Do You REALLY Want To Be Like Jesus?

One of the most overused phrases among Christians today is, “I just want to be more and more like Jesus.” I am not saying that is something bad, it’s just that I don’t think that some people have a clue what they are talking about when they say those words. I don’t think I have a clue sometimes when I say this phrase. People from a churched culture grow up with a “safe” picture of Jesus, he had feathered hair, wore a white robe with a purple “Miss America sash, was a constant giver of hugs and carried a lamb where ever He went (there are some paintings in churches that would prove this). However, in reading Scripture that is not the only aspect of Jesus that I am seeing. I am discovering that if I want to become more and more like Jesus that I am going to have to drop my Sunday school perceptions and embrace the following:
#1 – Jesus Is A Warrior King!

Check out Revelation 19:11-16. I have never seen a picture of that guy in a Christian bookstore. One of my favorite stories is found in Matthew 21:12-16 where His passion is demonstrated by the fact that He whipped some tail in the temple. I am sick and tired of people saying that a Christian is always nice, a Christian is someone who is passionate for the things of God, which requires some table turning from time to time.

#2 – Jesus Purposefully Offended The Religious!

Keep something in mind, it wasn’t the atheists, agnostics or even the devil worshipers that murdered Jesus, but rather the most religious people in that time period. Why? Because He was such a nice guy? No not really it was because He…

Healed on Sunday, which in their mind was sinful! These people (who aren’t much different from us) missed a miracle because it did not fit into their formula and they considered Jesus “wrong” for doing what He did!
He hung out, even touched lepers which was a HUGE no-no in that time period.
He went to a tax collectors house for a meal, which was a social declaration!
He went off in Matthew 23 calling the Pharisees “whitewashed tombs, sons of hell and snakes!”

Jesus was not concerned with making the religious happy,He was dangerous, on the edge that’s who Jesus was!!!

#3 – Jesus Did Not Get Inward Focused!

Like it or not Jesus didn’t go to a bookstore, get a theology book by a dead guy, get a group of guys together that were just like Him and give the world the middle finger because He was obsessed with “going deep”.

If I meet one more group of guys who think they are becoming more like Jesus because they are theological superior to people but do not know a lost/ unchurched person by name or refuse to exercise their spiritual gift, yet claim to be godly, fisticuffs may occur. (For everyone who just got mad about that–please refer to #2 😉

#4 – Jesus Offered Forgiveness

The people Jesus was nice to were the broken, the poor, the outcasts, the prostitutes…those whom society had thrown away! He didn’t yell at them, He didn’t look down His nose at them, He didn’t sit in a church pew and wonder, “Why are they here?” He offered them forgiveness. We’ve all seen it someone goes through a painful divorce and they are pushed to the margins if not out. A teenage girl gets pregnant and the other people in the church forbid their children to hang out with her. I’ve seen it and so have you. Jesus NEVER told them their behavior was ok, in fact, He preached repentance. Jesus did not shoot the wounded amongst us.

# 5 – Jesus Was Passionate About Obeying His Father!

Jesus had a passionate desire to obey God. He recognized His Father as the absolute authority in the universe and He went to the cross and gave His life as an act of obedience and worship. If we are going to be like Christ–obedience, not prostitution (being paid to perform a service) is required.

#6 – Jesus Had A Vision To Reach People!

Jesus had a desire to reach the NATIONS (Matthew 28:18-20 and in Acts 1:8)!
Now I am not the smartest man on the planet, but that’s a lot of people. Jesus told three parables in Luke 15 about something lost being found, and then said the angels in heaven rejoice when people cross over the line of faith. though we must grow we must also be about the outsider coming in.

#7 – Jesus Was Not Normal!

Jesus, in His teaching and mentoring tactics, was just simply different! He taught with authority, He told stories, He didn’t go line by line, verse by verse through the Old Testament, He used modern illustrations, He connected with the hearts of the people and they got it! He was not normal in who He surrounded Himself with, He didn’t go for the religious professionals but rather men who were crazy enough to believe and follow Him. He didn’t fit in with the religious system of the day and they killed Him for it (though He did have the last laugh!).

