Hammer on Anvil '

Showing posts with label Bible. Show all posts

You Can't Prepare for a Marathon in a Day

Posted in Bible, jesus, Prayer, running By Unknown 0 comments

Lately I've been running again. I absolutely enjoy running.

Once you get passed the achy body, being out of breath, knee injuries, people almost hitting your with their cars, heat exhaustion, freezing your lungs when it's cold out, or fighting the urge to throw up, it's really not so bad.

I encounter a problem when I start running again though. You see, in high school, I ran cross country and track. My best mile times were sub 5 mins and my best 5Ks were 17:13. I was 2 years all state and one of the best on our team. I don't say that to brag, I say that to say when I start back up now, that's what I expect.

I haven't run super consistently since high school. But when I start each time I expect myself to go out and run 6 or 7 miles at a 7 minute mile pace. I expect to have no injuries and to immediately slim down. Then I get frustrated when that is not the case.

So often, I stop for another couple months and try at it again, just to "fail" all over.

I think a lot of us treat our walk with Christ that way. We look at others and see how much time they spend in prayer or how much Bible reading they do and we get really excited. We think "Wow I can do that!" Then we jump right in and it's not as easy as we thought.

We fall asleep while praying.

We have trouble focusing on 6 chapters of Leviticus.

We miss a day here or there.

Then we think "I must not be cut out for this!" and we just stop doing it all together.

But just like exercise, we need to start out slowly. We can't go from eating potato chips every day while sitting in the office chair to running a marathon in a week. Neither can we go from not practicing spiritual disciplines to doing them all diligently right away.

Find an area of your life. Maybe it's Bible reading. Perhaps it's prayer. Maybe you feel you need to work on some of the Fruit of the Spirit. Whatever it may be, start out slow. Work on one fruit for a while til you get it down.

If we start out to quickly or expect too much, we will get frustrated and "fail." Don't do that to yourself. Growing in Christ is going to take practice and "exercise." So start working those muscles little by little.

Star Wars, facebook and conservative beat downs.

Posted in Bible, Christian culture, Hannah's post, Star Wars By Hannah 2 comments

Sometimes being a Christian and being a liberal makes Facebook feel a lot like an abusive relationship. For the most part that's why I try to avoid posting anything that will spark debate. I've learned my lesson to watch myself around believers that enjoy Fox News and spend more time on the the web than in the Word. Ya'll go for the throat, and for that reason I will choose peace over posting my opinion any day.

With that said, I feel like this blog needs to be out here. If I offend you, I am sorry. My intention is never to offend, but I do think some, if not all of us, could do with some rattling up of our old rusty dusties.

A few months back, I posted something about my kids and Star Wars - something I believed was simple and fluffy, nothing to get vexed about. But alas, as I have learned time and time agian, you can be the fluffiest, most tasty marshmallow in the universe and there will always be someone who hates marshmallows. All in all, I wasn't too shocked when a well-meaning, but obnoxiously self-righteous acquaintance sent me a message with her concerns for my children. She told me that she would never let her children watch Star Wars, or "be subjected to that kind of violence." I replied and thanked her for her opinion. She then sent me links to how make-believe, sci-fi and fiction lead to Satan. Eyerolls, but whatever. Later that week she posted about her boys and how they love to play Bible characters. That's kinda cute. She gushed, "They get in the biggest tiffs about who can be Abraham and who can be Isaac." Luckily, this whole thing was via web, so this poor gal didn't see my horrified expression. I thought to myself, Uh, your kids like to reenact a time when a father was asked to sacrifice his son on an altar for the Lord, and you think two dudes in robes, swirling and prancing with light sticks is too violent?That's weird, lady.

And here the argument lies: Why are we so dainty with current media, but feel the Bible is somehow less graphic?

