The Last Sunday- stations

examples of ways one can invite God into worship

Why God? video podcast

The Last Sunday college-aged edu/worship

discovering/exploring/experiencing/treasuring...God

why don't people believe in God?
why do people believe in God?
what about you?

So, we have launched a new stealth-apologetics/ non-weird-emergent worship experience for college-aged adults. The Last Sunday meets the last Sunday of the month and we will video podcast some music and teaching. Enjoy and comment at www.christcast@gmail.com

sour grapes?

Abortion is a hot button issue for most of us. Sure enough, the recent announcement of substantial gifts to fund anti-poverty work by Warren Buffet that I blogged on this week, is under fire by some Christian activists. A small amount of money the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation donates goes to Planned Parenthood. Both Gates, and now Buffet, have stipulated that the money they give cannot be used for abortion services, a substantial aspect of the work of Planned Parenthood.

What we have here is an opportunity to see the real world in action. When you support any cause financially, you end up supporting, either directly or indirectly, causes you do not support. Whether it is something as basic as taxes and political contributions, and something as complex as leaving your children an inheritance, we always hope our gift is used wisely, but know that we will never be completely satisfied.

Now, I don’t know why the Rev. Thomas Euteneuer, a Roman Catholic priest who is president of Human Life International, chose to use this opportunity to criticize Buffet and Gates. It sounds like sour grapes. Had to include a Nazi reference, as well. I, too, have grave concerns about the practice of abortion, but perhaps a different approach would have been more helpful.

If I were public relations director for Human Life International…

“I am encouraged that people who have accumulated so much wealth, like Masseurs Buffet and Gates, have attempted to give back by providing some hope for people in the most desperate of situations. Their support of anti-poverty causes does not go unnoticed. There are certain specifics we would strongly disagree with, such as funding organizations that advocate abortion, like Planned Parenthood, but all in all, they are moving in the right direction of seeking to serve “the least of these.” We applaud their progress.”

Guess what? CNN would never have used that quote and we still wouldn’t have heard of Human Life International. Being provocative in a negative way gets you noticed.

Who knows? In some situations, maybe there are more important things than to get noticed…

men doing anger

Yesterday I blogged about the minor league manager who went off on the umpire staff. This is just an isolated incident in a wider problem. Men have a hard time responding emotionally to conflict in a healthy way. There are a million mixed signals we get that don’t help the challenge. Here are a few stereotypical responses offered.

“Get in touch with your feminine side”
I have no idea what this means. Women get angry as much as men, they just usually use a different response as their unhealthy emotion of choice: Depression rather than rage and aggression. So, basically, am I to get in touch with being severely depressed instead of rageful? There is crossover here, i.e., women filled with rage, men depressed, but I need to get in touch with who I am as a man.

“Become neutral”
This kind of goes with the one above, where I am not supposed to show male or female qualities, and pretend there is no difference. My “sex,” or today’s buzzword, “gender,” is somehow to be a neutral. Whatever that means. Usually it means “neutered,” and that may be part of the problem.

“Be a warrior”
In some Christian circles we just substitute “kicking somebody’s butt” with “kicking Satan’s butt.” We get militaristic in our language and our metaphors. I stand in awe of the discipline and commitment of our finest soldiers, but I get a little wary of too much over the top “battling evil-nuking the Evil One-huh rah!” spirituality. Though, I have to admit, this is close to my own heart language when it comes to being a man walking with Jesus.

“Be like Jesus”
In this camp we hear a lot of “righteous anger” talk. Yet, as Dallas Willard has said, “I can trust Jesus with anger, I just can’t trust myself. Or you.”

God can be angry, wrathful, and generally “P-O’ed” and I understand and respect that. I place myself under that power, cringing but adoring.

Mr. Tumnus and Lucy said it best in The Chronicles of Narnia, when they were talking about Aslan, the Christ figure lion.

Tumnus: “He’s not a tame lion.”
Lucy: “No…but he’s good”

what was he thinking?

Did you see minor league manager, Joe Mikulik, from the Ashville Tourists go nuts after a perceived bad call? Well, the tirade is one for the ages. I know there are protocol ways you can argue and be filled with rage in an “acceptable” fashion in baseball, but it doesn’t look healthy to me.

Male anger is one of the deadliest forces in existence. Especially, fueled by drugs or alcohol, it is the source of the vast majority of violent crime. Murder, rape, assault, battery, and abuse all have their root, almost always, in male anger.