These are just my thoughts/rants I wonder what you think…

Do I want Jesus OR a Genie in a bottle?

Recently, I was heading out the door to go and meet with a friend of mine or coffee. As I was getting ready to leave the house my daughter came running up to me, hugged my neck, looked up at me and smiled & said, “Daddy!”

So…what did I do? I did what ANY dad would have done at that point…I stopped in my tracks, picked her up and gave her a big hug! It felt so wonderful to receive attention from my child and I REALLY was enjoying that moment…

Until…

She looked at my sunglasses on my face & said, “ooooooh” and reached for it.

Let me explain…

A few days earlier we had been shopping when i bought them and she was enamored with them them. Additionally she had been wearing them around the house and playing with them (even after i asked her to stop) all morning long. She walked around the house with it…and even tried to put it on her head, like daddy. When it was time to leave I took it from her and told her I had to go and that is when she ran after me and began to give me attention.

You see her attention and affection was not because she wanted to be close to me but because of what I had that she wanted. As I sat there thinking about this for a second God spoke to my heart and said, “This is the way you treat the Gospel many times!”

I am so guilty of times in my past where I prayed like crazy, raised my hands in worship, made HUGE promises and so on but NOT because I was in awe of who He is, but rather I wanted something from Him and falsly assumed that if I did the right things and gave Him enough attention that He would finally break and fulfill my selfish desires. THAT IS RELIGION! THAT IS REPUGNANT!

God knows my heart! He knows my mind! He knows my motives and He will not be tricked or deceived by empty worship.

One of the things I’ve been continually praying over the past year or so is for Jesus to continually make my motives pure and if there is ANYTHING in me that is not of Him to help me see it and get it out of my life. It’s not the easiest process to go through but it’s been incredibly liberating!

At the end of the day I am praying that I will not want what I think Jesus can give me…but simply just want Jesus! It’s a battle and I think there will always be a struggle to try and manipulate Him but it simply cannot be done.

So how about you? Are you pursuing Jesus, OR are you just after you believe He can give you? Just something to think about today! I wish I were an expert on this, but I am struggling just like most of you are. However, in His grace, mercy and patience He is blowing my mind as I work through this. I hope you will work through this as well!

Gospel – Centered Life

This summer we will talk a lot about being Gospel-centered as a church and/or community, and I really want to encourage Gospel-centered living amongst the people in our class. From time to time you will we get asked by our newcomers, “What exactly does that mean? What does it look like?” Here is a brief explanation.

The Gospel

Before we jump into gospel-centeredness we need to be clear about the gospel itself. In the simplest of terms the gospel is the life, death and resurrection of Jesus that accomplishes redemption and restoration for all who believe and all of creation. In the simplest way I can state this is the gospel, the “good news,” that God redeems a fallen world by his grace.

Gospel-Centered

Therefore, to be gospel-centered means that that the gospel – and Jesus himself – is our greatest hope and boast, our deepest longing and joy, and our most passionate song and message. It means that the gospel is what defines us as Christians (Gospel Identity), unites us as brothers and sisters (Gospel Community), changes us as sinner/saints and sends us as God’s people on mission (Gospel Practice). When we are gospel-centered the gospel is exalted above every other good thing in our lives and triumphs over every bad thing set against it. I essentially serves as the only filter by which we view the world in which we interact.

More specifically, the gospel-centered life is a life where a Christian experiences a growing personal reliance on the gospel that protects him from depending on his own religious performance and being seduced and overwhelmed by idols. This summer my want and prayer for each of you is that we become gospel-centered and that the subsequent life produces:

Confidence
When the gospel is central in our lives we have confidence before God – not because of our achievements, but because of Christ’s atonement. We can approach God knowing that he receives us as his children. We do not allow our sins to anchor us to guilt and despair, but their very presence in our lives compels us to flee again and again to Christ for grace that restores our spirits and gives us strength.

