Mind Controlled

I find it so disheartening to look around myself today and see the hatred and anger flowing from the mouth, pens, and keyboards of the Christian faith today. It seems not long ago I was posting a similar piece on how many of these same individuals or organizations were reacting to the death of Ted Kennedy. Yet, here we are again, not even three months later, and the same distasteful and putrid ideals and attitudes are creeping back out of these people's dark hearts. Most disturbing is the fact that this is being done in the name of Jesus Christ. Heresy abounds!

Over this past weekend our government here in the great United States of America voted to move forward with legislation that would overhaul the health care system in the United States. The reported motivation behind this is to make health care (access to doctors, medicine, and other assistance) affordable to all those in this country who do not currently have it or who have some form of health care that is inferior to their needs. As with all things, it is much more complicated than that of course, but on the surface, that is the idea. Supposedly we already have such a program in this country, but somehow this system has become messed up and for lack of a better word BROKE, both financially and structurally.

After months of debate, name-calling, and pandering by and to both Democrats and Republicans it now appears that this country is headed toward health care reform. Sadly, the American Christian landscape is filled with groups and individuals who fail to yield to the fact that it is God Himself in control of all things. Sadly, many of these people are willing to cast aside Christ in their lives in order to make their political views known or their displeasure with decisions heard. This is unfortunate to me because so many of these individuals continue to camoflauge themselves in their self-made cloaks of Christianity, giving those of us who truly see God's hand in all things a bad name as well as placing us in a dilemma of having to defend their selfish ambitions. By the way, no more will I be doing that for you, it is time you guys get it together and start relying on Christ.

What I believe is not being seen in this matter is the fact that for whatever reason(s), this country has found itself in a condition that makes it more reminiscent to Iraq than Camelot. Of course the reason given by so many is that this country has turned it's heart from God. I agree! However, at the same time I see that because of this, many today in our borders find themselves similar to the places in the world that we would consider to be God-forsaken. Trust me, in my travels to Israel I have visited places that we are told Biblically that God forsook. Even our worse off are peachy compared to those piles of stone. Yet, despite that our worse off are so well off, can you blame THEM for saying yes when a group walks up saying, "choose me, I will make this better for you. I will make it so your children can get medicine, I will help you find food, I will make your life better." I can't find fault in them for wanting this yet when I hear many of my Christian friends describe the people who voted to put these people in office I hear words like trash, ignorant, stupid, nigger, and worse. I see the groups of men gathered at the backs of churches I attend discussing political matters and feel obligated to turn the other way to avoid those conversations. I get the e-mails depicting these people as anything but children of the one true God in need of His mercy. You people wouldn't know mercy if it hit you in the face and that is why so many of you fail to fathom the fact that you are no better off in the eyes of God than any of these people. You, just as much as them, should be pleading for mercy. I, am pleading for mercy.

We now find ourselves at this crossroad. Seeing the inevitable, I know that many of you will now tuck your tails and run back to begin asking for donations to help you in your "great" Christian causes that are nothing more than thinly veiled political or socio-economic ambitions. Sadly, you will continue to step outside of ANY Biblical authority and bash the current leadership that God saw fit to put in command of the borders in which you reside. Sadly, you will push more and more of the Godless in this country away from the cross, unless they pay and decide to vote, errr, worship with you. Many of you already worship with the people this reform will affect in the most positive sense - would you sign your name to your opinion before handing it to them face-to-face? But ask yourself a question: how many times have you prayed for the people who are so in need of what this leadership is offering? How many times have you asked to God to use you to help provide for them? How many times have you stepped outside of your daily routine or your "JOB" of being a Christian to address the needs that will now be addressed? For the majority who read this, the answer would be few. Yet, you all find time to make funny pictures to e-mail, write books condemning people who are in such lowly states, or even worse, hold assemblies or gatherings in order to all get together and show just how strong you are. I see you as weak today though because while you are all piled together, there is no Christ there. You, just as the God-forsaken are, as you see them too, nothing. No Christ = no life.

