Author Archives: deorl

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About deorl

Pastor of Lifewell Church. lifewellchurch.com

An Open Letter to Lifewell Church

Dear Lifewell Family and Friends,

We must become a healthy church in order to be a growing church. The alternative is to die a slow death. You must become a healthy Christian or you and your family will struggle spiritually, and that will have a negative effect on every area of your lives. Our culture is toxic. It is destructive to all who are not saved. We are saved by God’s grace through faith in Jesus.

The church is not a shapeless entity, or a big institution. The church is you and me, called out and called together. We are committed to each other, and we meet regularly to worship, learn together, and to support, challenge and hold one another accountable. ARE WE DOING THAT, LIFEWELL?

Attending church occasionally is not the same as being the church. I have tried and tried to plan, program, pray, preach, and prod you to do more than attend church on Sunday morning. Some of you are amazingly committed, and others are more consumer Christians, attending when its convenient and comfortable. Some of you strive to support what Lifewell does to reach out beyond our little group. Are you one of those ? Do you support Lifewell as your church?

In October, as some of you know, I went to Orange County in California to attend a conference at Saddleback Church. It was a last minute decision. You see, I’d been given the opportunity to visit a relative and that fell through. There was an invitation in my inbox to attend the Purpose Driven Essentials conference. I wasn’t interested. I’m not a conference attender. Also, been there, done that on the Purpose Driven Life. I read the book. I also read the Purpose Driven Church. I taught on the Purposes in 2012, and we did Warren’s 40 Days in the Word campaign. It was somewhat successful. However, I seem to attract a good number of contrarians and independent minded people. Some of these weren’t excited. Some left the church within the year. So, I backed off emphasizing the Purposes, even though I’m convinced they are biblical principles.

I felt led to go to the conference. It was the first time Rick Warren himself had taught it in a decade. I didn’t learn new things, but I sat for four days and “drank from a firehose.” I was immediately and persistently convinced that our church has fallen short of God’s plan for us.

You see, I too, have been a contrarian and an independent-minded thinker. I don’t like populism. I don’t jump on bandwagons. I was given the assignment to read Warren’s Purpose Driven Church over 20 years ago in seminary. I didn’t fulfill the assignment because I thought he was just reaching a bunch of rich white people in Orange County and so his methods wouldn’t work for the ministry God had called me to. I prefer to chart my own course, to make my own way. And I prefer to do everything myself. This is prideful and limiting. A pastor-teacher is called “to equip the saints for the work of ministry.” I have tried. I have taught. However, I’ve also done most of the ministry myself. Pastor Craig has helped immeasurably, as have a number others. However, my eyes were opened when Rick Warren stated: “If you do it all yourself, your church will never grow above about 75 members.” Well, that’s us. To confirm this, Pastor Craig made the point the Sunday I was gone, “Pastor Darryl does everything around here.” This must change.

I believe we’ve taught people the truth. I’ve offered our church the necessary content. However, I’ve failed to consistently provide step-by-step directions for growth. The 5 Purposes of Fellowship, Discipleship, Ministry, Mission and Worship are that structure. We need to follow this biblical pattern for health and growth.

I came back to Texas filled with new motivation to help our church become healthy and grow. I intend to take what I (re)learned regarding our Purposes and implement it at Lifewell. I don’t want to try to make us like Saddleback. I will not be a copy of Rick Warren, or any other pastor. In fact, Warren explicitly states that he doesn’t expect other churches to copy Saddleback. These Purposes are biblical principles to be applied in each context.

I’ve already begun a teaching series, which I’ve titled Moving to the Center of God’s Purpose for Your Life. This is more than a sermon series. The teaching on Sunday will speak to the question found in Warren’s book What In the World Am I Here For? (the Purpose Driven Life). I’ve purchased books so that you as an individual may do daily devotional readings. and so that small groups will be able to learn and discuss. I WANT EVERY SINGLE COVENANTED MEMBER OF LIFEWELL CHURCH TO PARTICIPATE. I am asking you to read daily devotions for 40 days, and become part of a small group for seven weeks. We will start this in our existing groups this month, and I’d like to have more groups form. If you are not a member of our church, you are still invited to get involved.

As soon as the material arrives I will make a mini devotional book available to everyone for free, which includes the first three chapters from the book What in the World Am I Here For? If you choose to make the 40 day commitment to learn, you’ll need to purchase the book (copies available for $10) and get into one of our small groups.

The principles we are teaching are not new, and they are not original. They are biblical and true, and if you will allow the Holy Spirit to speak God’s Word to your heart through this process, you will become spiritually healthy, and our church will too. The result should be growth. I pray 2017 is our best year yet, Lifewell!

A Death Must Come

This year a death must come,

And may it be sudden.

For the only way to live

Is to die to me. 