Star Wars is indeed violent. It is up to you as a person (or parent) to decide what is and what is not appropriate for consumption, but I don't feel watching or reading something that depicts a sin, is in itself sinful. Then again, I was raised on the Bible and Star Wars, so naturally, I am a real warped old lady. To me there is nothing in Star Wars that is more upsetting than hearing about our precious Jesus being whipped unconscious. We Christians believe that the Bible is 100% truth, and since Star Wars is mere science fiction, I can totally see why most parents would deem it unnecessary to force (tee-hee) kids to watch it or anything with such needless violence. But even with divine inspiration, are the images and themes of the Bible any less disturbing or graphic? Western Christianity, predominately conservative evangelicals, will tell you there are lots of taboos in media ("questionable entertainment" anyone?) while totally being okay with reading about Tamar and her nasty brother. Doesn't this make us sound finicky and hypocritical? It sure makes me wonder.

The themes and ideas that our faith is based upon are not subjects for the faint at heart, friend. We celebrate being "washed in the blood," for crying out loud! I do not intend to diminish any of the importance of that act or hymn to our faith, but remove the sacred faith, and those are about the creepiest lyrics ever sung. I remember being a secretly morbid kid (with an awesome vocabulary - Thanks, Mom!), singing that old hymn, looking around, and being like, "You morose people." And as I got older, every time I heard that song I fought not to think of some terrifying image like Elizabeth Bathory soaking in a tub of virgin blood.

What's the point of this? I want believers to quit being so precious. I know you are to stay pure, but let's stop pretending the Bible wouldn't be rated NC-17 if it were made into an actual film. That lame History Channel version isn't even close, friends. Those holy words of our Bible are wonky with graphic images, terrifying battles and absolutely horrific humans. There are stories of rape and terror, and spikes going through skulls and lots and lots of evil Pharaohs killing babies. It's crazy violent, guys. We are supposed to read it every day. So why are you getting huffy over an occasional Yoda?

Let's get off our land speeder here and actually listen to what we are saying.

This week Easter is approaching, and with it come all the cantatas and reenactments. If you are attending a spectacle of some sort, check your heart as you look up at the scandalous tree that our Savior was tortured on. Let's be broken for what it means, and realize that what is important and sacred to us, might sound terrifying and weird to everyone that doesn't believe. Along with that, let's also realize, America, more and more people don't believe in Jesus. You know why I think that is? Because, as Johnny Cash sings, we've become so "Heavenly bound, we are no earthly good." We troll websites to tout big church words as we praise and complain in the same sentence. We set up large limits and make up new rules, because we are afraid to admit that somehow, somewhere, we went so wrong. We've pretended for years to have it all figured out when, honestly, what the universal church needs to do is simply admit we don't have a clue. We don't know, guys. That's why it's called faith. As Macklemore would so eloquently rap, "America the brave, still fears what we don't know." We are afraid. And you know what fear leads to? Anger. Anger leads to hate and hate leads to suffering. Preach it, Jedi Master.

Christians, we say we have The Answer, but we statistically have just as many divorces, hurts, failures, crimes and problems as the people we claim to be set apart from. We need to own up to that. Friends, I say it again, you are no less human when you become a believer. If our actions don't illustrate the love of God, our words are useless, our faith is fussy and we have once again failed. We need to get on our face before the Lord and apologize for making such a hot mess out of His grace.

At the end of the day, when all is said and sad, it's you who makes the choice to follow, believe and trust in the Lord. He will remain, regardless if you believe, follow or trust. So stop getting all tender when people don't want to follow along with what you are doing, especially if you look like Grouchy Pants McGee. It's awesome if you want to share your faith, but allow Christ be in your actions, or your words will be worthless.

This weekend is an important holiday to our faith. Sure, it may or may not be placed on the calendar right, or whatever, but take time to remember what you deserve. You deserve death. But our Heavenly Father, the God of love and provision, provided Jesus and Jesus took your place. That's a pretty life-changing gift. Act like it. Don't start picking apart someone else because they are sinning differently than you. Faith is personal. Focus on your relationship with the Lord, and stop worrying about who lets their kids play Han Solo.