Question: Can you possibly live a life for Christ without losing yours? You see, there are people in the world today literally dying for the Christian faith. There are people who if they proclaimed their faith in Christ publicly would be murdered. However, when I search my heart about why I would be against health care reform the only reasons I find to be against it are reasons that affect me and my own wants. I no longer have that right. Yes, can this legislation affect my children's future? Possibly, but I am not a prophet and scripture is silent on this matter. Therefore, in the name of Christ, I keep my mouth shut and look for how God is working in this matter.

In closing, I would like to make one point. In the job that I have one of the benefits is free health insurance for me. That does not include my wife or my three children. In order to insure them the cost is around $750 each month. I am not naive enough to believe that I work in the only company in America where an employee faces this similar financial concern and it is indeed a very painful one. The only way to have more money would be to work another job or for my wife to enter the workforce. This however would take me away from my children even more and should my wife enter the workforce there are "Christians" waiting to crucify her for that. So, let me get this straight: you don't want people in this country to have access to free or affordable health care but at the same time you would agree that in order for everyone to be able to more easily afford it they would have to do things that would put their Christian family at risk. I'm sorry, I can't understand you because you are talking out of both sides of your mouth. I suppose for many of you though, your political affiliations are worth more than the Christians in this country.

Here's my solution: my family and I will see God in everyday that the sun rises. We will look for Him in every problem or unrest that arises. We will trust Him to carry us through no matter what the political landscape looks like. We will pray to Him to not only care for us, but to care for all of his creations. We will honor Him through our agreement that He is the One in control. Should we happen upon some of these people who are so hurting that they would choose the administration they did, we will help them in any way we can, never offering our judgment or condemnation, but rather the gospel of Jesus Christ first and foremost. No letter, bulletin, speech, e-mail, or argument will ever trump or out do that. You have the right to not agree with individuals politically but are your feelings worth your not being in agreement with Christ?

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Pilgrim's Map of the Day

Here are things that have recently sparked my interest and I find worthy of sharing.

* Jim Martin over at A Place for the God Hungry does a good job of pointing out some people who may have taken a break from humility.

* Michael Hyatt discussed five characteristics of a weak leader.

* Terry Rush from Memorial Drive Church of Christ discusses 7 positive traits he has seen in good elders of the church.

* Watch this video. This female soccer player makes Florida Gators football player Brandon Spikes (infamous this week for his eye gouging incident) look like a big pussy cat. Why are fighting girls so funny to me?

Have a great weekend everyone.

That Sounds About Right

"Allow me first to apologize for this interruption. I do, like many of you, appreciate the comforts of the everyday routine, the security of the familiar, the tranquility of repetition. I enjoy them as much as any bloke. But in the spirit of commemoration - whereby those important events of the past, usually associated with someone's death or or the end of some awful bloody struggle, are celebrated with a nice holiday - I thought we could mark this November the fifth, a day that is sadly no longer remembered, by taking some time out of our daily lives to sit down and have a little chat.

There are, of course, those who do not want us to speak. I suspect even now orders are being shouted into telephones and men with guns will soon be on their way. Why? Because while the truncheon may be used in lieu of conversation, words will always retain their power. Words offer the means to meaning and for those who will listen, the enunciation of truth. And the truth is, there is something terribly wrong with this country, isn't there?Cruelty and injustice...intolerance and oppression. And where once you had the freedom to object, to think and speak as you saw fit, you now have censors and systems of surveillance, coercing your conformity and soliciting your submission.

How did this happen? Who's to blame? Well certainly there are those who are more responsible than others, and they will be held accountable. But again, truth be told...if you're looking for the guilty, you need only look into a mirror.

I know why you did it. I know you were afraid. Who wouldn't be? War. Terror. Disease. There were a myriad of problems which conspired to corrupt your reason and rob you of your common sense. Fear got the best of you and in your panic, you turned to the now High Chancellor. He promised you order. He promised you peace. And all he demanded in return was your silent, obedient consent."

- Posted a day later than I meant to. These words and the entire dialogue from the graphic novel V for Vendetta were words that led me as a teenage boy to first think about the world around me and the "powers that be." I just thought that today would be a good day to read and post these words today as we look at the social landscape around us.