Beyond humility, 

This death to Self

Will set me free. 

Suicide is selfish,

And self-denial too,

So I speak of something else. 

Crucifixion!

Not mine but Christ’s, 

Which was not His,

But mine. 

Identification. 

“I have been crucified

With Christ, and

No longer do I live, but

Christ in me.”

The Reason for Jesus

Maybe you’ve heard someone say, “Jesus is the reason for the season,” and he really is. Jesus is the reason for Christmas. But do you know the reason for Jesus? I mean, do you know why Jesus came to earth to be born?

Nobody knows the exact day that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, but we do know that a miracle happened over 2,000 years ago when God chose Mary to be the Mother of His One and Only Son. December 25th was chosen as the date to celebrate his birthday long ago.

Would it surprise you to know that Jesus existed before he was born? That’s not true of you or me. Every human being, except Jesus Christ, came into existence inside their mother. But Jesus has always been the Son of God. His existence didn’t begin at his birth. When baby Jesus was laid in the manger, he opened his eyes and looked out upon the world for the first time as a human being. Before that, the Son of God was with his Father in heaven. Jesus came to earth to become one of us, lived a perfect life like none of us, and then he died on the cross and rose from the grave for all of us. God showed his love by sending his one and only Son.

You see, Jesus knows what you and I are going through down here because he experienced human life: happiness, sadness, weakness, weariness, pain, and finally death. He knows what it feels like to be a human being, and he cares about all of us.

“Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood… it was necessary for him to be made in every respect like us, his brothers and sisters, so that he could be our merciful and faithful High Priest before God. Then he could offer a sacrifice that would take away the sins of the people. Since he himself has gone through suffering and testing, he is able to help us when we are being tested.” (Tyndale House Publishers, Holy Bible: New Living Translation, Hebrews 2:14a, 17–18)

Jesus became a human being so that he could take away our sins. Everybody does bad things, and we call those bad things sins. Every time we do wrong we make God unhappy. Whenever you sin, you hurt God, you hurt yourself, and you hurt other people. When Jesus died on the cross, he showed us just how much it hurts when we sin.

If we do wrong we also have to pay for it. If you steal something, then you have to give it back. If you break something, then you have to pay for it. That’s the right thing to do. We also deserve to be punished when we do wrong. If you steal you could go to jail for it. When Jesus died on the cross, he was punished for our sins. But Jesus never sinned! He never told a lie, never stole, never disrespected his parents, never cursed at anyone, or hit anyone. From the time he was born in the manger until the time he died on the cross, Jesus never sinned. That’s why he could take the punishment for all of our sins.
“Christ had no sin, but God made him become sin so that in Christ we could become right with God.” (The Everyday Bible: New Century Version, 2 Corinthians 5:21)

So, that’s why Jesus was born: to show us how much God loves us, and to pay the penalty for our sins. You and I sin, don’t we? We really do need Jesus. We need him to take away our sins and to help us to live better lives. Jesus wants us to live well. That’s one of the reasons the church I lead is called Lifewell. He also wants all of us to go to heaven to be with him some day.

Jesus came back to life after he died for our sins, and showed himself to his family, friends and followers. Then he went back up to heaven to be with His Father. He is alive and can never die again. That’s why we can pray to Jesus, and that’s how we can have eternal life in heaven. The Bible says, “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

You see, you and I are the reason for Jesus.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

Why don’t you pray right now and call out to Jesus. Thank Him for being born, and for dying on the cross and rising from the dead.

Dear Jesus, I love you and I believe in you. You were born in a manger. You grew up, but never sinned. When you were a man you died on the cross for my sins. I believe you came back to life. Jesus, I ask you to come into my heart, take away my sins. I love you and I want to live my life for you.  Amen.

Radical Economy of Grace

Christ’s Radical Inversion of Social Values
General Comment on Luke 6:27-38

“But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.
“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ lend to ‘sinners,’ expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”  (Luke 6:27-36)

“You reap what you sow…”
“An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth..”
“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
The Law of Karma in Eastern religion.
The above represent expressions of the natural law of reciprocity, which is the ruling principle for economic and social relationships in the natural world.

In his commentary on Luke Joel B. Green recognizes two types of reciprocity in societies. The first is “balanced reciprocity,” which is: “the direct exchange of goods of approximately equal value within a relatively narrow period of time” (Green, “The Gospel of Luke” from The New International Commentary series, p. 202). The second type Green calls “generalized reciprocity,” wherein: “the exchange is essentially one sided, altruistic, the giving of a gift without explicit stipulations for any reciprocation in kind” (ibid. p. 202).
The generalized type is always found among the members the nuclear family (parents and children), but in some cases and cultures it is seen among members of the extended family.
Jesus challenged the world system, commanding his disciples to extend generalized reciprocity beyond the trusted boundary of family into the hostile territory of our enemies. As Jesus’ disciples we are to love our enemies by doing good to them, praying for them and blessing them, even though they may curse us. This is no lofty, unattainable ideal, but Christ’s expectation for all Christians all of the time. This teaching of Jesus alone, if followed seriously, could radically transform every society in which it is practiced.