Intimacy
When the gospel is central in our lives we have and maintain intimacy with God, not because of our religious performance, but because of Jesus’ priestly ministry. We know that Jesus is our mediator with God the Father and that he has made perfect peace for us through his sacrifice allowing us to draw near to God with the eager expectation of receiving grace, not judgment.

Transformation
When the gospel is central in our lives we experience spiritual transformation, not just moral improvement, and this change does not come about by our willpower, but by the power of the resurrection. Our hope for becoming what God designed and desires for us is not trying harder, but trusting more – relying on his truth and Spirit to sanctify us.

Community
When the gospel is central in our lives we long for and discover unity with other believers in the local church, not because of any cultural commonality, but because of our common faith and Savior. It is within this covenant community, if the community itself is gospel-centered, that we experience the kind of fellowship that comforts the afflicted, corrects the wayward, strengthens the weak, and encourages the disheartened.

In Galatians, Paul lays down a powerful principle. He deals with Peter’s racial pride and cowardice by declaring that he was not living “in line with the truth of the gospel”. From this we see that the Christian life is a process of renewing every dimension of our life– spiritual, psychological, corporate, social–by thinking, hoping, and living out the “lines” or ramifications of the Gospel. The Gospel is to be applied to every area of thinking, feeling, relating, working, and behaving. The implications and applications of this idea are vast and deep and I pray that they change us throughout this summer.

A rebuttal to “Five Reasons I Hate Telling People I’m Christian”

Almost every day I work with people who have a past with or a strong aversion to Christianity. Many times the persons actions and words will completely change and they will quickly conform to what they think I would like for them to act like. It is very frustrating! On the other hand some people do not shape up but amplify their behavior in order to get under my skin, disgust me, or just offend me. I find this really funny! People are rarely just themselves when they find out what I want to do and this can be traced to our societies perception of Christians in general.

A while back I read a blog from a fellow blogger named John Smulo. He wrote a post entitled “Five Reasons I Hate Telling People I’m Christian”. As I read this simple post I was struck with this thought, I like his thought provoking post most times but this one I did not ( see what see said please check out his post here). So I wanted to spend some time giving my “Six Reasons I Love Telling People I’m Christian”

When I say, “I am a Christian,” I’m not shouting “I’ve been saved!”I’m whispering, “I was lost. That’s why I chose this way”
When I say, “I am a Christian,” I don’t speak with human pride I’m confessing that I stumble, and need Christ to be my guide.
When I say, “I am a Christian,” I’m not bragging of success I’m admitting that I’ve failed and cannot ever pay the debt.
When I say, “I am a Christian,” I don’t think I know it all I submit to my confusion asking humbly to be taught.
When I say, “I am a Christian,” I’m not claiming to be perfect My flaws are far too visible.
When I say, “I am a Christian,” I still feel the sting of pain I have my share of heartache which is why I seek His name.

Despite the all of the preconceived notions that coincide with the word “Christian” I truly believe that it is my job to represent the one who saved us. The first known usage of the term can be found in the New Testament, in Acts 11:26: “the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.” The term was first used to denote those known or perceived to be disciples of Jesus Christ. In the two other New Testament uses of the word (Acts 26:28 and 1 Peter 4:16) it refers to the public identity of those who follow Jesus. I think that the word should be redefined and fought for by those of us who follow Christ. Because of my skin color many people have presuppositions on who I am and what I do/ sound like. It may not be fair but I refuse to accept those false assumptions as true, neither should we do that with Christ name. We need to live preaching the Gospel to ourselves and living it (through words and actions) to the Glory of God and for His praise.

This is just my opinion I could be wrong!

What do you think? Comment below…..

on Blast!

***Please take a second to [carefully] read this billboard***

A New Mexico man’s decision to lash out with a billboard ad saying his ex-girlfriend had an abortion against his wishes has touched off a legal debate over free speech and privacy rights.

The sign on Alamogordo‘s main thoroughfare shows 35-year-old Greg Fultz holding the outline of an infant. The text reads, “This Would Have Been A Picture Of My 2-Month Old Baby If The Mother Had Decided To Not KILL Our Child!”

