This past winter Evonna and I headed into Walmart to pick up a couple of things. Now the roads were slightly slick in spots but we made it safe and sound. But after I parked the van and we were in the process of getting out, a man I met twice but didn't recognize (because he had grown a totally radical beard) was getting out of his car in front of us with some other people. He came walking at me and at first to be honest with you for some stupid reason I thought maybe I was going to have to defend myself. But when he got closer he said, "Hey Pastor, you don't recognize me do you?" And as I was shaking his hand I had to tell him I was sorry but I didn't. And as soon as he told me his name I remembered meeting him before. And at that point he proceeded to ask me, "Do you know your tire is flat?" And of course I had to tell him I didn't. So I thanked him as we looked at my dangerously flat tire. As we parted ways I immediately drove the van to the Walmart service department and had it fixed.
Now I mentioned this story for 2 very important reasons.
#1. He didn't have to tell me there was something dangerously wrong with my tire but he did.
#2. I didn't really have to have it fixed. I could have just aired it up and went about my way.
You see I knew that tire had been leaking air over a period of a week or so and I almost always checked every tire to see if they were low or not before we went anywhere. But that morning I just took for granted everything was OK so I didn't even look at them. We just got in and drove at least 13 miles on a dangerously low, low, low (did I say low?) tire. And if this man had not told me something was wrong I may not have noticed and the possibility of my wife and I being hurt or even killed is totally in the equation. And all because of my neglect to check my own tires.
Now the moral of this story holds more air than it appears. (pun intended)
Tolerance or not, we have a responsibility as followers of Christ to let people know the dangers of not checking their lives in reflection to God's Word daily. The Bible says that the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. And so we need to constantly check ourselves and then stand up and IN LOVE warn others of certain destruction if they don't check themselves. The thing is they may not even know there is a problem and our informing them may save their life.
Now on the other hand, I'm flat tired of the way we debate over what's sin or not sin and the thing about some followers is, like myself and the low tire, I had the knowledge about the leak but didn't think it needed fixing. So I just aired it up once a week and wouldn't fix it.
So here we go...when God shows us through His Word or through a Sunday message or maybe even through a stranger that we have a problem it's up to us to fix it. Because if we don't it will cause us harm in the future. So my plea is if you have a doubt check it out, or just don't do it. And always take special care to FIX the problem not just keep airing it up.
You see we should always be open to the fact that maybe we aren't perfect and there's still room to improve on our walk as follower of Christ and our relationship with Christ and others.
In these troubled times it's more important than ever that we live the life God designed for us and the life His Only Son died to give us. A resurrected and abundant life that is pleasing to God and worthy of being called His followers.
Friday, March 25, 2011
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
21 GRAMS
“Suddenly, coincident with death, the beam end dropped with an audible stroke hitting against the lower limiting bar and remaining there with no rebound. The loss was ascertained to be three-fourths of an ounce.”
-Dr. Duncan MacDougall
April 10, 1901, an unusual experiment was conducted in Dorchester, Massachusetts. Dr. Duncan MacDougall was going to prove that the human soul had mass, and was therefore, measurable.Dr. MacDougall conducted this experiment on six dying patients who were placed on specially made Fairbanks weight scales just prior to their deaths. Dr. MacDougall’s intention was to weigh each body before and after death to determine any differences measured by the delicate scales. The patients were selected based upon their imminent death. Two patients were suffering from tuberculosis, 5 were men and one was a woman.
In the company of four other doctors, Dr. MacDougall carefully measured the weight of his first patient prior to his death. Once the patient died, an interesting event occurred.
“Suddenly, coincident with death,” wrote Macdougall, “the beam end dropped with an audible stroke hitting against the lower limiting bar and remaining there with no rebound. The loss was ascertained to be three-fourths of an ounce.”
The experiment continued on the next patient with the same results. Dr. MacDougall felt he was on to something extraordinary.
A quote from the 11 March 1907 New York Times article captures the historic moment:
“ The instant life ceased the opposite scale pan fell with a suddenness that was astonishing – as if something had been suddenly lifted from the body. Immediately all the usual deductions were made for physical loss of weight, and it was discovered that there was still a full ounce of weight unaccounted for”.
All five doctors took their own measurements and compared their results. Not all the patients lost the same weight, but they did lose something that could not be accounted for. Unfortunately, only four of the six patient’s results could be counted due to mechanical failures or the patient dying prior to the test equipment being in place.
But what about the consistent weight loss? Everything was taken into account, from the air in the lungs to bodily fluids. It still could not be explained. An interesting variation occurred on the third patient, who maintained his same weight immediately upon death. But after one minute, he lost about an ounce of weight.