Jesus came to radically transform the economy of the world system. He did not merely teach his disciples, challenging them to live differently. Jesus came to earth to pay the massive debt owed by every person as the result of sin. “The wages of sin is death…” (Romans 6:23a). Jesus cancelled the sin debt owed by all people when he took it upon himself, then suffered humiliation, beating and the death of crucifixion. Jesus established a new economy based upon grace. That is the fundamental feature of the Gospel. When Jesus Christ paid all debts with His act of love on the cross, he provided an inexhaustible, super-fund of good merit from which every person may draw when they confess sin, repent and put faith in the Savior.

We are called to extend the grace and forgiveness we have received to everyone we meet.

How can we do this? Is Jesus calling us to be dishonored doormats? He is calling us to be like Himself. As the Roman soldiers drove the nails into His hands, Christ prayed, “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). Yet how will we have the courage to do this? Jesus said, “if someone takes your coat, do not stop him from taking your shirt. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes something from you do not demand it back” (from Luke 6:29-30). Are we to give over our possessions simply because immoral people demand it? Are we to give up our homes to the homeless? Are we to spend all of our valuable leisure time “going the second mile” for ungrateful people (see Matthew’s version of Jesus’ message, in 5:41)? Who will protect me? Who will take care of my needs? The Father will provide for and protect me.

We do these things as we abide in Christ. We ask for wisdom from His Holy Spirit before we act rashly, or refuse to act on the basis of self-protection and selfish motives. We are to act without concern for ourselves. Instead, we act: 1) in obedience to Christ’s command, 2) with discretion from the Holy Spirit, 3) in the true best interest of the other, whether friend or foe, family or outsider, honest or criminal.
This is God’s agape’ love. We can do it because we have a God and Father who promises to repay and care for us. In fact, when we act in obedience to Christ’s command and teaching, we are abiding in Him and thereby actively placing ourselves in the care and favor of His Almighty Father, and ours (cf. John 15:5-10, Psalm 41:1-3, Isaiah 58:1-10).

Relevant quotes from Green:

“Jesus rejects the life of obligation and debt (see Luke 4:18-19). In its place he first posits a generalized reciprocity, the sort of open-handed sharing characteristic of families, and urges that actions typical among kin be the norm for interaction with all persons. But he also envisions a form of ideal benefaction: give to others without expectation of return, and God will give to you…
That is, in redefining the world for his followers…Jesus posits as its foundation his image of God as merciful Father (Luke 6:36)….That is, Jesus declares such behavior demonstrates that one is a child of God” (ibid. p. 270 & 271)

“Love is expressed in doing good—that is, not by passivity in the face of opposition but in proactivity: doing good, blessing, praying and offering the second cheek and shirt along with coat” (ibid. p. 272).

Christ came to radically transform every relationship. Stating all of this is one thing, but I must learn to live it and do it every day, and so must you if you are a follower of Jesus Christ.

Seeking the One

When we are young the world sparkles with promise.
Life abounds within and surrounds us;
Death is unknown, or very far away.
There is little need to seek,
for everything comes to us:
life, love, hope, beauty and truth.
But lies find us too,
often clothed in selfish desire.
Then, in floods ugliness, violence, abuse,
and finally: death.
The world loses its allure.
What follows are days,
long and many, of malaise,
and petty pleasures to drive away
despair and existential dread.
Is it possible to recover our childlike wonder,
I wonder?
I may fool myself into believing so,
but the world is the same soul killing thing.
Everything ends in death.
Everything?
I do not like death;
and I don’t believe in it, either.
No, I know it exists.
In fact, it is inexorable:
for all but One.
Sane, good women and men
report that One died, was buried,
and returned to life.
They saw Him and I seek Him,
and I want His gift of eternal life.
No, not this mundane malaise,
but childlike life that never ends.
There are those who would call this
Delusion.
But my heart is not dead yet,
even if I am disillusioned.
It seems to me that the real delusion
is belief in this world,
or worse:
Believe in your self!
No wonder we seek to medicate,
anesthetize, deceive and distract.
Self is a pitiful little god,
impotent and in need of illusions to prop it up.
I have hope,
but not in this world.
I have faith,
but not in myself.
I continue to seek, but not for wealth,
power, pleasure or fame.
I seek the One who came from above,
and became a son of man,
sparkling with a glory that pierced the gloom.
This One was rejected by all the exalted believers
in Self.
He was crucified, buried and left for dead
outside their sanctimonious city.
Then He rose.
I reject death as my destiny.
I seek the One in order to overcome
the inevitable end of everyone.
I don’t want to be everyone.
So I press on to pursue the upward call
of the One.