While the novel these words came from called for anarchy, I think we should look around us and possibly remember God's promises linked to prayer and reliance on His word. It seems that despite all of the conforming to society that so many of the churches in the U.S. are undergoing, the problem does not seem to be getting better. Maybe some of you should abandon that strategy. Along those same lines, if you are a preacher, please do not take this idea or speech from this novel and try to form a sermon around it. You only have permission to teach the word of God, not graphic novels. This is a blog, not a pulpit.

Good Debate

I would advise you to take the time needed to watch this debate between two very smart men. The topic is if Christianity is to blame for the problems in the world. The debaters are both very accomplished and have many points that are worth thought. Christopher Hitchens, who is a wonderful crafter of words and whose book Kissinger is one of my all time favorites, takes the stance of the atheist in this debate. Let's just say I liked Hitchens better when he was a socialist. He is now a very militant and agressive atheist publishing at least two books that I know of on the topic. The stance of the Christian in this debate is taken by Dinesh D'Souza and he does an excellent job. He intentionally avoids scripture to make his points and unless I am mistaken, Hitchens actually uses scripture more than D'souza. This vid is 90 minutes long but is a good listen if you are sitting at your desk working or doing otherwise.

Challenge: Listen to how this debate centers around moralism on the side of the atheist. Moralism is not Christianity!!!!

I, Barabbas

I so enjoy teaching Sunday School. Even more so, I enjoy teaching
pre-teen and teenagers about the wonder and love of Jesus Christ. To see a young person put together the facts that point to their need to be totally reliant on Christ and his crucifixion. I have found it both a gift and privilege to introduce the gospel message in an in depth and studious way to the mentioned age group where I attend church. For a year now, every Wednesday night these children have been asked what does the word gospel mean and what is the gospel message. At the same time, we have been studying the book of Mark, which if you want to study the gospel with kids I would always suggest the fast-paced book of Mark. It is both quick moving and action packed, moving from event to event in a seamless and fast way. I feel fully confident in saying that not only I have grown from this study, but these beautiful and God-fearing young children have come to a deeper and more appreciative idea of Christ Jesus. Their understanding of Him has grown from a childish to an adult and evidence based understanding.


There have been several moments during this study in which the understanding of Christ's love was evident upon these children's faces. This look is normally one of overbearing understanding and glee. Imagine a smile with head nodding mixed with a look of deep thought. This is the look that thrills my soul to see and I believe is the look of the gospel of Christ doing it's promised work. No sparkle, no gimmick, simply the inspired words of the gospel authors.


One such moment happened just last week. Our study has brought us to the 15th chapter of Mark's gospel and Christ's time spent with the Roman governor Pilate. The story brings us to the time in which Pilate, realizing that Christ is unlike any man he has ever encountered, gives the crowd a choice. Choice one, release this man Christ whose charges are based solely on hearsay that he blasphemed and wants to destroy the Jewish temple. Choice two, release one Barabbas, a criminal accused of the charge of murder, taking the life of another person. Of course, the kids in our class know how the story works out. They are aware of the cries of "crucify Him, crucify Him." They are aware of the injustice of how Barabbas, a lowly murderer, is released so that an innocent man could die.


Yet, when asked who in the room was like Barabbas, only myself and a deacon who attends our class raised our hands. When asked what makes them different than Barabbas, the responses were that he killed someone and they have not or would not ever commit such a crime, such a sin. Only when it was shown to them that just as Barabbas was release so Christ could be crucified, they have been released through their belief in Christ for their sins as well. Just as Christ gladly accepted the cross of crucifixion so Barabbas could live, so has He for them as well. I was shocked to see their faces of shock when reminded that because of their sins past, present, and future that they deserve hell. That because Christ and His Father are aware of our ineptitude to live sinless, Christ set us free rather than face death and eternal torment.


To see these children connect their own sins and lives to Barabbas and to see first hand in an example of what Christ did for them was exhilarating. To see their wheels turning and the connection of the gospel to their hearts and minds was beautiful. Thank God for His Holy Word, for His Son Jesus Christ, and for His Gospel. Good news = that despite our sins, Christ has set us free while our sins scream out "crucify him, crucify him."