Fultz’s ex-girlfriend has taken him to court for harassment and violation of privacy. A domestic court official has recommended the billboard be removed. But Fultz’s attorney argues the order violates his clients free speech rights. “As distasteful and offensive as the sign may be to some, for over 200 years in this country the First Amendment protects distasteful and offensive speech,” Todd Holmes said.

The Supreme Court recently weighed in on the distasteful “Free Speech” of the Westboro [former] Baptist ~~Church~~ Cult and I want you to please respond to what the billboard says.

What do you think is he justified or is this wrong?

Where does your free speech end?

[Doin’ it] Again…

Many nights after I leave work I turn on Pandora and listen to some Neo-Soul on my way home. It is relaxing to me but sometimes the themes of the song catch my ear. Most songs pertain to relationships and one of my favortie artist John Legend has a history of talking about the side that isn’t as popular, cheating. The video below is one of those songs that caught my ear.

In the song Legend implies that their affair is going to end cause it’s wrong, but they eventually ended up in a relationship and now that they are together they can’t trust each other. The problem is they are addicted to each other so it’s hard, if not impossible, for them to walk away from each other. No matter how much they try to end the relationship.

Now, I want you to listen to the song carefully and replace “it” with whatever sin you struggle with. The reason I want you to do this is that this song seems to refer to all types of addictions:

mainly love
relationships
cheating
drama
sex
drugs
basically anything attractive and intoxicating that is potentially toxic.

Keep this in mind: The opposite of [the] worship [of God] is idolatry. Every human being—at every moment of their life, today and into eternity is unceasingly doing either the former or the latter.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtC0rcHkTxE]

Lyrics (if needed)

What are your thoughts after listing to this song?

Does this describe your relationship with [your] sin?

Thinking Theologically About Memorial Day

If you have ever spoken to me about the issue of patriotism & worship you know that I have struggled to find the balance between the two. So many times I feel we as Christ followers mix these and it in turn becomes damaging to our focus in worship. After reading this post I was both affirmed and challegned and pray that you are also. Pastor Kevin DeYoung tackels this subject in exceptional fashion. Please read:

This is post probably has something to make everyone unhappy. But here goes.

With Memorial Day on Monday (in the U.S.) and, no doubt, a number of patriotic services scheduled for this Sunday, I want to offer a few theses on patriotism and the church. Each of these points could be substantially expanded and beg more detailed defense and explanation, but since this is a blog and not a term paper, I’ll try to keep this under 1500 words.

1. Being a Christian does not remove ethnic and national identities.

In Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek, male nor female, slave nor free (Gal. 3:28), but this does not mean men cease to be male or Jews ceases to be Jewish. The worshiping throng gathered around the throne is not a bland mess of Esperanto Christians in matching khaki pants and white polos. God makes us one in Christ, but that oneness does not mean we can no longer recognize tribes, tongues, nations, and peoples in heaven. If you don’t have to renounce being an American in heaven, you shouldn’t have to pretend you aren’t one now.

2. Patriotism, like other earthly “prides,” can be a virtue or vice.

Most people love their families. Many people love their schools, their home, and their sports teams. All of these loves can be appropriate. In making us for himself, God did mean to eradicate all other loves. Instead he wants those loves to be purer and in right proportion to our ultimate Love. Adam and Eve should have loved the Garden. God didn’t intend for them to be so “spiritual” that they were blind to the goodness around them. In the same way, where there is good in our country or family it is right to have affection and display affection for those good things.

Of course, we can turn patriotism into an idol, just like family can be an idol. But being proud of your country (or proud to be an American or a Canadian or a Russian or whatever) is not inherently worse than being proud of your kids or proud to be a Smith or a Jones or a Dostoevsky. I find it strange that while it is fashionable to love your city, be proud of your city, and talk about transforming your city, it is, for some of the same people, quite gauche to love your country, be proud of your country, and talk about transforming your country.

3. Allegiance to God and allegiance to your country are not inherently incompatible.

Sometimes Christians talk like you should have no loyalty for your country, as if love for your country was always a bad thing. To be sure, this must never be ultimate loyalty. We must always obey God rather than men. But most Christians have understood the fifth commandment to be about honoring not only your parents but all those in authority over you.

