Moralistic Therapeutic Deism - The Most Popular Religious Belief

This is an important read for anyone who wants to know the huge difference between popular religious beliefs and the actual historical teachings of Jesus & the Bible. I found it to be a bit over-the-top and mildly offensive in a few spots, but other than that I thought it was right on

CLICK THIS LINK:
http://adam4d.com/mtd/

7 Ways to Avoid God's Intervention in Your Life

7 Ways to Avoid God's Intervention in Your Life:

1. Base your opinions & reactions on how you feel, rather than on how you think He would respond in your shoes; because being true to yourself is the highest value.
2. Hold on to the belief that your challenges and the world’s problems are beyond His ability to help; because the claims about His care & power seem to surpass what you’ve actually seen or experienced. 
3. Don’t read the Bible; but if you do, read only random verses at a time so you can avoid having His perspective tamper with your beliefs and values.
4. Rely on movies, music, social media, tv, news, and video games to define your sense of reality; because He always seems to want to strip-away your exposure to ideas & activities that oppose His ways.
5. Don’t pray; but if you do, be sure not to get carried away; because the more time you spend alone with Him, the more His character and perspective will infect your soul.
6. Don't hang around Christians, their all hypocrites. Instead, immerse yourself in relationships and activities that emphasize pleasure rather than morals; because He’s always trying to spoil your fun.
7. Ignore the gnawing, constant impulses that you feel in your spirit to seek Him; because He is constantly wooing you to pay more attention to Him than all the other important aspects of your life. 

Obviously, I’m satirizing some of the lies we seem to often believe about God and ourselves.  This temporary world is full of mirages and counterfeits that have a way of camouflaging the truth. I believe, with all my heart, that the answers we seek and the peace we desperately need can only ultimately be found in relationship with our Heavenly Father through Jesus Christ. I pray that you join me in seeking Him today.
 
“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. And now, dear brothers and sisters, let me say one more thing as I close this letter. Fix your thoughts on what is true and honorable and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned from me and heard from me and saw me doing, and the God of peace will be with you.” (Philippians 4:6-9)

One Disillusioned American Middle-Aged White Guy

This morning, I watched footage of the group of white police officers who accidentally killed a black man while trying to subdue him for a minor infraction in front of a few shops in New York.  It was all filmed on a witness' cell phone.  It became news yesterday because a Grand Jury decided not to press any charges against the officer who choke-holded the guy.  It seems very obvious that the death was an accident, and I'm sure the officer who's responsible is very sorry...but to let him off scott free with no punishment is total bull crap...and having this news come-out so soon after a similar situation with a white officer killing an unarmed black guy and being pardoned in Ferguson, MO, is unbelievable.

I'm not one to rant...but my own opinion about all this is that it's exposing layers of race prejudice & discrimination that are still alive and well in this country.  To me, these are just recent examples of the same type of hypocritical self-interest that my European ancestors brought with them when they systematically conquered North America from the Native Americans, stole slaves from Africa to work their fields, and who still work against new immigrants who want to come here to chase their dreams.

We white people seem to have a pattern of disregarding the rights & interests of other people in order to promote and protect our own, and today I am somewhat ashamed to be an American middle-aged white guy.  All I can do is try to live my life in a way that will communicate the love, value, and equality that every single person shares in God's eyes.

Cause & Effect Contrast

Yesterday I experienced a contrast in cause & effect.

We live in a world full of people.  We are God's most wonderful & loving creation, but we're also pretty messed-up...just read the news.  Yesterday morning, there were social-media threats of guns at my son's school.  Some knuckleheads were likely just messing around, but in modern America gunshots take the lives of children every year.  It can make one feel helpless and hopeless. But on the other hand, mixed-in with news reports like that, are the countless acts of kindness done by people that work together to create light.  I love stories that bring hope and healing, and I dream of a day when so much good is being done by so many people that it catalyzes changes in our culture that will swallow the darkness.  Call me a dreamer, but I'm seeing it happen in our little corner of the world!