President Trump

Never thought I’d write what I did in the title to this entry. I didn’t vote for Donald Trump. In fact, I stridently opposed his nomination. When he received the Republican nod, I withdrew my lifelong identification with the party.

I didn’t vote for Hillary Clinton either. I did vote.Honestly, I wanted a good reason to vote for Hillary, but her unbending loyalty to abortion on demand at any time during a prengancy, and her unwillingness to support religious freedom, as concerns those who disagree with the LGBT agenda, kept that from becoming a reality. More than that, I cannot support the Democrats in any area any longer. In my estmation Progressives have contributed significantly to the moral ruin of this great nation.

I am surprised that Trump won. I thought HRC would take the presidency in a landslide. There will be challenges to the Trump presidency, perhaps many, but there will also be benefits. Yes, benefits. I said it in 2008 and I say it again: the pendulum must swing. After eight years of GW Bush, I welcomed Obama, even though I voted for McCain. Now, after eight years of the Progressive agenda I believe it is time for the other side to be in power. Not that Trump is a true Conservative, but it is largely that constituancy (in spite of grave reservtions among many) that broght the billionaire to power. So, I expect that Conservative ideals will be at the fore of Trump’s policies.

The primary benefit from a Trump presidency could be in the judiciary (assuming the President-elect keeps his promises). Trump has listed a group of Conservatives as candidates. A Conservative judge will seek to apply the Constitution, as opposed to reinterpeting it in order to overthrow legitimate legislation that disagrees with Progressive ideals, or using it to legislate from the bench.

The potential damage from a Trump presidency could be in US international relations. I am opposed to building a wall between the US and Mexico. I am in favor of compassionate, yet strict, enforcement of immigration law. I am opposed to an anti-immigrant stance, even as I support vetting those who enter this country. Every citizen should be required to support the U.S. Constitution.

I support dissent. If you disagree, then make your voice heard. However, I am strongly opposed to protests that break the law and promote violence and disorder. Standing on a highway (or other public road) is illegal and dangerous. People have to get to work, get home, earn a living. Anger over the outcome of the election shouldn’t penalize everyone and infringe upon their rights and responsibilities. Beyond that, I doubt that these protesters are not winning any support for their cause. In fact, what is the cause? A legal election took place. So, since you don’t like the outcome you would do what? Overthrow the legal election of the President so that your candidate would win instead? If that’s the motive, then it is hypocritical and should be spurned by everyone.

For eight years I opposed the never ending ad-hominem attacks against President Obama. I read ridiculous, false, and, in some cases, offensive accusations. Now the tables are turned. Trump has offended many people. There is anger that he got into office. Understandable. However, calling him names and making incendiary (and often unproven) accusations is simply sour grapes, small minded and wrong. Oh, and hypocritical, since disrespect and name calling is exactly what these people would say Trump has done to offend them.

Respect the President. Provide good evidence as to where and why you disagree with his policies. President Obama modeled decorum in this area when he spoke yesterday. The present President vowed to work to make the transition smooth for the President-elect. Obama affirmed our democratic process. Follow his example.

We need to learn to respect one another, even (and especially) when we disagree. We need to focus on issues instead of personalities. Debate against a position; don’t seek to defeat or disrespect a person.

Learn to apologize. Don’t be implacable when someone apologizes to you. No one is always right, not even you. And doing the right thing the wrong way makes it wrong. Beating someone because they support racism only proves the perpetrators are  as bad (or worse) than the racists they assault. I watched a video (rarely do this) of several young men beating a woman who tried to keep them from removing her Trump/Pence candidate sign. They jumped into their car and laughed. They should be in jail. Protests are democratic. Assaulting those who disagree with you is criminal and invalidates your legitimate grievance.

Some are saying of Trump, “He’s not MY President!” I understand the sentiment, but that’s all it is. Are you a citizen of the United States of America? Do you plan on keeping your citizenship? Then Trump is your President. Respect the office. If you are a believer, pray for the President. Obey the law. If you want a different President, work to support someone who could defeat Donald Trump in four years. As a recent commentator put it, “T0 desire the defeat of the President is like a passenger on an airline desiring the death of the pilot.” We’re all on this plane together…

Homosexuality and Family

So every time I post something about homosexuality or gay marriage, the same people come to the defense of the individuals who are being persecuted, who are committing suicide, who are genetically predisposed to be gay, and so on and so forth. The reality is, if I had my preference I would simply either: A) leave these people alone altogether, or B) support them because I really don’t care who you have sex with. Honestly, I really don’t care. I don’t want to know; I don’t want to hear details I don’t want to hear sordid little stories. Am I a homophobe? I must laugh: far from it my friend; far far from it. In a culture that is so positively homosexual that avidly defends and promotes same-sex marriage, that promotes the LGBT agenda, to try to indicate that those who are in the LGBT “community” are martyrs is ridiculous. They are a protected species, they have favored status. They’re not martyrs.