Moreover, Jesus shows its possible to honor God and honor Caesar. This is especially clear if you know some of the Jewish history. The tax in question in Mark 12 is about the poll tax or census tax. It was first instituted in AD 6, not too many years before Jesus’ ministry. When it was established a man by the name of Judas of Galilee led a revolt. According to Josephus, “He called his fellow countrymen cowards for being willing to pay tribute to the Romans and for putting up with mortal masters in place of God.” Like the Zealots, he believed allegiance to God and allegiance to any earthly government were fundamentally incompatible. As far as they were concerned if God was your king, you couldn’t have an earthly king.

But Jesus completely disagreed. By telling the people to “render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s” he was saying there are duties to government that do not infringe on your ultimate duty to God. It’s possible to honor lesser authorities in good conscience because they have been instituted by a greater authority.

If you read all that the New Testament says about governing authorities in places like Romans 13 and 1 Peter 2, you see that the normal situation is one of compatible loyalties. The church is not the state and the state is not God, but this does not mean the church must always be against the state. In general, then, it’s possible to be a good Christian and a good American, or a good Ghanaian or a good Korean. Patriotism is not bad. Singing your national anthem and getting choked up is not bad. Allegiance to God and allegiance to your country do not have to be at odds.

4. God’s people are not tied to any one nation.

When Jesus says “go ahead and give to Caesar what belongs to him” he is effectively saying, “you can support nations that do not formally worship the one true God.” Or to put it a different way: true religion is not bound with only one country. This means–as we see in Revelation 7 and Isaiah 49 and Psalm 87 and Matthew 28 and Acts 1and a hundred other places–the Church will be transcultural and transnational.

While American churches are in America, they must never be only American churches. We must keep in mind (and when applicable, explicitly state) that our congregations are filled with brothers and sisters from all over the world. Likewise, we must work hard to help people see that Christianity is not just a Western religion or American religion. Christianity started in the Middle East and quickly spread to North Africa, and parts of Asia and Europe. The Church was always meant to be international. Today there are more Anglicans in church in Nigeria than in England, more Presbyterians in South Korea than in the United States. The promise to Abraham way back in Genesis is that through his family God would bless the whole world. Christianity is not tied to just one certain nation. Following Christ is not an ethnic thing. You can be from any country and worship Jesus.

5. All this leads to one final point: while patriotism can be good, the church is not a good place for patriotism.

We should pray for service men and women in our congregations. We should pray for the President. We should pray for the just cause to triumph over the evil one. We are not moral relativists. We do not believe just because all people are sinners and all nations are sinful that no person or no nation can be more righteous or more wicked than another. God may be on America’s side in some (not all) her endeavors.

But please think twice before putting on a Star Spangled gala in church this Sunday. I love to hear the national anthem and “God Bless America” and “My Country, Tis of Thee,” but not in church where the nations gather to worship the King of all peoples. I love to see the presentation of colors and salute our veterans, but these would be better at the Memorial Day parade or during a time of remembrance at the cemetery. Earthly worship should reflect the on-going worship in heaven. And while there are many Americans singing glorious songs to Jesus there, they are not singing songs about the glories of America. We must hold to the traditions of the Apostles in our worship, not the traditions of American history. The church should not ask of her people what is not required in Scripture. So how can we ask the Koreans and Chinese and Mexicans and South Africans in our churches to pledge allegiance to a flag that is not theirs? Are we gathered under the banner of Christ or another banner? Is the church of Jesus Christ–our Jewish Lord and Savior–for those draped in the red, white, and blue or for those washed in the blood of the Lamb?

In some parts of the church, every hint of patriotism makes you a jingoistic idolater. You are allowed to love every country except your own. But in other parts of the church, true religion blends too comfortably into civil religion. You are allowed to worship in our services as long as you love America as much as we do. I don’t claim to have arrived at the golden mean, but I imagine many churches could stand to think more carefully about their theology of God and country. Churches should be glad to have their members celebrate Memorial Day with gusto this Monday. We should be less sanguine about celebrating it with pomp and circumstance on Sunday.