Study the Genuine Teachings

Posted in 1 John, Bible, Brandon's Posts, False Teachers By Unknown 0 comments

Today I'm posting a blog I wrote about one year ago. It was right after attending the Missouri Christian Convention for the first time. In light of all the discussions I was reading last night, I think it's a good one to post today. So before I start rambling and write a post before I put up the other, here it is:

Study the Genuine Teachings.

This weekend I had the privilege of going to the Missouri Christian Convention. I have heard lots of great stuff about his convention in the past but this was the first year I was able to attend.

It was definitely worth the trip.

Not only was the convention held at a beautiful resort in Osage Beach, MO but the content of the convention was amazing as well.

There was one set of Workshops that my wife and I decided to attend. They were being taught by one of our old professors, Mr. Reese. He spent about 4 hours total going through the book of 1 John. I loved every moment of it.

1 John was written to the church to help guard them against false teachers. These teachers were mixing different sorts of religious ideas and saying that they were the only truth.

They taught that Jesus did not save you but that salvation came through their particular brand of knowledge.

One of the pleas that John offers is that Christians would cling on to the teachings that they had from the beginning. He implores them to not forsake what they have been taught by Jesus and the Apostles but that they would hold steadfast and not be tempted to falter away to these other teachings.

Mr. Reese used an example to illustrate the point here. There are people who's job it is to detect counterfeit money. They become so good at identifying the counterfeit they can spot it very quickly. How do you think they are able to identify it? Is it by studying all the different kinds of counterfeit? No! They study and get to know the genuine bills so well that they can even tell a counterfeit blindfolded.

That's how it should be with us and the word of God!

We should know God's word and His teachings so well that we can recognize when someone is teaching something false. The "counterfeit" teaching will stand out like Waldo on a blank page (I'm still waiting for that picture, then I would finally be able to find him).

It is so important that we do not fall away to false teachings. They are everywhere. They penetrate our culture as well as our churches and we must stand guard against them.

But we can only stand guard against them if we can identify them when they appear.

And we can only identify them if we immerse ourselves in the true and genuine teachings of God.

What are you doing to guard yourself against false teachings?

What Did He Mean?

Posted in AIM, Bible, Brandon's Posts, Scripture By Unknown 0 comments

My wife and I were reading our Bible together and doing a little discussing. I don't even remember why, but I looked at her and said "All things are possible with God!"

She answered, "that is not what that verse means. It's talking about salvation."

This got us thinking about all the verses people use out of context...but I'm getting ahead of myself.

The Bible is a group of letters or historical records written for or to certain groups of people. When reading the Bible it is so very important for us to remember that. Because it is true that "All Scripture is God-breathed" (2 Tim 3:16), not all Scripture quite applies to our lives the same way.

Take, for instance, at the end of the second letter we have that Paul wrote to Timothy. In chapter 4 verse 13 he says, "When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, and my scrolls, especially the parchments." It would be ridiculous for us to try and track down the coat, scrolls, and parchments and then try to find Paul. This verse is one that we simply do not follow. It would be taking the verse out of context.

There are others though, that we don't think as much about. Like the "All things are possible with God" verse. Jesus is talking about who would be saved, and he says its easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter heaven. This really freaks the disciples out and they ask, "Who then can be saved?"

Jesus replies, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." So many times we forget the context. Jesus is saying it is absolutely impossible for a person to save themselves or for someone to be saved without the hand of God. But God can save anyone!

Now, it may be true that when we align ourselves with God's will, He will make things possible for us that are otherwise impossible, but I'm not sure this is the verse to use to prove it.

It is so important for us to keep in mind the AIM, or the Author's Intended Meaning. This will actually help us understand Scripture so much more and can help us live our lives closer to what God desires. Sometimes it is more difficult, but any journey or adventure worth doing is always a little difficult.

Living What We Believe

Posted in Bible, Brandon's Posts, Faith and Works, jesus By Unknown 0 comments

People are hypocrites. Chances are, you know more people than you can count who often say one thing and turn around doing what they claim is wrong.