So why do I post these articles; why do I write things like this? Because everyone needs to realize that there is a God, and he created man and woman; he created male and female. And yes, in fact, that does correspond to your physiology. If you have a penis, you are male; if you have a vagina you are a female. Indeed, there is a small percentage who are born with additional vestigial sexual members ehich on the surface could indicate that they could be one or the other sex, and these persons should be treated with respect modesty and privacy. However, the aberration is not the norm, the exception is not the rule. Overwhelmingly, there is a clear indication in one’s genetics as to their gender. 

However, we have come to a place in our country where we are being led to believe that one can choose to be whatever they want to be, which includes gender. This is absolutely, positively preposterous; it is absurd and ridiculous. Yet that has now become the standard moral position of a vocal, influential and powerful group within our culture. I’m sorry but I can’t agree. 

I would love for you to be able to be whatever you want to be, but that doesn’t include your gender. Similarly, if you choose to be Superman you can’t be Superman– even if you wear the T-shirt. If you choose to be Batman you can’t be Batman because Batman isn’t a real man, he isn’t a real person. So we’ve arrived at this bizarre, counterfactual conclusion that you can be whatever you want to be, and that extends to gender. Well, that’s utter and complete nonsense. There is a God. He has created us and we need to understand that we are in designed to be either male or female. Beyond that, each one of us is designed to do and to be something in this life that is meaningful. No one is going to be able to make that decision on their own. Each one of us must discover who we are as God has designed us. 

Now, let’s come down to a question that may be related to these other questions, and that relates to marriage and divorce. Recently, one of my Facebook friends posted a couple of quotes by Jesus concerning the sinfulness of adultery and remarriage. “And He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her;”)Mark‬ ‭10:11‬ ‭NASB‬‬) If one is divorced and then remarried, they commit adultery. God considers marriage permanent, but most of us, of course, do not. Our repudiation of the truth is at the root of our social problems.

There is a positive correlation between the increase in divorce and the increase in homosexuality and other perverse behaviors. This is true because there must be a father and a mother figure in the home to teach and model for their children what male and female actually is. However, in a divorce situation there is often a weakened father who has forsaken his children, who may have gone out and chosen to marry someone else. There may also be a weakened mother figure. In either case, children are in a compromised position wherein they don’t know what a father and a mother should be. Therefore, such children don’t know what a man what a woman should be. They don’t know what strength should look like. They don’t know what compassion and tenderness should look like, which although may be seen in men, is very definitely something normative among women. But I have to say fathers, by and large you have– many of you have– failed your children, because you have not been there for them. You have not taught and exemplified what you ought to have to in order to rear your kids. You have not endured and stayed with the woman that you committed yourself to I marriage. Do I blame you, men, fathers? Yes, I do blame you: you’re supposed to be strong; you’re supposed to endure; you’re supposed to take it– that’s what it means to be a man. Protect, provide, love, serve. That means you don’t give up on your wife and kids. You don’t pursue your pleasure and your passion at the expense of your family and home. When you have chosen to promise your life to a woman, you give your whole life to her. When you have children, you are there for them for life, whether they like you or not, whether they are willing to believe in you or obey you or not. You are there for your children, and you lead them the right direction. Without you they are lost, and, so, my friends, my father friends, many of you have failed because you haven’t been there for your children. You need to take responsibility for your actions, right now. You need to go back, you must invest in your children. You need to pray for your children. In fact, that is something which is significantly wrong with many fathers: you have not chosen to be spiritual men, to be men of God. You’re just selfish little boy-men.

This is what is wrong with our culture; this is what is wrong with our society. This is why there is such an increase in homosexuality. It’s not biological. If it were biological, then there would be no increase in homosexuality because homosexuals do not reproduce. Has anybody really thought about this? I don’t think that many of us are thinking; we’re just buying the boilerplate that is fed to to us by our culture, by the media. Stop listening to what you’re told. You must think. Stop listening to individuals who propound their personal opinions and feelings as facts, who tell you that science has informed us concerning these things. If you really believe in evolution, evolution is very very clear, it is the survival of the fittest; is the survival of those who are able to propagate the species. Homosexuals don’t propagate the species! Are you paying attention to this? If there’s a homosexual gene, then why is homosexuality increasing? The homosexual gene should decrease with the increase of exclusively homosexual sexual relationships. 