Dr. MacDougall explained this discrepancy as follows:
“ I believe that in this case, that of a phlegmatic man slow of thought and action, that the soul remained suspended in the body after death, during the minute that elapsed before its freedom. There is no other way of accounting for it, and it is what might be expected to happen in a man of the subject’s temperament”.
Following the experiment and consulting with the other attending physicians, it was determined that the average weight loss of each person was ¾ of an ounce. Dr. MacDougall concluded that a human soul weighed 21 grams.
------------
I really believe this gives us all something to think about it.
21 grams, the weight of a stack of 5 nickles, or the weight of a chocolate bar, or the weight of a humming bird. The weight of the human soul?
"Science too often proves the human spirit exists and to me for anyone to not believe is ludicrous."
- R.E. James
-Dr. Duncan MacDougall
April 10, 1901, an unusual experiment was conducted in Dorchester, Massachusetts. Dr. Duncan MacDougall was going to prove that the human soul had mass, and was therefore, measurable.Dr. MacDougall conducted this experiment on six dying patients who were placed on specially made Fairbanks weight scales just prior to their deaths. Dr. MacDougall’s intention was to weigh each body before and after death to determine any differences measured by the delicate scales. The patients were selected based upon their imminent death. Two patients were suffering from tuberculosis, 5 were men and one was a woman.
In the company of four other doctors, Dr. MacDougall carefully measured the weight of his first patient prior to his death. Once the patient died, an interesting event occurred.
“Suddenly, coincident with death,” wrote Macdougall, “the beam end dropped with an audible stroke hitting against the lower limiting bar and remaining there with no rebound. The loss was ascertained to be three-fourths of an ounce.”
The experiment continued on the next patient with the same results. Dr. MacDougall felt he was on to something extraordinary.
A quote from the 11 March 1907 New York Times article captures the historic moment:
“ The instant life ceased the opposite scale pan fell with a suddenness that was astonishing – as if something had been suddenly lifted from the body. Immediately all the usual deductions were made for physical loss of weight, and it was discovered that there was still a full ounce of weight unaccounted for”.
All five doctors took their own measurements and compared their results. Not all the patients lost the same weight, but they did lose something that could not be accounted for. Unfortunately, only four of the six patient’s results could be counted due to mechanical failures or the patient dying prior to the test equipment being in place.
But what about the consistent weight loss? Everything was taken into account, from the air in the lungs to bodily fluids. It still could not be explained. An interesting variation occurred on the third patient, who maintained his same weight immediately upon death. But after one minute, he lost about an ounce of weight.
Dr. MacDougall explained this discrepancy as follows:
“ I believe that in this case, that of a phlegmatic man slow of thought and action, that the soul remained suspended in the body after death, during the minute that elapsed before its freedom. There is no other way of accounting for it, and it is what might be expected to happen in a man of the subject’s temperament”.
Following the experiment and consulting with the other attending physicians, it was determined that the average weight loss of each person was ¾ of an ounce. Dr. MacDougall concluded that a human soul weighed 21 grams.
------------
I really believe this gives us all something to think about it.
21 grams, the weight of a stack of 5 nickles, or the weight of a chocolate bar, or the weight of a humming bird. The weight of the human soul?
"Science too often proves the human spirit exists and to me for anyone to not believe is ludicrous."
- R.E. James
Sunday, February 20, 2011
huh?
"Hlinlkjalkj knlkn nl l, mlsaojem. Ljoimkm, ko kolkell ulkmoijoel."
You ever have one of those days where nothing makes sense? Well take heart (cheer up in Christianeese) because God knows what's going on even when we don't. He knows where we've been, where we are and where we are headed. And I am so glad He does. I am content in knowing that I don't know everything but He does.
So . . . jlmva poim oollkmk kn, l;lkmm, r4,900. kjojj! Life is a gift even when we don't understand what we're doing with it so enjoy the gift while it lasts.
You ever have one of those days where nothing makes sense? Well take heart (cheer up in Christianeese) because God knows what's going on even when we don't. He knows where we've been, where we are and where we are headed. And I am so glad He does. I am content in knowing that I don't know everything but He does.
So . . . jlmva poim oollkmk kn, l;lkmm, r4,900. kjojj! Life is a gift even when we don't understand what we're doing with it so enjoy the gift while it lasts.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Just Yesterday
It was just yesterday you heard my first words as I'd talk,
and just yesterday you taught me how to walk.
Yesterday you placed me on my first trike,
and just yesterday you brought home that used bike.
It was just yesterday you picked me up whenever I'd fall,
and just yesterday you coached me in baseball.
Yesterday you stood oh so tall,
and yesterday you were there every time I would call.
It was just yesterday you helped me in everyway,
and yesterday we'd always have a lot to say.