Chances are, you find yourself doing it. If you haven't ever noticed yourself doing it, ask the people closest to you to see if they have noticed (maybe a spouse or child, they tend to see us at our best and worst).

Well, wasn't that a great start? Makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside doesn't it?

I have been doing some thinking about what the Biblical author James says in his letter. Let's take a look at it.

"What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?...So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead" James 2:14,17

We live in a world where it is okay to say you believe two things that are polar opposites. We believe that stealing is wrong, but there are certain things that are just okay to take (company pens, money we see fall from a lady's purse, online music). We know that lying is wrong, except maybe small lies that can help us advance in society. We are so quick to make excuses for ourselves. "I believe it is wrong, but in this case it was okay!"

I hear statements like this all the time. We are able to rationalize this kind of thought by living in a culture where we make up our own rights and wrongs. Believing these two opposites do not make us hypocrites, it's just the way we are. We make up our own rights and wrongs.

What really gets me is when Christians do this. "I believe in Jesus, but I am going to continue living in my old way of life. I will keep doing whatever I want, God will understand. At least I'm saved."

That way of thinking goes completely against Scripture. It is true, works do not save us but after we have repented of our sins, we are called to live the life God desires. Our actions, or works, should be a reflection of our belief.

James says later in chapter 2 that, "even the demons believe and shudder." He is pointing out that it is not good enough to simply believe in your mind that God exists. Satan and the demons are not disputing that point. What makes all the difference is how we live!

When we know something is wrong, yet we continue to do it, we are sinning and separating ourselves from God all over again. Put your belief into action and let go of that sin.

When we know we should be doing something, yet we neglect to do it, we are sinning. Get out there and do the work that God has prepared for you to do (Ephesians 2:10)!

One reason people do not come into the Church is because of the way we trash our faith in front of them. Jesus says in Matthew 5:16, "Let your light shine before men that they may see your good deeds. It is so important that we let go of our selfishness and our need to live however we choose and instead we cling to the one who has saved us and we begin to put our faith into action, because as James says "faith without works is dead" and I do not want to be caught with a dying or dead faith.

Drop it like it's HOT!

Posted in awesome, Bible, dropping it like its hot, Mike's Posts, repentance, Sin By Mike Johns 0 comments

I met an older man recently. I would guess him in his late 60's or early 70's. I met him because he was having computer issues. When I asked him what was going on with his computer, he said "I have been on some dirty sites I probably shouldn't be on and got a virus."

As I dwelt on this reality, it brought home some real truth... If I don't make better choices and break some bad habits now, I could end up an old man who is struggling with the same sin that I have struggled with since I was a kid.

Sin is so enticing. It draws us in, it also holds us there. Sin always takes us farther than we want to go and keeps us longer than we want to stay. Sin is hard to break. BUT - the truth is ... that it will never be easier than TODAY to break the sin or the bad habit that holds you down.

What is the sin that you need to break today?
What do you need to give up for the glory of God?

One of the characteristics of the Christian life is the ability to turn away from certain appetites that do not glorify God and that are not beneficial for the soul.
That is beautiful truth. The reality is: What have you turned away from recently?

Drop it like it's hot... it will never be easier than today!

Beware the Connotative Word

Posted in Bible, English, Nick's Posts By Nick Smith 3 comments

Did you know that words actually have two meanings? They are denotative and connotative. The denotative meaning is what we normally think of when we consider the meaning of a word. It is what you would find if you looked the word up in the dictionary – its literal meaning.