However, that’s not what’s happening because homosexuality is increasing as the result of a decrease in family values. It is, in large part, the result of a decrease in the presence of fathers in the family. That’s why we have the society and culture that we have. Wake up America! Wake up society! Wake up world! God made us, and God has a plan, and it’s better than yours or mine. 

Divine Economics 101

“Give and it will be given to you…” (Luke 6:38).

The way the world works when it concerns money or the use of any material resource is this: Get as much as you can. Invest in whomever or whatever will bring you the most profit. Giving is foolish. Why give your money to someone who hasn’t earned it, or who will do nothing for you?

The way God’s Kingdom works is different. Giving is investing. It is investing in a person who needs help, or in a church that promotes God’s love and preaches the Good News. The person who gives from a cheerful heart to a holy cause relies on God, not human beings, to bring the increase.

I believe that when I represent Christ and tip a waiter or other service person, I will receive an increase from God. When I give assistance to a person in genuine need, God will reimburse me and bless me over and above my gift. When I tithe to my church, I am demonstrating my trust in God’s provision and promise regarding money.

Many people follow the worldly model. I’ve experienced this firsthand in driving for Uber. Uber is a ride-sharing platform, kind of like a tool for independent taxi drivers to use in order to find passengers. Uber doesn’t encourage tipping, and riders are happy to oblige. I think I’ve been tipped a total of three times in 53 rides I’ve given so far. Passengers express gratitude on occasion, but they don’t tip. Now, in part, this may be due to the fact that many people don’t carry cash and Uber provides no mechanism within the app to tip via your credit card. Uber understands how many people think. They don’t want to tip, so they aren’t encouraged to do so. Sad. Lyft is the other ride-sharing service. Lyft provides the opportunity for passengers to tip within the app. I’d say about 1/4-1/3 of my passengers on Lyft will tip. So, even when prompted, the majority of people don’t tip.

If human beings were in touch with God allowed their hearts to be their guide, there would be no need for government welfare. There would be less poverty. People would do what the primitive Christians did: they sold their property and gave their money to help the genuinely poor among them. It was a sort of voluntary communism. They weren’t forced to do this; they chose to do so to help their brothers and sisters.

Now, I’d say there would be no poverty if we all followed the leading of our hearts and listened to God, but I realize that what Jesus said remains true. “The poor you will always have with you.” Why is this? Not everyone can handle wealth. Not everyone will work. People make mistakes with money. So, there will always be a need for giving to help the poor. That is good. It teaches all of us what is important.

So, do you follow the worldly model for money, or God’s economic plan. God’s plan means you will be a consistent, persistent giver. Following his plan means you trust God and not people to bring you the increase and meet your needs. What you do with your money says everything about what, or who, you believe in.

A Reasoned Response to Recent Shootings

Regarding the high profile officer involved fatal shootings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, realize this: every one of us is prejudiced in some way. To a degree this is a result of how our brains categorize and connect things. It is also the result of our past experiences and perceptions of the world. The truth is out there, but that doesn’t mean anyone has a perfect or strictly objective view of it. Facts must be evaluated by dispassionate and trained persons if we are ever to find the truth of any incident. That is why there are courts of law and trials. That is why the arresting officers in a particular case don’t have the final say. Ideally, a jury of the accused’s peers will determine guilt or innocence.

I have past experiences that bring me to realize that not all police officers are trustworthy. I choose to believe that most are, but I’ve been on the wrong side of criminal cops. So, when I hear, or read of a shooting like that of Sterling or Castile, I am immediately suspicious of the officers involved. I may be inclined to rush to judgment because of my personal experience with bad cops. You may have a glowing view of law enforcement because nothing bad has happened to you, your family or friends. Instead, your prejudice may be toward anyone whom the police accuse, arrest or shoot. Your automatic reaction may be to believe that the person must have done something wrong, rather than assuming their innocence as the U.S. justice system demands.

What I believe all of us must do is admit to our prejudices, withhold judgment, and let facts come forth. Somebody may well say, “Yes, but you don’t know how I feel. You don’t know what I’ve been through.” However, that is exactly what reason circumvents. My feelings and experiences do not form the basis for a reasoned evaluation of a unique incident. Reason looks at evidence and evaluates accordingly. You and I need to stop emotionally reacting and start thinking, evaluating available evidence, and praying before we speak, post, or protest.

