Ben Carson, hmmm!

I am a Church guy. But I am not a circle-the-wagons type. By that I mean the Church needs to fulfill the Great Commission by breaking up its protective circle and getting out of the pews to make a positive influence by expanding God’s Kingdom. I believe that the church as a whole is falling way too short in this mission. It has become more concerned with building its own local kingdom, rather than God’s greater Kingdom.

The church building should be a place where people come to learn to know God, have their faith strengthened, be discipled, and worship God. But the local church is not the end all: the Great Commission is. We Christians need to be an influence for God in our everyday lives.

One way that comes to mind is in the political arena. The facts are that huge numbers of Christians still do not vote. As I look at the news, the battle is within our two party system. In Washington, truth is no longer a sacred ethic, but rather getting elected is the primary goal. Career politicians who get rich in their livelihoods enjoy a fine life and become more concerned with their lifestyles and power than with the jobs that they are commissioned to do. All this I attribute to our liberal government system that assigns God to the four walls of the church, and relentlessly fights to keep His people from influencing society.

Most of the country is fed up with government. In my opinion the democrats are way too Godless, taking on a humanistic philosophy that believes in subjective truth. Republicans are too gutless to stand for their values, at least the values that they claim to have.  President Obama, on the other hand, single handedly is demolishing the pillars that our once great country stands on.

Though it is very early to talk about the 2016 elections, I believe there is a man who is coming to the forefront who would make an excellent president, Dr. Ben Carson.  He is not a politician, and does not care about his own success (something that he achieved already), but genuinely cares for the good of the people in our nation.  Raised by a poor single mother in Detroit, he became a prominent physician who climbed to the ranks of Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital, by hard work and education. He is a Christian who believes in Biblical truth but also believes in the constitution, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.  

I first heard him speak at a worldview conference where he was the key-note speaker. Though soft spoken and polite, he captivated the audience through his logic, intelligence and wit. He is not afraid to be unpolitically correct, and is not afraid to take on the status quo. He spoke at the 2013 National Prayer Breakfast standing a few feet from president Obama. Through his intelligence and impeccable logic he warned the people of the dangers facing the country and called for a return to the principles that made America great. At the end of his speech he received vigorous applause, except for a few, Obama and his cronies.

Let’s educate ourselves on all who are going to run for President and look past the personal polish and the fluff of empty hopeful words.  Let’s vote for the person who truly stands up for truth and Godly values. Though not yet vetted, so far Ben’s my man.

Coexist ?

The warm, bright light that illuminated the browns, reds, yellows, and different shades of greens made our search for a perfect piece of land an enjoyable Sunday afternoon drive. Marcia navigated while I tried to keep the car in the middle of the twisting road. The words from a small country church sign caught my eye: “Coexist With Who”?  I have seen endless coexist stickers on cars which usually make me mutter, “Another naïve, wishful thinker,” but this afternoon the words on the church sign made me think, “What does coexist really mean? And is it possible”?

 I thought about the old Beatles song “Imagine.” The song was written during a time when the Beatles were experimenting with Transcendental Meditation, looking for meaning in life. The words of the song speak of a world where people can become one and live in harmony with one another.

 The last verse of the song shares the coexist dream:

You may say I’m a dreamer, But I’m not the only one

I hope someday you’ll join us, and the world will live as one.

 

When we hear this our emotions get stirred up and we say, “Yes.” But in reality it is only a delusion because in order for all people to live in harmony, all religions must be watered down so that the different beliefs would be palatable to all in the universal soup of life. There would be no moral or spiritual absolutes and there would be no God.

 

The goal of the Coexist movement is the promotion of a worldwide idealistic worldview. It aims to socially benefit all humanity with better living conditions, promoting the idea that there can be good without God. In this humanistic view all people are born good but do bad things because of religious distinctions.

On the contrary, Biblical truth teaches that God does indeed exist and is the Creator of all. Mankind is born with a sin nature with a spiritual void. (Just study a young child and you will see total self-absorption.)

Biblical truth states that God has a designed way for all mankind to live. When man chooses to follow God’s designed way he prospers and is blessed, but if he chooses to follow his own way, he reaps a harvest of sickly bug infested fruit.

As idealist as it sounds, the coexist movement is a dreamy fantasy. For example, it is untenable for Christianity and Islam to exist together, because of Islam’s unlivable violent extreme teachings. Yet the coexist movement is not really about religions coming together. It is about forming a new religion where man is his own god. Coexist really spells humanism.

So what does coexist mean? If it means to live peacefully together in a land where we have freedom of religion, I say yes, but if it means that we all have to reconstruct our beliefs to conform to one humanistic religious system I say, IMPOSSIBLE.

“For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many "gods" and many "lords"— yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist” (1 Corinthians 8:5-6).

Only through believing and appropriating the sacrifice of Jesus can a person be forgiven and his spiritual void filled. Only then will mankind find a true and fulfilling life. One day the world will be one but it will not happen through humanism, it will happen when Christ returns.

My Hero

My daughter has told me many times that I am her hero. When I hear those words have

two opposing emotions: one of warmth, joy, and pride, and the other of fear of disappointment for I am a sinner saved by grace, and I will at some time probably fail her.