When I watch the rage of manager, Mikulik, part of me realizes he is putting on a show, part of me kind of laughs about it, part of me wonders what he would be doing if he had a couple of Jack Daniels before the game, and part of me is uneasy at this display of one of the greatest problems in the world today. I'm sure the guys at www.baseballgeeks.com will weigh in on this, this weekend. Check them out.

a lot of money

Billionaire Warren Buffet, the chairman and chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway Inc, will give away billions of dollars the next several years to a variety of charities, the leading one being the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. An initial gift of 1.5 billion dollars gets the ball rolling. Where does the money go? The BMG foundation is mainly involved with fighting third world diseases like malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS. It also works in education for the poor in these regions.

Good for Warren Buffet. He follows the model of Bill Gates by using their extraordinary wealth for good in the world. It is tough to even get cynical because these poorest of the poor nations don’t have much dealing with multinational corporations. They are too poor to warrant an interest. The greatest challenge faced in these arenas are corrupt governments and private greed when it comes to receiving aid. Hopefully BMG has a better track record than the UN and other groups that have become so compromised by corruption.

I am not going to try to analyse or second guess what is being done by people like Gates and Buffet. So today, I simply say,

“Hats off to the rich guys!”

acts 26- Christian Right and Left???

When thinking about the “Christian Right” or “Christian Left” there is stereotypically one key difference. The “Christian Right” is focused on “personal” morality. Issues like homosexuality and promiscuity are up front and center.

The “Christian Left” is focused on “cause morality.” Peace and justice issues, feeding the poor and such would be front and center. Now, there is certainly crossover, even between Christians of the extreme in either direction. For example, those on the “right” can be very concerned about the environment and those on the “left” would lift up monogamy, even in homosexual relationships, as well.

What you really find is that Christians have a whole lot in common when it comes to personal morality and cause morality. It is only when they try to get passionate about politics that they focus on the differences. If Christians concentrate on loving their neighbor, they actually blend together fairly well.

Here is a teaching on not being judgmental but focusing on what we have in common.

Christians and Muslims in Conversation

Christians and Muslims in fellowship together, Ensar Demirkan, from Global Cultural Connections (www.gccfoundation.com), speaks to our men's breakfast about Islam.

christcast 15

Kristina and her friend, Jess, talk about Jess graduating from high school, getting ready for college, the importance of friends in your life, sticking with Christian friends...

Shabbat Shalom

When you start your day off with working out at a health club you never know what to expect. You do on Friday, however. A lot of the guys I work out with are Jews and so a couple of them, usually Israeli immigrants, start it off.

“Shabbat Shalom!!”
“Shabbat Shalom!”
“Shabbat Shalom!”

This goes back and forth with many different guys. Some observant; some haven’t set foot in a house of worship, even for high holy days, for years. Then the singing starts, and everybody knows the songs. A bunch of Jewish guys singing in the showers, steam room and Jacuzzi. Then there is one comedian in the group, Mr. Dark Humor himself, Phil, also a Jew, and he will sing “Deutchland, Deutchland uber alles,” and it starts getting pretty nuts.

The one thing that this teaches me is no matter what your involvement in faith life, people are connected. In our Christian tradition, we have so many song styles and preferences that we don’t really have a repertoire like the songs of Shabbat. I will break into Amazing Grace once in awhile to get everyone going, and sure enough someone usually joins me. Phil sings along to that one, too!

“Shabbat Shalom, you guys!”

summer

Yesterday was the “longest day” of the year; the summer solstice. I didn’t see people dancing around naked or setting up altars to the setting sun, so I guess that holiday has seen its better days. You can say summer officially begins, though tomorrow the last day for public schools here in the Valley. Then Alice Cooper’s School’s Out for Summer can play once again.

Actually, summer is kind of weird here in California anyway. It is hard to discern when summer begins or ends. Is it heat? Is it blossoming trees? Actually the best test is the amount of traffic, in particular around local schools and colleges. We live by a local community college, Pierce College, and so I can tell summer has officially begun because I can turn left out onto the main thoroughfare from my neighborhood in the morning. Usually traffic is backed up the other direction just before the first classes begin at 8. A commuter college, indeed.

