Life Moves Pretty Fast

Yesterday my daughter turned 8, it seemed like yesterday we were bringing her home from the hospital. And it seems like nothing more than a blink since she took her first steps or said her first word. I remember when the most important things in her life were Dora the Explorer and coloring, now she plays volleyball and acts in the community theater. Not long ago we had the birthday party of her choice. It was a princess dance and tea party. This year she is considering bowling or maybe swimming.

I remember how excited she was for her first day of school, and now she has landed herself on Pastor’s Honor Roll. To top it off, on the way to her birthday dinner tonight, she asked me where she should go to college. At least she told me she wanted me to pick her college out. (I probably should have gotten that in writing.)

Although Emmy spent years as my baby, I have another baby at home now, and she is already 6 months old.

And I am sure in what will seem like only days, she will be turning 8, and I’ll be helping Emmy with her college exams. And in just a few more blinks of the eye they will be all grown up, and I’ll be wishing I could change just one more dirty diaper, or get just one more princess hug.

There is great truth is what Ferris Bueller once said: “Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

The apostle James said it even better in James 4:14 where he wrote “Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.”

I love the time I spend with my daughters, and the rest of my family. It’s the best times I have during the week, but how depressing it would be if this was it? If all I had with my kids was a couple eye blinks, if all the time I had with my amazing wife just a vapor being here today and gone tomorrow?

Luckily, that is not the case. My daughter has decided to follow Jesus. She turned her life over to Jesus, and recently had asked to follow Him in baptism as well. My son has also followed Jesus. And my wife had been following Him her whole life. Someday, I believe Belle will also follow her Savior. Which means this life is not all there is. I may be sad to watch my kids grow up, but I have more than just the 40 or 50 years with them. I will spend an eternity in heaven with them all.

To think it must be sad, to have only this world to look forward to. Kids that only grow up and leave. Relationships that only last for a number of years, until like a vapor they vanish away…

In Defense of Doctrine

As I sat down to write this post, I have been toying with the title, as I know just using the word doctrine in the title will probably lower the number of people who will ever read it. I thought perhaps I would entitle it “Tim’s Awesome Thoughts on Awesome Church Stuff”. But then decided I would be just as guilty of shying away from doctrine as much of the modern church today.

So, where am I coming from, you ask? Well I recently read a blog written by a good friend of mine, (Which I will link to at the bottom*). Now before I go any further, let me say this friend is a good Christian man, and one of the stronger Christians I know, but in his post he was getting caught up in the church’s current attacks against doctrine. I will say he, like many modern evangelical churches, has not thrown the baby out with the bath water, but he has downplayed the importance of doctrine in our lives.

In his main point, the writer seems to suggest that we should be wary that doctrine is dangerous because doctrine is constantly changing, as man (its writer) is fickle and double minded. However, core doctrines

have not changed aside from wording over the past 1700 years or so. The early church in the early years met to define things like the trinity, the deity of Jesus and the path of salvation. Men fought heresy and died for their beliefs. These beliefs were not fickle or double minded, they were inspired directly from the word of God.

I will concede that some churches have perhaps gone over the line; they place extra biblical things among their core doctrinal beliefs. But that doesn’t take away from the ultimate importance of having a foundation in Bible doctrine. As Christians, when we chose a body of believers we associate ourselves with them, we say we stand by them and support their beliefs.

Will a belief that faith alone in Jesus Christ will get us to heaven cause division? Yes! Will a belief in the Holy Trinity cause divisions? Yes! Will a belief in the virgin birth cause division among us? Yes! And you know what? That’s okay. There are core doctrines of the Bible that are foundational to being a Christian. We should remember, being a Christian is being a little Jesus. We must understand what that means; we must understand who Jesus is. It’s not just about a feeling we have when we read the Bible. It is about a relationship we have in Jesus. And how can we have that relationship, without an understanding of who he is? For us to say we are Christians without any desire to know or understand doctrine, would be like me telling my wife I wanted to marry her; but I didn’t want to know anything about her.

Today, many evangelical churches have done away with doctrine. In an effort to welcome everyone, they

have done away with core beliefs, instead allowing their members to just believe whatever they want. This seems to go hand in hand with the direction our country is taking as the church joins them in beliefs of post modernism, and moral relativism. And what happens when we get rid of church doctrine? Well, let’s start with the Prosperity Doctrine, or the Emergent Movement. When we get rid of the truth of doctrine, we allow any crazy belief to take its place.

As I close I would say, don’t trust me in the importance of doctrine, but trust the Word of God. In Acts chapter 2:14-40 we see Peter’s message at Pentecost. In verse 41, we see the start of the modern church.

41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.

42 And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.

Notice what the early church thought was important. They were saved then started to gather together to study doctrine and pray. Let us continue to hold doctrine in the same light.

* http://still-unfinished.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-point-we-have-missed-it.html

Evolution vs. God

Yesterday I finally watched the video Evolution vs. God with Ray Comfort.  In this video, Ray chats with a number of the nation’s leading experts on evolution as well as a large number of college students going into the sciences.  Throughout these interviews, Ray continues to ask for proof of evolution.  Simply put, one example of one type of animal becoming another.  Not just a mutation as we have seen even in our time, changes in bacteria, or types of birds that change to better live in an environment.  Ray however is looking for a change of type; just one example of a fish becoming a cat, or a cat becoming a monkey.

Surprising to some, not surprising to others, none of the college students could think of any such examples of evolution.  Despite having an extensive fossil record to look at, and evolution apparently taking billions and billions of years we have no winged t-rex, or gilled monkeys.  The students however had faith they must exist.  The professors however had a different outlook on things.  They felt it was absurd to ask for proof like that, because it simply did not exist. 