I'm here to tell you that in 2014 Catalyst NW has mobilized more volunteers to help more people than in any previous year...and it's having a marvelous effect on the the lives of those we serve.  420+ volunteers gave over 3,000 man-hours of their time to pull-off 21 projects for elderly, disabled, and low-income neighbors. On their behalf, I'd like to thank all of our 2014 volunteers and donors who worked together to make this happen!  Much gratitude for your partnership this year, and hopes that 2015 is even better!

To learn more about the ministry of Catalyst, visit www.catalystnw.org

Being a Bird in the House of a Cat

Sometimes we can fall into the temptation of seeing God's ways - His moral absolutes, rules, statutes - as obstacles that get in our way of freedom.  This is especially true for us fiercely independent Americans, who value our freedom above almost anything.  I offer this alternative view.

Imagine that you are a bird.  A little, charming parakeet or something.  You were designed to fly freely and eat whatever you happened to find in God's wild world.  Yet you live inside a small cage in a house.  Imagine also that there is a cat who lives in the house, who constantly has his eye on you and paces beneath the dresser where your cage is kept.  Is the cage a repression of your God-given right to fly freely?  Or is it protection against an unsafe world that wants to eat you?  Don't fall into the trap of resenting the direction of the Lord, as if you invented yourself and didn't owe your very existence to Him in the first place.  The Creator and Lover of us sees everything - past, presence, and future.  Trusting Him is the answer, even when we don't want to.

As long as we see God's Word as hindering us, and not helping us, we will always struggle with buying into resentment and sin.

"Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand...Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings." (1 Peter 5:6-9)

"Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong; for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away. Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart." (Psalm 37:1-4)

Jesus did not use guilt to motivate others, neither should we

There are different ways to motivate people to do what they ought to do...or what you want them to do.  The method we use to motivate others has a huge influence on whether or not the person will follow.  Guilt can be a very powerful motivator, it's also the easiest.  If you point out to someone why they ought to do, or not do, a certain thing - and accompany that "ought" with a heaping measure of condemnation, name-calling, and shaming, you can get people to do almost anything.  Which is fine, as long as your main goal is compliance and control.  However, as is the case in many other areas of life, the easy path is often the most destructive.  You know people who use guilt on you…you may even have the image of someone popping into your mind right now.  I do.  These people hold sway over your soul, and have a way of holding your peace & joy & contentment for ransom until you do, or don’t do, what they require in order to approve of you.

This is not the way of Jesus.  Although there are many in today’s world who see Christians as self-righteous and narrow-minded guilt-police…and often this accusation is painfully accurate…Jesus did not use guilt to motivate others, neither should we.  When we lose our grace, and start enforcing rules as a means of acceptance, we become just like the Pharisee’s in Jesus’ day….His greatest adversaries and enemies.  

Jesus led with love and service, self-sacrificially.  In no way does this mean that He condoned wrongdoing, but He didn’t hold His acceptance of others over their heads until they did right.  He loved and accepted people as His friends, and then influenced them in ways of righteousness out of the context of that love-based relationship.  This is by far the more difficult method of influencing others, it demands the most of us…but it is right.

This is the kind of Jesus that this sinner fell in love with as a 16-year old…the kind of Jesus people are longing for today. 

“Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.  You are my friends if you do what I command….This is my command: Love each other.”  (Jesus, in John 15:13-17)

Transforming Setbacks Into Opportunities Through Prayer

These words were adapted from this morning’s daily devotional in “Jesus Calling”, by Sarah Young.
Every time something thwarts your plans or desires, use that as a reminder to communicate with God through prayer.  This practice has several benefits.  The first is obvious: Talking with Him blesses you and strengthens your relationship.  Another benefit is that disappointments, instead of dragging you down, are transformed into opportunities for good.  This transformation removes the sting from difficult circumstances, making it possible to be joyful in the midst of adversity.

Begin by practicing this discipline in all the little disappointments of daily life.  It is often these minor setbacks that draw you away from the presence of God.  When you reframe setbacks as opportunities, you find that you gain much more than you have lost.  It is only after much training that you can accept major losses in this positive way.  But it is possible to attain the perspective of the apostle Paul, who wrote: “Compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus, I consider everything I once treasured to be as insignificant as rubbish.” (Philippians 3:7-8)