Summer is a time to wind down or wind up depending on your activity level. Going to the beach, picnics, vacations; it just seems a little less frazzled. We will be on a couple of family vacations this summer. I am ready to do my Clark Griswold act once more. “Just look out the window Rusty…” It’s a pleasure to just be together without, “who is going where when and what time will you be home?” Whoever called them the “lazy days of summer,” should also have added, “the renewing and reenergizing days of summer.” It shall be so.

leaders read

I am currently having problems with my e mail account. This is a challenge for us all when it happens. I am not utterly dependant on it, but it is close. One of the things I do with this blog is I send it directly to high school youth and leaders who I work with. This is fondly called a forced blog by a friend, but it is helpful because high schooler’s like e mail and you read when you lead.

Leaders read. I read every day for about 2 + hours. In my occupation this is a necessity, and it also happens to be a positive habit I don’t plan on breaking. Currently this means, the latest science reports, Biblical scholar N.T. Wright, a Spanish/ English Bible (I have a weekly study with bilingual guys, “Pastor, we do speak English”), and Lead Like Jesus, by Ken Blanchard and Phil Hodges.

I have a friend Greg who always asks me what I am reading lately whenever he sees me, and I like to reciprocate. Greg is a voracious reader and he makes great choices. So, what are you reading?

Besides this?

wow, what insight

"Our primary emphasis needs to be feeding people, educating children and looking for healthcare for everybody,"

Who said it? “Compassionate Conservative” President George Bush? Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton? No, actually it was Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, newly elected head of the Episcopal Church USA.

This is the priority of a group of Christian churches?? If this sounds like a political answer to top priorities, you would be correct. Other than the war in Iraq and illegal immigration, these issues are at the forefront of the next election cycle. Nothing here about “reaching people with the saving message of the availability of the Kingdom of God,” or “Reaching people for Jesus,” or “Evangelism,” etc.

I am all for feeding people, educating children and making sure people have the opportunity to have adequate health care. The details of the how best to do this are what is hugely important here. I don’t know if any Church body has the market cornered on implementation.

Bishop Schori, what do you mean by:

Feeding people?
Educating children?
Looking for health care?

To see the challenge of this kind of priority list, consider the opposite. Who do you know who is:

-Seeking to make sure people don’t get fed?
­-Seeking to make sure children are not educated?
-Seeking to make it harder for people to receive healthcare?

Yes, that would be nonsense.

acts 25- girls, girls, girls

Desperate Housewives, Grey's Anatomy, and Sex in the City all rolled into one. God works in some pretty fascinating ways...

post father's day

Father’s Day was great, as usual. Talked to my dad and father-in-law, and wondered if my own kids would be calling me someday.

I hope not.

Don’t get me wrong. I want to be remembered on Father’s Day. This is one crass commercialized holiday I want kept, well, crass and commercialized. I love when they get me a card and I’ll even take a gift if I am forced to.

What I mean, though, is I want to be there to be able to see them in person, always. That is going to be tricky. With three kids, Nancy and I are not going to be able to move to three places to stick around with each of them when they have new families. The reality is there is only one more year left where we will all be in the same house for the whole year.

Kristina will be off to college and then it starts. I will choose not to think of that right now and just bask in the day after Father’s Day glow.

a quiver full

A proud day for the Hanson family as our boys graduated from middle school. Both received honor role and the Presidential Academic Award of Excellence from President Bush (“Laura and I…”). Greg was also the Salutatorian. You can see his speech at videoChristcast 2.

It is tough to be a model for our kids. Parents have to be relentless in their consistency, their graciousness, and their encouragement. It doesn’t stop when they hit their teens. Actually, they need parents more than ever. So, once in a while, it’s just nice to sit back and enjoy something special. David and Greg, you rock!

Psalm 127
1 Unless the LORD builds the house,
its builders labor in vain.
Unless the LORD watches over the city,
the watchmen stand guard in vain.
2 In vain you rise early
and stay up late,
toiling for food to eat—
for he grants sleep to those he loves.
3 Sons (you too, Kristina) are a heritage from the LORD,
children a reward from him.
4 Like arrows in the hands of a warrior
are sons born in one's youth.
5 Blessed is the man
whose quiver is full of them.
They will not be put to shame
when they contend with their enemies in the gate.

videoChristcast 2

Our son, Gregory, gives a graduation address. All pastor's kids aren't freaks; actually unusual maturity can be added to the stereotype list for many preacher's kids...

anti-Israel Christians?