By the end of the interview, these experts were admitting what we already know.  Evolution is not a scientific

fact, there is no proof that we all evolved out of nothing.  All we have, in fact, is an untestable theory.  By the end of the conversation, even these experts had to admit it requires a certain amount of faith to believe in evolution.

Today, many Christians are buying into Evolution.  Why?  Perhaps because it is now taught as fact in our schools and colleges, despite being nothing more than a theory.  Perhaps because many Christians today want to be more and more accepted by their unsaved piers.  Instead of standing up to the truths found in the Scriptures, they try to combine their faith with this worldly “science”.  In doing so they have come up with ideas like Theistic Evolution, choosing to believe that God started things creating a “big bang” then stepped back and let things happen how they may, until Adam finally evolved from a monkey and then Eve shortly thereafter. 

As Christians, it is important that we stand up against allowing these ideas of humanism to take root in our core beliefs.  The first thing we learn in Sunday School, the first thing we learn in VBS.  The first words written in God’s message to us:

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

When we speak with our evolutionist friends and families, let’s stand up for our beliefs.  Ask them to show you the proof.  Just one cat evolving into a cow… just one.  When they can’t, get them to admit the truth they have known all along, that they are putting their faith in the wisdom of man, over the wisdom of God.  

Our Good is Never Good Enough

Even a pastor has to unwind every so often, and one thing I love to do is local theater. So when it was announced that Hillsdale Community Theater would be performing Miracle on 34th Street, I decided to try out. Auditions took place over two nights, and after Sunday night’s auditions, I was feeling great about my chances at a principle part. There weren't a lot of guys auditioning, and with my 10 plays worth of experience I felt looked like the savvy vet against a lot of newcomers.

Monday night I returned, to do some additional reading, maybe see the competition. Well I saw the competition and I no longer looked so shiny. My ten plays worth of experience didn't hold a lamp to the dozens and dozens these guys had. Their monologues were crisp, their reading on point. Suddenly, I am longer thinking about which lead part I will land, but wondering if I was good enough to even make the show.

This made me think a lot about something I read by Ray Comfort this week:

“A little girl was once looking at a sheep as it ate green grass. She thought to herself how nice and white the sheep looked against the green grass. Then it began to snow. The little girl then thought how dirty the sheep looked against the white snow. It was the same sheep, but with a different background. When we compare ourselves to the background of man’s standards, we come up reasonably clean. However, when we compare ourselves to the snow-white righteousness of the Law of God (the Ten Commandments), we see that “we are all as an unclean thing, and our righteous deeds are as filthy rags”” - (see Isaiah 64:6). From, The Evidence Bible.

You know sometimes when we work in the secular world, or live in a secular community it can be easy to look around and see how good we are, we don’t swear, download movies illegally or smack our wives. On top of that we attend church three out of every four Sundays, we help out at the local soup kitchen, and listen to almost only Christian music. Compared to the world, our lives may look shiny white. But God doesn't compare us to the world. Instead we are compared to his perfect law, found in the Ten Commandments, and once we have broken just one law, we are 100% guilty. James 2:10 tells us: “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.”

We may look great when we stand next to the world, but when compared to God’s perfect standard, we look all dirty. None of us are good enough.

Lucky for us, although a director will never look at me and see Sly Stallone, if we have repented and turned our lives over to Him, when God sees us he can see the only one who meets his standards… Jesus.

The Good, Yet Troubling News

I posted an article on Facebook earlier this week.  The news story spoke of a young man who managed

Dairy Queen.  After seeing someone steal $20.00 dollars from an older patron, He refused to serve the thief, and repaid the patron out of his own pocket.  (I have linked to the story below.) 

Now as I stated several times, I am happy this young man did the right thing, and I am happy he has gotten to be recognized for his good deed.  Our country needs more people like this man.  But that is also my concern.  Why is this such a big story, and why is this guy receiving so much attention for just doing what each of us should do in that situation?

For an event to be news worthy, it has to be outside of the normal, or as Webster says, it must be of sufficient interest to the public to warrant press coverage.  If I eat cereal for breakfast or mow my lawn, this warrants no news coverage.   So why does someone doing exactly what they should be doing warrant this type of coverage?  Well, quite frankly if people acted as they should in life, it wouldn't.

We live in a country today where the majority of its populace will still claim its Christian heritage, yet few truly understand what this means.  Instead, lying, cheating, and stealing have become commonplace.  We are taught from a young age to look out for number one,  to put our happiness above all others.

On top of that, we have done away with right and wrong, and basic truth.  We spout a post-modern dribble that there is no absolute truth.  What’s right for you may not be right for me.  And how can I ever impose my beliefs upon you.  When morality stops being taught as right or wrong and only shades of gray, we end up with a culture where it’s a time to celebrate when someone does a good deed, and not just expected that people will.

Jesus gave us a rule to follow.  John 14:15 Jesus tells his disciples, “if you love me, keep my commandments”.  He didn't mess around with gray areas; He didn't worry about offending someone who didn't want to live by His truth.  What commands did Jesus speak?  First, that we should love the Lord your God with all your heart.  The second, we should love our neighbor as ourselves. 

I am happy for this young Dairy Queen employee, receiving all the attention.  However, it concerns me as well.  If the people of this country, who claimed the name of Christ, followed His teaching, then doing the right thing would no longer be a news worthy event. 

News Story: http://www.wbay.com/story/23478689/minnesota-dq-managers-good-deed-gets-attention

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