Just yesterday I was your biggest fan,
because you were my greatest example of how to be a man.
And then just yesterday we would sit and talk,
and yesterday I would help you when you needed to walk.
Just yesterday I’d help you stand tall,
and yesterday I’d be there when you’d call
and lift you up when you would fall.
And it was just yesterday I was holding your hand,
when you crossed from this world into the promise land.
And just yesterday you taught me how to love,
because it was just yesterday
you were the perfect example of our Heavenly Father above.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Hoarders
Last week in our "HOARDERS" series we mentioned two shows on TV that deal with Hoarding which take us into the lives of a couple of people every week who have the debilitating disorder known as Disposophobia which is a fear of throwing anything away so they save or hoard everything.
We also talked about how every show ends by showing us which hoarder took it to HEART and learned how to control their hoarding by getting rid of the stuff in their lives that was affecting them in a devastating and negative way, and which ones refused to change the way they’re living and fell back into the deep end of this painful disease full well knowing how the consequences of their actions will affect them and the people around them.
And then we asked the question of what it is as followers of Christ we might possibly be hanging on to, or Hoarding.
And by looking at Matthew 6. 19-21 we UNCOVERED the fact that even as Christians, what we may be hoarding is our HEARTS. Because this set of scriptures or teaching "uncovers" [pardon the pun] a much deeper problem than just "storing up" or "hoarding" as Peterson puts it in the Message, our treasures. It also helps us to dig deep inside of ourselves and see that the heart or the "wellspring of life" is what needs laid bare and purged. Jesus tells us it's wrong to hoard that which is tangible here on earth but yet it's OK to hoard the intangible in heaven. You see He's not just referring to our treasures as being our money but our motives. Because if you dig deeper you can actually see the real problem is buried and hidden in what we've stored up in our hearts and who our hearts truthfully belong to.
So in this weeks message we’re going to DIG even DEEPER to reveal what else we may be hoarding and not even know it. So join us Sunday, February 13th at 10:30 for our second message of "HOARDERS".
We also talked about how every show ends by showing us which hoarder took it to HEART and learned how to control their hoarding by getting rid of the stuff in their lives that was affecting them in a devastating and negative way, and which ones refused to change the way they’re living and fell back into the deep end of this painful disease full well knowing how the consequences of their actions will affect them and the people around them.
And then we asked the question of what it is as followers of Christ we might possibly be hanging on to, or Hoarding.
And by looking at Matthew 6. 19-21 we UNCOVERED the fact that even as Christians, what we may be hoarding is our HEARTS. Because this set of scriptures or teaching "uncovers" [pardon the pun] a much deeper problem than just "storing up" or "hoarding" as Peterson puts it in the Message, our treasures. It also helps us to dig deep inside of ourselves and see that the heart or the "wellspring of life" is what needs laid bare and purged. Jesus tells us it's wrong to hoard that which is tangible here on earth but yet it's OK to hoard the intangible in heaven. You see He's not just referring to our treasures as being our money but our motives. Because if you dig deeper you can actually see the real problem is buried and hidden in what we've stored up in our hearts and who our hearts truthfully belong to.
So in this weeks message we’re going to DIG even DEEPER to reveal what else we may be hoarding and not even know it. So join us Sunday, February 13th at 10:30 for our second message of "HOARDERS".
Thursday, February 3, 2011
A Real Jesus?
I've been thinking about how Jesus was, or rather is fully God and yet at one point in HIStory was also fully man. God incarnate. Born of a virgin, a human and conceived by the Spirit of God making Him God in the flesh. And no whether you are oneness or believe in the Triune God, 3 persons in One God you still believe that Jesus while on this earth in human form was the One and only God-Man.
As followers of Christ we all serve a Real God who came to this earth as real baby to die for our sins and raise again on the 3rd day conquering death, hell and the grave ... a Real Jesus. So how real is Jesus to us? Seriously, how real? Now I know this is going to sound a little different to some but please continue to read the rest of my thoughts after this statement and it will hopefully make some sense to you.
I believe we have "deit-tized" Jesus to the point of where He has become less, or I should say "more" than a real Jesus to us.
Please understand I'm not being heretical here I'm just trying to bring Jesus "down to earth" (pardon the pun) for our sake. You see if we are to truly have a relationship with God the Father, Jesus His only Son and the Holy Spirit who resides inside of every believer then we must change the way we view the human aspect of Jesus. First yes He came to take our place on the cross and take the sins of the world so every man woman and child can have the opportunity to be forgiven and spend eternity with our Creator. And yes He came to display to us Gods agape unconditional love for us. But Jesus also came to experience every joy, pain, sorrow, temptation, loss and victory that we would or we will ever experience as humans on this earth, making Him human ... or making Him "real".