Yesterday I spoke of how dispensationalism as a political tool could be troublesome. The other side to the issue of trying to use faith as a political tool is the attack on Israel from Christians who might call themselves the “Christian Left.” Considering divestment from pension funds of companies that do business with Israel and so on is about as illogical and selective a policy attempt as I have seen in mainline Protestant church bodies, in particular.

Deception in language is especially troublesome to me (if you have been reading this blog for a while you already know this). Perpetuating the myth that Israel is building a wall is one such case. 95% of the security border barrier is actually a fence, not a wall. There is a distinct difference, both practically (many gates have been included, e.g.) and metaphorically. It’s OK for the news media to use language bias, but this is absolutely forbidden for Christians who follow the one who calls us to seek the truth at all possible cost.

There are dozens and dozens of countries around the world who are far more egregious in the way they treat their own citizens and wreak havoc with neighboring countries, yet Israel is the great scapegoat. Consider this.

Hamas, the official ruling party of the Palestinian people, also officially wants Israel to cease to exist. They, and other radical political organizations send terrorist bombers into Israel to cause great fear and uncertainty by purposely targeting noncombatants, frequently women and children. Then the Israelis retaliate by attacking terrorist targets, sometimes tragically killing woman and children. Yes, this is a vicious cycle of violence that Israeli and Palestinian people of good will both wish to stop.

Israel builds a security fence to stop the bombers from coming in. Attacks have been reduced 90%. The same fence that is called a “wall” and condemned by Christian denominations like the Episcopalians, ELCA Lutherans, and Presbyterians. Let me get this straight. We don’t want you to target terrorists by assassination, and we don’t want you to protect yourselves with a security barrier. What is the logical conclusion? Just let terrorists have free reign? Let the Hamas government who is officially set on wiping you out, take care of it? Who, besides Israel, in all the nations of the world is urged to live within such a ludicrous scenario?

Christcast 14

Kristina and Dana talk about being obsessive/ compulsive, the body as the temple of the Holy Spirit, drugging kids up because they are hyper, maggots...you get the picture

end times politics?

One area of concern I have with some who are labeled “Christian Right,” is those who are strongly caught up in dispensational theology. A popular version of this is in the Left Behind series.

Dispensationalism was born out of the Plymouth Brethern movement in Great Britain in the 1800’s. It is emphasized in much of modern American Evangelicalism today. Whenever you talk about end times there are a billion variations to the various theologies. A simplistic summary of my concern for dispensationalism is an almost “anything goes” theology about the state of Israel.

According to some dispesationalist teachings, Jesus will reign from Jerusalem someday and he has a special covenant with earthly Israel, separate (but largely undetermined) from the destiny of the Church, the Body of Christ. There are many different ways of formulating this thinking and using scripture texts to support it. There are a variety of arguments and scriptural support to show how this may not be correct. So, there you go.

If we are basing national policy on certain Christian’s in government’s theology of end times (I am not saying this is the case presently, though it is possible) that would be troublesome. It is an especially ironic position for me because I do support Israel from a geopolitical (and “never again” post-Holocaust) standpoint, and so find myself agreeing with much of what the dispensationalist folks are supporting.

Yet, I would personally be far from writing a blank check for those in government in Tel Aviv. When I hear Christians being hyper pro-Israel because of their theological framework, I would label that as “overestimation of self.” Overestimating the expertise of one’s biblical interpretation and considering areas where there are various textual possibilities, as absolutes.

When it comes to end times, no one knows, as Jesus said clearly, and I for one will tread with caution as to basing my life on specific interpretations. Matthew 25 is very persuasive to me personally in this regard. Much more so than Revelation 20, for example.

acts 24- doing mission

Christians are in "delivery", not "sales." Jesus does his own "selling."

Christian Right?

I suppose Christianity gets criticized a lot because it is the dominant world religion. You are going to see exaggerated figures for Islam, due to lack of research specifics. The most accurate figures come from Philip Jenkins, Penn State University. His classic on-line resource is this article from Atlantic Magazine.

Currently, the approximate stats are about 1/3 of the world identifies themselves as Christians and half of that, or 1/6, identifies as Muslim. Both groups are growing rapidly, in the East and South. So, what does this all mean?

Bashing Christians is not politically incorrect; in fact it is encouraged if you just add the words, “right wing” to it. Most of what is labeled “right wing Christian,” is actually just normal Christian faith. To see the difference the media makes in their understanding of Christianity I googled “Christian Right,” and “Christian Left,” and here are the results.