In the last few decades there has been an attack on heroes, from historical figures to movie characters.  The reputations of Christopher Columbus, George Washington, and Abraham Lincoln, just to mention a few have, been smeared by revisionists digging up dirt and overemphasizing their meager findings.

Today’s TV characters are no exception. For example: in two popular shows: Dexter and Blacklist, one hero is a serial killer and the other a strange, mysterious con man, but both are likable and gain the viewer’s sympathies.

Jesus also is often misrepresented as a hero. When you think of him what do you see? A good looking blond hair blue eyed man that we all see in the Jesus picture? A Leo Dicapro type as in Titanic? Or a Mel Gibson type as in Braveheart?

When I read the book of Matthew I see a bold and fearless leader. Though he healed the sick, fed the hungry, and gave hope, life and a future to all that followed him, he also kicked over tables.  He was ruthlessly honest and stood up to the religious leaders calling them liars, hypocrites, and a brood of vipers. When challenged he wasn't politically correct but destroyed their arguments with his impeccable insightful apologetic skill. 

Recently I read the book,” 7 Men”, a story of seven men who in their greatness made a huge impact on their world for good: true heroes. These Christian men all had a common thread to their greatness; they all were willing to lay down their lives for Biblical truth. One of the men profiled was Jackie Robinson. 

One day the manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, Branch Rickey, called for a young black man named Jackie Robinson to play for his team.  He would be the first black man to break the 1940s whites-only color barrier in baseball—if he was able to make it. Only a man with supernatural discipline could accomplish that goal. He would face an enormous amount of abuse both verbal and physical: being called nigger boy, having his feet stepped on while coming to base, not being able to eat in white only places with his team, or riding the bus with them, not to mention the verbal abuse from the stands.

During the interview Rickey told Jackie, “I know you’re a good ballplayer…What I don’t know is whether you have the guts”… I’m looking for ballplayers that have enough guts not to fight back”. Rickey was a Christian man who saw the injustice against the black community and was willing to do something about it, and Jackie was a Christian who through God’s strength and Christ likeness paved the way for all men to play baseball.

Jesus was his hero.

He is also my hero. He alone puts up with my faults, sins, and inconsistencies, yet instructs disciplines and leads me to his loving, healing presence. He alone never fails and desires to use me in helping the lost see the life-giving truth.

One day he is coming back, but this time on a white horse with eyes like a flame of fire, along with the armies of heaven (Revelations 19:11-14). 

So who is your hero?

No wimps

No wimps

“No wimps, No wimps,” was heard as the boat swiftly glided over the water with a tube and passenger trailing. My brother-in-law, the captain, maneuvered his craft through sharp turns and jerking movements to send the passenger flying off the tube and crashing to the water. The child on the tube held fast – he was not a wimp.

Christianity is all too often looked on as a wimpy religion and Christians as weak and passive.

God’s Footprints

 

Some who deny the existence of God say Christianity is an archaic religion and that most Christians are ignorant compared to the modern evolved thinkers of today—like  Sam Harris who claims his atheistic philosophy is a “religion of reason,” as opposed to a belief in God, which he suggests is based on superstition. Nothing could be further from the truth. Truth is absolute. Although we come to understand it more, it does not evolve. The only thing that evolves is man’s gradual understanding of truth through newly acquired evidence. For example years ago scientists believed that Saturn had seven rings but advanced technology now shows thousands.

The average Christian has no idea how to respond to those who say Christianity is an outdated religion. Unfortunately, many—Christians included—are blind to the signs God has left of his presence.

God has left his footprints on all of creation, and if we examine these clues in an unbiased search we will see that they lead to him. His footprints are found internally in Scripture as well as externally in His creation.

Internally, an unbiased search of Scripture will reveal its amazing unity, as well as its historical, prophetical, and scientific accuracy. The Bible contains a systematic and unifying theme throughout despite the fact that it is a collection of 66 different books written over a span of more than 1500 years, by over 40 authors within different cultures and occupations.

Although the Bible is not a history or science book, when these topics arise they are found to be  
historically and scientifically accurate, even though they were written about long before modern science, and archeological verification.  

Externally, God’s footprints mark every aspect of life from creation: just how did DNA get the genetic information to reproduce itself? To morality and ethics: Where does the universal desire for morality come from, knowing right from wrong? To logic and reason: Since design can be seen everywhere in creation, it must have come from a designer. In order to sustain life the earth must have a finely tuned arrangement of factors in place, and must be precisely located in our solar system.  To think that these perfectly arranged factors could have happened by chance is totally illogical. 

The ultimate evidence for God is seen in the triumphant transformation of a wretched, self-centered being into a new creation—a feat made possible only by the power of God.

Although the external evidence alone will not lead a person to know God, it should give that person an understanding that a God does indeed exist. The truths found in Scripture, when believed and applied will lead a person to a personal relationship with God.

The philosophy of the modern day thinkers who deny the existence of God is easily refutable. By using basic apologetics, systematically applying the evidence in a logical and understandable way, the Christian can give a sound argument to show that Biblical Christianity is indeed a contemporary and relevant religion.

 ^“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1:1. “All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.”  John 1:3.