Then there is the connotative meaning. This is essentially the emotional meaning that we attach to words. The advertising industry pays very close attention to connotative meanings because it affects how we react to an advertisement. The term “Buy 2 and get both at 50% off” means the same thing as “Buy 1 get 1 free,” but the second term gets more buyers. Why? Because we react to the word free. It evokes an emotional response from us that make us feel as if we are getting a good deal. Also, consider the term “used car” as opposed to “pre-owned vehicle.” Which one sounds nicer to you? Used car sounds kind of dirty in the sense of a used tissue. Pre-owned, in contrast, has none of that negative connotation. Using the tissue comparison, it’s like somebody owned the tissue before us, but they didn’t use it, so it is therefore still nice.

A lot of the words in the Bible have strong connotative meanings. The words often play on extremes. For example, God is described as the most high (Psalm 47:2) and king of kings (Revelation 19:16) while Satan is described as the father of all lies (John 8:44) and the ruler of this age (2 Corinthians 4:4). You can’t get any higher than most high and you can’t get any lower than the father of all lies. These are extremes.

But extremes aren’t the only words with strong connotative meanings. Consider these words that are common in the Bible: grace, love, peace, righteousness, mercy, freedom, joy, forgiveness, salvation, etc. We look at these words and it can be easy to translate them into a connotative meaning. Good. These things are good. And consider these words that are common in the Bible: persecuted, sin, trials, judgment, suffering, deceitfulness, death, etc. Bad. These words are bad.

So what’s my point?

Good question. I got to thinking about denotation and connotation the other day when I was reading the Bible. You see, I started to zone off when I was reading. I was still reading the words, but they weren’t truly registering. When I zoned back in, it occurred to me that I had been reading only connotatively. That is, I had absolutely no idea what I had just read, but I still had a residual feeling about its connotative meaning.

But the thing is, if I want to truly understand Scripture, I have to get past the connotations. I have to dig deeper into the true meaning of what is being communicated. It can become so temptingly easy sometimes to just gloss over the Word and replace it with connotations. Instead of reading “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23a), we translate in our heads to “the fruit of the spirit is good stuff, more good stuff, blah, blah, blah, and more good stuff.” When we do this, we rob the Bible of its meaning. We should be looking at each word and their individual meanings in an effort to “examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves” (2 Corinthians 13:5).

I say this to hopefully make you aware of something that you may not have even known is happening. All of us who read the Bible probably do this from time to time to some extent. Being aware of it should make you better prepared to confront it the next time it happens.

What's Your Bible?

Posted in Bible, Flight Metaphors, Nick's Posts By Nick Smith 0 comments

Most of us have, at some point in our lives, been handed a document of some sort and told, “This is your Bible.” This happened to me recently when I purchased a copy of the Federal Aviation Regulations and my flight instructor told me that very thing. Obviously she didn’t mean that it is a literal Bible. Her point was that I should read it, study it, and learn it very well.

This saying is so common in American culture that it has become a cliché. But when my instructor said this, something occurred to me. We know what it means to treat something as our Bible, but how often do we treat THE Bible as our Bible? Oh sure, we all know somewhere deep down that we probably should, but our conviction stops there. We have our reasons. We’ll read it when things aren’t so hectic. We already know what it says (we think). And I have a personal theory that all of us have a subconscious fear of encountering the Word of God because we know that it will make us feel convicted and make us want to change. We’re afraid because we like being in control and reading the Bible is one step towards ceding control. But making THE Bible YOUR Bible is an essential part of a Christian’s walk with God.

Essential – Adjective. Absolutely necessary; indispensable.

Here’s what the Bible has to say about itself: “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” – Hebrews 4:12

I love the description of “living and active.” How often do we desperately want God to speak to us? Maybe we just need to make the time and effort to read what He is saying right now.

Also, in his “armor of God” metaphor, Paul describes the Word of God as “the sword of the spirit” (Ephesians 6:17). It is the Christian’s one and only offensive weapon. Without a sword, we are just standing in the midst of a battle allowing ourselves to be battered. I wouldn’t call that a useful soldier.

I’m not saying we all need to stop everything and read the Bible to the exclusion of doing anything else. But you’d be surprised how much God can speak when you read His Word just 15-30 minutes a day. Make the time. Make the effort. Get to know God.