Christian Right (exact phrase on the web) 3.2 million hits
Christian Left (exact…) 145,000 hits

Enough said.

Tomorrow. Are all “Christian Right” teachings “normal?”

is there Christian bashing?

Have you thought why it is that some people are so opposed to the Christian faith? They will do anything to try to prove it wrong, or discredit it?

It is actually hard to do this. Whenever you want to speak of bad things happening in the name of Jesus, you generally have to go to the past, mainly the distant past to see how people who called themselves Christian did particularly bad things.

It's always the same stories: the Crusades, 1000 years ago, Spanish Inquisition, 500 years ago and so on.

In the present, it seems the only time people can logically criticize Christians is when they exhibit boorish behavior. There is plenty of that. Then again, that is a human thing, isn’t it? There is no scripture that says, “Thou shalt be a pain in the keester.”

O, therer are still some who are upset at Christians if they say the Bible says homosexual relationships are unhealthy or abortion is wrong. But these are being used way more as political capital than as moral deliberation. The Bible is pretty clear on these issues, so any debate is as much about specifics of the Bible being a defining document for you or not. Even if the Bible doesn’t have authority for you, there are some strong secular arguments concerning issues like abortion and whether homosexual relationships are generally healthy or not.

Now contrast all of this to Islam, for example. Unlike what happens all the time concerning the Bible and Jesus, I haven’t seen any “documentaries” on Discovery Channel trying to dispute the Koran or questioning the historical evidence of Mohammed. There have been no covers on Time Magazine or Newsweek questioning the truths of Islam. Yet, this happens all the time when it comes to the Bible and Jesus.

You will hear the common themes: the Bible isn’t accurate, there are all these lost books that are being found contradicting the Bible, and Jesus isn’t really God. We completely and utterly refuted all of these points and more the last three weeks in a course available in podcast, Cracking the Da Vinci Code.

Also, when you compare Christianity to Islam, you don't have to go back in the past to find people sullying the good teachings of Islam and doing bad things in the name of Allah.

Every week someone somewhere is getting his head cut off or people are being blown up. There are about 20 major conflicts going in the world today and almost everyone of them has people involved doing bad things in the name of Allah. This is not Islam. Islam does not advocate such behavior. This is way more a political grasp for power. But whatever the real reasons, people are sabotaging the beauty of Islam by claiming they are fighting for Allah.

So, why is it that the Christian faith is so often attacked? Not Islam. Not Buddhism. Not Hinduism. Certainly not materialism, probably the world’s most dangerous “religion.” What’s with the Christian bashing? Or am I exaggerating?

More tomorrow.

get a life

Yesterday I claimed that the Bible dealt with reality more than the news. This is not just “tongue in cheek.” When you read the Bible, you realize how accurate it is in describing the human condition. The other thing most people don’t realize is how beneficial the Bible is in describing healthy living. Being a disciple is not pledging certain beliefs; it is a way of life.

What is so appealing of the biblical model of healthy living? It takes such maturity.

Anger Begin by examining your own motives

Manipulation influence others by being a model

Revenge seek justice

Hate your enemy Become the kind of person who can work for the good
(what God wants for them) of your enemy

You don’t get this kind of life by saying words or reading books. You are informed by words and a book, but only in so far as you are living the life. You don’t get this kind of life by willpower. On our own, we are far more likely to exhibit “won’tpower.”

When someone tells you to “get a life;” that’s great advice.

Thank them.

cracking the da vinci code 3

session 3 dealing with more bogus claims from the book and the real scoop on the formation of the New Testament and the early church

views on news

When we think of all the conflict going on around the world, we are totally dependent on the news agencies and blogsites to hear what is going on. Two challenges become immediately evident.

1. There is no agenda-free news any more (if there ever was)

You know your news will be slanted up front and so you just have to be familiar with the individual reporter/ paper/ blogsite/ station and translate what they are saying into as much accuracy as possible.

2. Sensationalist news is the rule, not the exception

Anything that happens bad will be greatly multiplied in its actual effect. Anything that happens good will be subtly handled. Now couple that with number 1 and you have an unrealistic view of reality.

What do you do?