I would love to hear your thoughts below!

HT: Kevin Deyoung

Preach the Gospel always, when necessary use words?

This quote, or some variation of it, is attributed to St. Francis of Assisi, is one of the many threats to evangelism today. Now to be fair to St. Francis, there’s no evidence that he himself ever said this quote. It’s not in any of his writings and is a little pithy for someone of the Franciscan order. Although it does bear some resemblance to a line in his 1221 Rule:

“Let all the brothers, however, preach by their deeds” – Chapter XVII.

Even if St. Francis didn’t exactly speak the above saying, it certainly is Franciscan in style and a wonderful sentiment. Actions often do speak louder than words. Quite often, the only Gospel any non-Christian is going to “read” is the life of a Christian they encounter on their way through life. A life lived in stark contrast to the standards of the world speaks much more loudly than any moralizing sermon.

On the other hand it plays to our fear of speaking about Jesus, and to our sense of weakness and insufficiency to the task. I can’t help but wonder how often we use this pithy saying as an excuse for our lack of efforts in evangelism. It’s all very well saying that we prefer to preach the Gospel with our actions, but what exactly are these actions of ours which are preaching the Gospel? Do we regularly make a conscious effort in our actions to preach the Gospel? How exactly does preaching the Gospel with our actions make us different than the Mormon, Jew, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, etc? Are they not more consistently “better people”?
As you can see I believe this line of thinking and action is fundamentally flawed at so many levels. Let me deal with few ways I see this. Let me say whether St. Francis said it, or whether it contains useful teaching isn’t my point. My concern is the way it is applied.

First, why do you need to tell me not to use words?
It is endemic of assumed evangelicalism that we forget that each of us how know about Jesus did once hear about him. People insist on preaching that we need no preaching, this is very like the postmodern wordsmiths who proclaim the meaningless of words – and yet expect their own words to be clearly understood! People complain about indoctrination, but indoctrinating just means teaching – and everyone gets taught, and everyone has doctrines.

Second, the Bible makes it clear that Words are always necessary.
The very existence of the Bible indicates God’s express intent to communicate with words. But more than that that it is by the speaking of the good news about Jesus that people will come to believe. In a society that still carries a little Christian-Culture we might forget our need to hear – but the fact remains that what we know is only known because we have been told. It is by God’s spoken word that we know anything definitive about people. The first thing God did was speak, and his people are told to speak too. Paul’s final word to Timothy (2 Tim 4:2) wasn’t do the washing up, it was ‘preach the word’.

Third, using Words is not an alternative to living the life
Those who prohibit use of words do so in favour of living distinctively. This is a false distinction. It is not an option as to either preach or live, both are required! A related issue is, what does a life look like that is changed by Jesus. My suspicion is that its more than just moral respectability – we are probably more compromised with our western culture than we dare to admit. Without words people will not guess that we are Christian- since they will not know what Christian is. With only words our faith will not carry half the impact – Christians should be at the forefront of making the most of life, living it the way it should be, in the arts, creativity, justice and joy… for the glory of the gospel of Christ. How that works in practice is something we need to wrestle with! If we follow the ‘great comission’ in Matthew 28 the result will be both preachers and teachers but also those who live in accordance with Jesus’ teaching. Live and speak.

Fourth, Jesus told us to preach, disciple and teach.
All of these things require speaking and using words. The word revealed message of Jesus has to be verbally explained. The apostles in Acts prove, persuade and convince people about Jesus, and while it takes God to open eyes we are still to present the case. We should use words with care and seriousness that reflects what we’re speaking about. Preaching is not an excuse for excessive confrontation or any rudeness in our explaining about Jesus. We should be clear and respectful, though we will inevitably cause some offense. (c.f. 2 Timothy 4:2, or Matthew 28:19-20)

Fifth, yes, the message is offensive and foolish.
Often we appeal to St. Francis’ words because we look at the messages of the world and think they are superior to ours… ultimately God gives us wisdom to confound the world’s wisdom, and wisdom which Jesus himself says will not be understood by lots of people. People are blind to Jesus message, blinded by sin and by satan. But when the gospel is spoken God re-creates and heals this blindness. 1 Corinthians 1:18 shows the folly of the gospel that generations have rejected because it didn’t suit their itching ears (c.f. 2 Timothy 4:4).