So, I will admit that I am angry at what appears to be, at best, inept police officers overreacting and killing people. Were they racist? I don’t know. Did race play into their actions? I don’t know. It may have, but one would need to interview people in the lives of each officer to make that determination. Would Alton Sterling or Philando Castile be dead if they were white. Very probably, assuming all of the circumstances were identical, except for their ethnicities. I admit my bias. I am white, and I have been in an incident involving white police officers where I was accused of something I did not do, something those officers knew I didn’t do. In my situation the two officers involved should have been fired at the very least, and then jailed if justice was to be served. So, I know it is possible for police officers to act badly regardless of race. That said, I could be wrong. Maybe the officer would never have pulled Castile over. Maybe the two Louisiana cops would have treated Sterling differently. This might be racially motivated on some level. However, that cannot be determined without evaluating the officers involved, as well as the culture of the police departments where they serve.

Racism was clearly Micah Johnson’s movtive when he murdered five Dallas police officers and injured nine others. He stated that his intention was to murder white people, especially white police officers. It appears this was his twisted version of vengeance for the deaths of black persons by white officers. You and I need to back off of our hate filled, angry reactions to these events, or we may well find ourselves in the same kind of unreasonable, emotional state that motivated Johnson.

Jesus Christ taught that it is what comes from the heart that makes a person bad. What we think always comes before what we do. More importantly, how we think will put us in a position to do good or evil. “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual immorality, thefts, lies, slanders” (Matthew 15:19). A cop, a criminal, or a citizen may have an evil heart, a bad attitude, distorted thinking, and that is what results in evil actions. “When selfish desire is conceived, it results in sin, and sin results in death” (James 1:15). The way we think about what is happening right now really matters. Hatred and anger are not only a bad response, but an evil one. These attitudes will spawn further violence. Please, my friends, let none of us be part of it!

American Freedom Revolution

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”
-1st Amendment to the United States Constitution.

“I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”
-Evelyn Beatrice Hall paraphrasing Voltaire

“Government should protect every man in thinking and speaking freely, and see that one does not abuse another. The liberty I contend for is more than toleration. The very idea of toleration is despicable; it supposes that some have a pre-eminence above the rest to grant indulgence, whereas all should be equally free, Jews, Turks, Pagans and Christians.”
-John Leland, “A Chronicle of His Time in Virginia,” The Writings of the Later Elder John Leland, published in 1845.

Christianity, and more specifically its Protestant expressions, often experienced preferential treatment by government for the first two centuries of the founding of the United States of America. The pendulum is swinging the other direction in our time, and with increasing momentum. Now Christian expression is in disfavor, not only with government, but corporations, academic institutions and the media. There is an obvious bias against orthodox Christianity.

How should Christians respond? How should government respond?

Let’s begin with the latter. The United States of America was not founded as a Christian institution, even though most of its founders were Protestant Christians, and some sought to establish a Christian commonwealth in their respective states. No, the U.S. was first settled by religious dissenters from England who sought freedom to practice their religion. The War of Independence was fought to establish a sovereign nation, whose people would be free from unrepresented taxation and tyrannical monarchy.

The United States was established so that people could have a government that is, as Lincoln famously stated, of the people, by the people, and for the people. Government is established to protect the God given rights of people, not grant those rights. Indeed, the Declaration of Independence opens with the famous lines:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”

Government exists for the benefit of the governed, not the other way around. Government receives its power from the people, and the people have the right to take that power back.
However, the United States government’s power has expanded continuously over time, and and dramatically in the last 15 years. Under the Presidency of George W. Bush, motivated by the fight against terrorism, federal spying and policing agencies were given unprecedented power under the Patriot Act and through the Department of Homeland Security. During the Presidency of Barack Obama government expansion continued into private healthcare. The U.S. government threatens businesses who will not violate the religion and conscience of their owners by providing health insurance that enables abortion.

From the beginning the Supreme Court has acted as though it has the authority to deny or create rights to persons. Slaves were denied rights under the 1857 Dred Scott decision because they were considered property by the Almighty Court. In 1973 SCOTUS denied unborn babies the right to life because, in the fatal logic of the court, the mother has an overriding right to privacy. Since that time courts have consistently upheld the right of a woman to terminate the life of the unborn baby in her womb because the court considers that baby nothing more than a part of the woman’s body. In 2015 the Supreme Court defied 5,000 years of precedent in every civilization by redefining marriage.

This is not government of the people, for the people and by the people: it is government granting rights to people. Such a government flies in the face of both the U.S. Declaration of Independence and the Constitution— the latter of which, ironically, the U.S. Supreme Court is supposed to interpret to protect the rights of citizens.

Citizens of the United States must retain their rights to think, believe and speak as their conscience or religion calls them to. The only limits to this are the rights of others to the same life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. In other words, if an Islamic extremist claims they are called by God to kill the infidel, they are not permitted to do so in the United States, since this obviously deprives other citizens of the very rights the jihadist would claim.