Keep up with the news enough so you can pray specifically, realize the agenda news upfront, and follow this rule of thumb if you really want to understand reality:

Less news/ more Bible reading

essentials

When you consider the evidence for the accuracy of the Bible and the reasonability of the teachings of the Christian faith compared to reality, there is room left for doubt in some of the details, but not in the over all claims. Not if you use normal academic standards for historical evidence. One can doubt anything about Jesus and the early church, including that Jesus existed at all, but that would put you in a category of eccentric, not skeptic. A conspiracy theorist; not a critical scholar.

I have seldom read anything questioning Jesus and the Christian claims that does not also have a political agenda attached to it. Reversely, those who trust in the truth of Jesus and the authenticity of the evidence generally agree on the essentials but may disagree about everything else, especially when it comes to an agenda of some sort, political or otherwise.

Where else do you find people who are in as wide apart a spectrum politically agreeing on something they claim is core to their life? Well, sports fans and Christians for starters.

Christcast 13...6-6-06 and more

666, the antichrist, the end times...join Dana and Kristina as they talk about that and more...if you dare!

6-6-06 is here!

In the early church they did not celebrate birthdays because it was a reminder of when a person was born into original sin. Even worse if you are born on the day represented by the number of the mark of the beast.

Revelation 18:13 Wisdom is needed to understand this. Let the one who has understanding solve the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. His number is 666.

Yes, that man is me. I stayed up last night until midnight to see if I would start sprouting horns or something. I didn’t. But, you never know…

Focusing more on what is rather than what is to come is always a good idea. Too much emphasis on end times and the apocalypse and such just seems to me to be almost a contradiction of these words from Matthew 7:31-34.

31So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

The trouble is the end times stuff is just so intriguing. Let me ask you something. If you knew when Jesus is coming back, would you do anything differently?

Well then, go ahead, by all means.

up close and personal

I can pretty much get along with anyone. In a warped way I may act perturbed at times, but it is almost always a show; I am honestly from a scale of positive regard to enthusiastic, no matter who walks through the door. I am not the friendliest, most encouraging person to hang around with, but I do bring life to the room rather than suck the life out. I keep things moving without dominating or orchestrating. I bring energy to the table.

When I spend time with extremely encouraging people, I realize how much they are gifted. I try to learn from them and model some of their behavior, as long as it fits my personality. I don’t try to be them. I don’t place the highest premium of life on encouragement alone. I place the highest premium on being honest in seeking the truth, with courage and consideration. This is why I am so focused on teaching and leading others to understand with confidence the reasonability of the Christian worldview as the best view of reality there is in the world and inviting them to live in it.

At the same time I realize my view of reality is limited because I am limited. If you have a different worldview, I am not telling you I think I am personally superior. I just ask that you keep seeking the truth as I keep seeking the truth. Let’s learn from each other and let’s see if we can’t build on agreement and encourage each other on this path. I am betting my life on Jesus and you are not. This doesn’t mean we can’t support each other and connect.

acts 23- Spirit

Who is the Holy Spirit and what does the Holy Spirit do? Five practical ways the Spirit works.

the bible says

“The Bible says…”

Run away from someone who starts a discussion with this phrase unless they are quoting scripture. Likely they really mean,

“I have a viewpoint and it disagrees with yours and so I must be right because the Bible says it, so I invite you to admit the error of your ways and we will have no further discussion on this topic.”

Speaking of the Bible, at the very least we would start the sentence like this.

“My interpretation of the Bible, after deep, careful, straightforward thinking is…I could be wrong, and I realize there are intelligent and faithful Christians who interpret this far differently than me. What do you think?”

cracking the da vinci code 2

second session dealing with the actual fallacies in the book and movie

I know it's only fiction, but...

pain

What gets you excited lately? What is worth getting out of bed in the morning? What is God up to in your world today? For some people, it is hard to think about these things because they are in so much physical pain. I just heard a sobering statistic. 25% of American adults are on some form of pain medication on a regular basis. Taking Advil once in a while for my arthritis in the knees I can relate; but ongoing? What is going on?

There are one hundred reasons for this, but consider. We have some of the finest medical care in the world and yet so many of us are sick or in pain. I am sure being overweight has a lot to do with the pain issues which affects back and joints so directly, but isn’t it fascinating that we have such a pain focused culture?

Let’s pray for each other for relief of pain for those in need. Those who live in constant pain and those who are family and friends of those suffering. Extra care and grace are helpful. Pray for the warmth of the Holy Spirit to fill those in pain with soothing relief.