Sixth, even if preaching is illegal we must do it.
The first apostles were banned from speaking about Jesus, they could not comply with this kind of request. Preaching the gospel might mean we end up in prison – that is just part of the deal. (c.f. Acts 4:19-20).

The purpose of good deeds is not to enhance a verbal proclamation, the purpose of good deeds is to glorify God and love others. That’s it. However, a potential benefit of good deeds is that people will ask questions and become receptive to a verbal explanation of the gospel. Words are still necessary and this is an often missed, yet powerful point to the St. Francis of Assisi quote. “When necessary, use words” means that words are often necessary.

Imagine someone asking you a question, then you stare at them in silence. Who knows what they would interpret from your silence. For better or worse, words are required to explain concepts and provide answers.

Therefore, an appropriate distinction is between verbal proclamation (word) and social service (deed). Yet there is no inherent superiority or inferiority to either. They seamlessly integrate together to equal effective ministry. Good deeds prompt questions. This is why Peter instructed his readers to do good and then followed by saying, “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have (1 Peter 3:15).” If we do good deeds then we need to be ready to say why we do them. The questions will come and if not, we have to ask ourselves what is wrong when no one asks questions to which the gospel is the answer.

Usama bin Laden and the Christian response

** Dear reader, this post is meant to engender thought within the Christ follower. You may find this offensive but if you do please ask yourself why. I am not writing this to anger anyone and if I have please accept my deepest apology.**

A little over a week ago I was at work trying to finish up the night and avoid further talk about the now Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (William and Catherine) when I received some text from my wife.

“President to address nation shortly odd”

“Fox [News] is saying [Usama] bin Laden is dead”

I quickly began to internally celebrate, that then spilled over to my coworkers. We discussed whether or not the text could be true. I jumped on my phone to find Twitter ablaze with speculations and “proof” one way or another, so I quickly finished my work and jumped into my car and listened to the radio on the way home ( I already listen to talk radio so no need to switch channels). That night I had not eaten so I dropped by a Burger King drive-through. Ironically, the young lady who served me told me that she, and some of her relatives had served in the military. She was really excited to hear our presidents remarks. I gave her a high five and drove away expectantly.

As I drove I listened intently to the evidence, when I reached home we stayed up for our Presidents speech and then sat and discussed the repercussions with my wife. At the same time I was reading Twitter feeds and even making some statements myself (wise or not) about the current situation. Very quickly, between Facebook, Twitter, and the images on the TV, things were becoming disturbing. My wife and I started to have a conversation that trickled over the next few days on whether our response was right. It started with relief espoused by the broadcasters, and quickly diminished into wild celebrations, and I quickly started to ask, “Is this celebration more about ‘Justice’ or ‘Vengeance'”?

Justice is the concept of moral rightness based on ethics, rationality, law, natural law, religion, fairness, or equity, along with the punishment of the breach of said ethics.

Vengeance is a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance, be it real or perceived. It is also called “payback”. Although revenge resembles some conceptions of justice, vengeance is usually depicted as more injurious and punitive as opposed to being harmonious and restorative.

Usama bin Laden was the one human being most responsible for a series of terrorist attacks, including the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States — attacks that left more than 3,000 American civilians dead. He claimed such responsibility and pledged future attacks. The death of bin Laden was fully justified as an act of war, but not as an act of justice. The removal of a credible threat to human life — a clear and present danger to human safety — is fully justified, especially after such an individual has demonstrated not only the will, but the means to effect murder on a massive scale.