1st Amendment rights are being eroded by government’s ever increasing tendency to enforce a politically correct agenda. However, the same principle that applied to Christians seeking to establish a commonwealth, applies to secularists seeking to outlaw public expressions of Christian faith. Leave people to express themselves freely in the marketplace of ideas. The President of the U.S., Congress and the Supreme Court have no right to prohibit or inhibit the free exercise of religion, nor do they have the right to censor free speech. This applies equally to state and local governments, agencies and officials.

Examples of erroding 1st Amendment rights abound.

We need another revolution, a revolution that returns us to our founding principles. Government needs to be limited, not expanded. People must be left to exercise their God given rights.

How should Christians respond?

We must speak the truth in love. That means believers must be intimately acquainted with, and personally committed to, the truth found in the Bible and embodied in Jesus Christ. If you are a Christian I implore and challenge you to love God above all, and refuse to compromise or capitulate to a godless culture. Increasing numbers of nominal Christians are proving the reality of the Apostle Paul’s prophecy in 2 Timothy 3, “having a form of godliness but denying its power.”

You and I would do well to heed the Apostle’s command, “Have nothing to do with them!” Paul was not speaking of avoiding atheists or those from other religions, but those who profess to be Christians but fail or refuse to believe the truth plainly taught in the Word of God. They may be active in their respective churches, yet choose the same values as the godless culture around. The Apostle also prophesied about this in the same passage quoted above. “But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—” (2 Timothy 3:1–4, NIV84)

Increasing numbers of formerly “mainline denomination” churches are now actively supporting sexually immoral lifestyles, even among their leadership. Episcopalians have ordained openly homosexual bishops. United Methodists are debating inclusion of transgendered ministers. If you are a member of one of these apostate churches I believe the following command and promise applies to you.

“Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.” (2 Corinthians 6:17–18, NIV84)

The United States is not a Christian nation– if it ever was. However, it can be a nation full of God loving, Bible believing Christians who seek to show the love of Jesus both to fellow Americans and fellow residents of planet earth. It may be a nation with a government occupied by many Christians who seek to protect the rights of all people, not Christians alone, and who seek to keep the marketplace of ideas free of totalitarian laws and leaders in order that the Gospel of Jesus may be openly shared alongside other ideas.

Christian faith is always harmed when it is enforced by government coercion.
“An enforced uniformity of religion throughout a nation or civil state, confounds the civil and religious, denies the principles of Christianity and civility, and that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh.” -Roger Williams (founder of the first baptist church in America), in The Bloody Tenet of Persecution for Cause of Conscience.

Roger Williams, is the same Baptist pastor to whom Thomas Jefferson famously wrote concerning the wall of separation between church and state in his Letter to the Danbury Baptists. This was a concept Williams strongly espoused. Williams likened the church to a garden around which God has placed a wall, and he saw the world as a wilderness outside that wall. What Williams didn’t want was influence from the world or coercion from government coming into the church.

If properly understood, you and I would do well to support this concept. It is not a prohibition against public displays of religious thought and sentiment, but a prohibition against government involvement and intrusion into church affairs, or preference for a particular religion.

Some examples follow. Should children be permitted to pray in schools? Absolutely. Should children be required to pray with a teacher or administrator of a public school? Absolutely not.

Should public schools teach the Bible?  Even if taught as literature there are many possible problems with teachers importing their own personal bias, or government mandating a certain interpretation, so I think this is a bad idea.

Should private hotels be permitted to put Bibles in their rooms? Of course they should.

What about celebrations of Christmas in schools? Considering the secular nature of Christmas in our time, I don’t know why this should pose a problem. Santa, Frosty and Rudolph have nothing whatsoever to do with Jesus. However, even recognizing Christmas as a celebration of the birth of Christ does nothing to establish Christianity. Perhaps we should be open to celebrations being limited in communities where large groups from other religious expressions exist. Certainly Christmas celebrations shouldn’t be enforced.

Should displays of the 10 Commandments or Manger Scenes be removed from government facilities? Yes. This does not mean every religious display must be erased from public spaces. Christianity is part of the history and cultural heritage of the United States, and leaving a cross on a hillside where it has stood as a war memorial does not establish Christianity.

These are examples of how I believe it would play out if we’re serious about the 1st Amendment and why the United States was founded.

Listen Christian friends, the Gospel will triumph because it is true and it is the best news. Christianity and its Gospel do not require government enforcement. When you combine Christianity and politics, you no longer have Christianity, just politics using that name. Believers must be free to preach and to live out their faith without government intrusion.

I’m sure I’ve made no one happy here. It is likely you disagreed with something I wrote. However, I hope you get the main point: no one’s point of view, religious or not, should be prohibited from public discourse. You have the right to disagree and believe differently, and so does everyone else. Shutting the opposition up or shutting them down is not American, and it is not Christian. Speak the truth as you understand it. Don’t be offended because someone disagrees with you. Give a better reason, a better argument. Live a better life!