Again please understand I'm not denying the deity of Jesus Christ the Son of the Living God, for heavens sake and for my sake I would never ever do that. But what I am doing is trying to express the fact that Jesus let go of His own deity for the sake of creating a stronger relationship or bond between ourselves and God. This is the way Eugene Peterson puts it in Philippians 2.5-8 in the Message,
Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn't think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn't claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion.
So what I'm saying is sometimes when we place Jesus on such a high pedestal (and rightly so) we forget that He came to not only relate to the human condition but He also came so "we" as the creation can relate to the Creator. And all I'm saying is maybe when we "deit-tize" Jesus' humanity in the wrong way we present and perceive Him as untouchable and intangible clouding our perspective of having a personal relationship with Him.
I know Jesus is the Son of God but when my feet ache from being on them too long I like to remember Jesus was human and He walked pretty much everywhere He went so He experienced this human frailty. When those times come when I'm facing and dreading an agenda or an event that I know is going to take place in my future I like to remember Jesus' humanity expressing itself in His prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. And when I'm frustrated as a follower and as a Pastor seeing Christians just not get the following part of Jesus' message I think back to a human Jesus' frustration when dealing with the disciples.
Yes Jesus is fully God and yet we can't forget that He at one time was fully man making it possible for us to not only relate, deal with, and control our own humanity but to help us to have a relationship with God and His Spirit who is at work in and through us.
So the question that's only answerable from within our individual selves is do we serve an untouchable Jesus or a real Jesus?
As followers of Christ we all serve a Real God who came to this earth as real baby to die for our sins and raise again on the 3rd day conquering death, hell and the grave ... a Real Jesus. So how real is Jesus to us? Seriously, how real? Now I know this is going to sound a little different to some but please continue to read the rest of my thoughts after this statement and it will hopefully make some sense to you.
I believe we have "deit-tized" Jesus to the point of where He has become less, or I should say "more" than a real Jesus to us.
Please understand I'm not being heretical here I'm just trying to bring Jesus "down to earth" (pardon the pun) for our sake. You see if we are to truly have a relationship with God the Father, Jesus His only Son and the Holy Spirit who resides inside of every believer then we must change the way we view the human aspect of Jesus. First yes He came to take our place on the cross and take the sins of the world so every man woman and child can have the opportunity to be forgiven and spend eternity with our Creator. And yes He came to display to us Gods agape unconditional love for us. But Jesus also came to experience every joy, pain, sorrow, temptation, loss and victory that we would or we will ever experience as humans on this earth, making Him human ... or making Him "real".
Again please understand I'm not denying the deity of Jesus Christ the Son of the Living God, for heavens sake and for my sake I would never ever do that. But what I am doing is trying to express the fact that Jesus let go of His own deity for the sake of creating a stronger relationship or bond between ourselves and God. This is the way Eugene Peterson puts it in Philippians 2.5-8 in the Message,
Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn't think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn't claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion.
So what I'm saying is sometimes when we place Jesus on such a high pedestal (and rightly so) we forget that He came to not only relate to the human condition but He also came so "we" as the creation can relate to the Creator. And all I'm saying is maybe when we "deit-tize" Jesus' humanity in the wrong way we present and perceive Him as untouchable and intangible clouding our perspective of having a personal relationship with Him.
I know Jesus is the Son of God but when my feet ache from being on them too long I like to remember Jesus was human and He walked pretty much everywhere He went so He experienced this human frailty. When those times come when I'm facing and dreading an agenda or an event that I know is going to take place in my future I like to remember Jesus' humanity expressing itself in His prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. And when I'm frustrated as a follower and as a Pastor seeing Christians just not get the following part of Jesus' message I think back to a human Jesus' frustration when dealing with the disciples.
Yes Jesus is fully God and yet we can't forget that He at one time was fully man making it possible for us to not only relate, deal with, and control our own humanity but to help us to have a relationship with God and His Spirit who is at work in and through us.
So the question that's only answerable from within our individual selves is do we serve an untouchable Jesus or a real Jesus?
Sunday, January 16, 2011
today
Today's message is "theGREATdebate".
Today we are taking a look at the great debate between hymns and choruses. Some love one and not the other and vice versa.
So what does this say about us and our worship? Is it that we worship our worship or the One who is worthy of our worship?
Think about it...
...or better yet join us at 10:30 this morning and listen to the GREAT DEBATE.
Today we are taking a look at the great debate between hymns and choruses. Some love one and not the other and vice versa.
So what does this say about us and our worship? Is it that we worship our worship or the One who is worthy of our worship?
Think about it...
...or better yet join us at 10:30 this morning and listen to the GREAT DEBATE.
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