 John 2:6), and I can’t picture Jesus sitting on a couch, passively taking in the sights I took in.
  3. Scripture says, “Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves” (Romans 14:22). I am not at all sure that I would not judge myself someday for approving of watching that show.
  4. God commands us to love Him with all our heart and soul and mind and strength. I don’t believe that finding enjoyment or interest in that TV show meets that bar.

Then I fell asleep. In the middle of the night I woke up with a single word in my mind, a word that is not part of my working vocabulary: “abomination.”

What would that list do to our (you know, my and your) viewing and reading?

What would these do?

“And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them” (Ephesians 5:11).

“Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?” (2 Corinthians 6:14).

“Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you” (2 Corinthians 6:17).

Oh, and please read the full version of the article above: Andrée Seu’s piece at World Magazine, Abomination.

His Name Is Obama

Use it carefully if you bear God's name!

Obama: How mangled, twisted, and corrupted it becomes in the hearts and tongues of the Talkerati and the Bloggerati.

Obama: The last name of the 44th President of the United States.

So use it properly. Like this:

  • President Obama
  • Mr. Obama
  • Obama

Don’t be disrespectful of the President, like this:

Obummer
Bamster
Bammy
The One
The O
The Zero
The Man-Child
The Anointed One
The Messiah

The Bible tells me so.

“Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king” (1 Peter 2:17).

Yeah, fear God.

If you can’t honor the President and his name for his own sake, do so for God’s sake.

Or will you bear His name in vain as well?

PS: This is apolitical because I’m apolitical. This is an appeal to my fellow Christians.

Why Not Be Cruel?

Philosopher Richard Rorty allegedly admits that the secular liberal has no answer for that.

But now I’m ahead of myself.

David Brooks titled his September 12 New York Times column thus: If It Feels Right…

And here you have the first and third sentences of his piece:

During the summer of 2008, the eminent Notre Dame sociologist Christian Smith led a research team that conducted in-depth interviews with 230 young adults from across America. […] Smith and company asked about the young people’s moral lives, and the results are depressing.

OK. So it’s only 230 young folks out of million? But even that few people in the 18-23 age range ought to know better. (Surely they didn’t pull a Kinsey and survey Gutter Dwellers.) Read it all

Used

That’s how I felt.

Again. (Poor baby!)

Taken advantage of.

Taken for granted.

Used, in other words.

In a certain realm and in a certain service.

A certain “ministry,” if you will.

Used. And what do I get in return?

At a minimum, a link back? Nope.

At a maximum? Let’s just not go there.

Used. 🙄

So, tell me. Tell us all.

What is God’s designated response to feeling used?

Prove it from the Scriptures!

Thanks.

Readiness: Having What It Takes

I don’t know Desmond Bishopnotes. I’m more interested in most supper bowls than I am in any Super Bowl. And I’m no cheerleader (though I should be a much better prayer leader) for President Obama. But this, in my estimation, is a disappointing loss:

When the Green Bay Packers visited the White House on Friday to celebrate the team’s Super Bowl title, linebacker Desmond Bishopnotes wasn’t with his teammates. He had forgotten his license on the team charter plane and without a license, there’s no getting past White House security.

Source: Packers linebacker forgets ID, can’t get into White House

It didn’t matter who he is.

It didn’t matter what he’d accomplished.

It didn’t matter how far he’d come.

It didn’t matter with whom he was.

It didn’t matter that he knew the requirements for admission.

He wasn’t ready. He didn’t meet all the requirements.

And his experience made me think of this man’s experience:

“And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment:

“And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless.

“Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness, there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 22:11-13).

Other Biblical passages fit as well. Please use the comment section below to add one(s) that come to your mind.

Above all, love God!