There are two troubling aspects that linger from that night. The first is the open patriotic celebration in the streets. While we should all be glad that this significant threat is now removed, death in itself is never to be celebrated. Such celebration points to the danger of revenge as a powerful human emotion and revenge has no place among those who honor justice. Retributive justice is sober justice (please read that again) Retributive justice is sober justice. The reason for this is simple — God is capable of vengeance, which is perfectly true to his own righteousness and perfection and as HE has stated multiple times in scripture — but we human beings are not. Furthermore, this type of celebration looks far more like revenge in the eyes of a watching world, and it looks far more like we are simply taking satisfaction in the death of an enemy. In my opinion and historically that type of revenge just produces a greater numbers of enemies.

We tend toward the mismeasure of justice when it comes to settling our own claims. All people of good will should be pleased that bin Laden is no longer a personal threat, and that his death may further weaken terrorist plans but revenge is not a worthy motivation for justice, and celebration in the streets is not a worthy response.

The second, and most troubling aspect, is just part of what it means to live in a world in which true justice is always elusive. Usama bin Laden is dead, but we never had the satisfaction of seeing him arrested, tried, convicted, and sentenced. We were robbed of the satisfaction of seeing the evidence against him laid out, and seeing him have to answer the world about his murderous actions and plans. The victims families were robbed. We were robbed of the moral satisfaction that comes by means of a fair and clear verdict, followed by a just and appropriate sentence.

Once again, Christians are reminded of the inherent limitations of justice in a fallen and sinful world. At our very best, we can achieve only a small proportion of adequate justice in our time here on earth. We can convict the murderer and put them to death, but we cannot bring the dead back to life. We can put an end to Usama bin Laden, but we are robbed of the satisfaction of seeing him answer for his crimes.

I have had the chance to discuss this extensively with some people I work with, my wife, and some friends and I [personally] have come to this conclusion. As a Christ – follower we are left with a sense that a higher court is still needed. Everyone knows that Usama bin Laden escaped the [full] reach of full human justice and a trial for his crimes, but we Christ-followers understand he will not escape the judgment that is to come. Bin Laden will not escape his trial before the court of God and judgement therein, but until that time, sober satisfaction must be enough for those still in the land of the living.

** I would love to know your thoughts in the comments below**

Why religion is silly…

“Religion is the default mode of the human heart”

– Martin Luther

You have heard me for years say that religion is silly and here is why. Religion seeks to answer a very important question, “How can we who are unholy and unrighteous be declared holy and acceptable in the sight of a holy and righteous God?” Religion asks the right question and provides the wrong answer. They say, “What should we do to make ourselves holy? What should we do to make ourselves righteous?” While asking these questions they miss Jesus, who makes them holy and makes them righteous. While they build traditions and rules and regulations in an effort to perform their way to pleasing God. I just wanted to show you the extreme version of religion in our world and how it just becomes silly. We’re all prone to go toward religion. And in varying ways, at varying times, to varying degrees, we’re all religious. So when we read about religious people, we can’t simply criticize them. We also need to examine ourselves.

“Religious paper apologizes for erasing Clinton from iconic photo” By Jessica Ravitz, CNN

(CNN) – Faith has outweighed fact at Di Tzeitung, a Hasidic newspaper based in Brooklyn, New York. The ultra-Orthodox Jewish publication ran a doctored copy of the iconic “Situation Room Photo” last Friday – you know, the one taken of President Barack Obama and his national security team during the raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound. Scrubbed from the picture: the two women in the room. It’s as if Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, with her hand clasped over her mouth, and Audrey Tomason, director of counterterrorism, weren’t there and weren’t part of history.

Here they are for comparison:

[I]n a written statement issued Monday afternoon by Di Tzeitung, the newspaper said that its decision to leave women out of photos is religiously mandated and that the right to do so is protected by the U.S. Constitution. “The First Amendment to the Constitution guarantees freedom of religion. That has precedence even to our cherished freedom of the press,” the statement said. “Publishing a newspaper is a big responsibility, and our policies are guided by a Rabbinical Board. “Because of laws of modesty, we are not allowed to publish pictures of women, and we regret if this gives an impression of disparaging women, which is certainly never our intention,” it continued. “We apologize if this was seen as offensive.”