Wanna Get High?

http://fieldnotes.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/10/17/8370150-support-for-legalizing-pot-hits-all-time-high

Support for marijuana legalization is at an all time high (no pun intended).  However, so is depression.  What bothers me is that there is that Marijuana is still considered a schedule one drug, which means that it:

"(A) The drug or other substance has a high potential for abuse.

(B) The drug or other substance has no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States.

(C) There is a lack of accepted safety for use of the drug or other substance under medical supervision."


In other words, this drug has ZERO positive effects.  Oh sure it might help you relax (until the paranoia sets in), and might make you laugh (at things that really aren't funny), but pretty much all of us also knew (or currently know) someone who has become so addicted to the drug that is has negatively affected their lives in numerous negative ways.  


I am convinced that deep down, people use this drug to escape reality and fight a sense of emptiness or depression (whether they know it, or accept it or not).  


People who abuse this drug want to feel good, they want to get high. All of us want to feel good, to get a "high" if you wiil...


But... 


To quote the Christian Rap Group Frontlynaz: "WHAT'S HIGHER THAN HEAVEN?!?!"


I can tell you as a person who was saved by Jesus Christ, there is no better feeling than knowing that no matter what happens, heaven and Christ is waiting for me.  I want to tell you about heaven and how to get there.  But before I can do that, I need to tell you about the harsh reality.


God has standards (laws) that he requires us to obey.  I'm sure you have heard of the ten commandments.  Let's take a look at just a few of them:


Have you ever stolen something?  Lied?  Used God's name as a cuss word?  Lusted after someone?  If you have, that means you are guilty of breaking God's laws.  So if you died right now and stood before God, that would make you guilty.  And since God is a good judge, he wont be bribed by our "good deeds" and must make sure that justice is served.  That means that if you are found guilty, He must send you to hell.


How does that make you feel?  Does that scare you? It should.  


...But there is good news....


2,000 years ago, God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to pay the penalty for your sins.  He willingly sacrificed Himself, taking the punishment that you (and I) deserve so that we have the opportunity to be with Him in heaven forever.


Isn't that great news!?!  You are probably asking yourself, "What do I need to do to be saved from hell and to get into heaven?".  God knows that we will constantly struggle with sin and trying to do right rather than wrong.  So all he asks of us is that we repent (change our mind and attitude about our sin, desiring not to sin anymore) and believe in Jesus Christ and we can be CERTAIN that we will be saved.


I hope this makes sense to you.  Please feel free to drop me a line if you have any questions.  I also highly recommend watching the video in the upper right hand corner of this webpage for a video explanation of the good news of Jesus Christ.


God bless you!


Kneel

Layers Upon Layers of Sin and Evil

Sin and temptation are fought on three fronts in the lives of believers: Deeds, Words and Thoughts.  And the deeper you go, the harder the battle is to fight

I think all Christians start their spiritual warfare with their behavior (deed), since it it the easiest to see and recognize.  We see ourselves engaging in external and obvious sins which makes it easier to identify and combat.  Giving the finger to someone who cuts you off in traffic becomes not only easy for us to see as sinful, but also others as well. It becomes the most external and visible of a person's battle with sin and probably the easiest to win.

The second layer, becomes our talk (word).  There are dozens of verses in the Bible that make reference to the tongue as a source of death, venom, poison as well as other weapons...and with good reasons, words HURT.  I was talking to this with my students during class the past week about the effects of bullying and how I can still, FIFTEEN YEARS LATER, remember, in detail, how I was bullied, what was said, where I was, even the tone of voice of the offender.  These things stick with us and the tongue is truly worthy of the negative aspects ascribe to it all throughout scripture.  On the flip-side, I also remember when my tongue inflicted horrendous damage and pain.  

However, at the deepest and darkest of our humanity lie our thoughts, our hearts: where the darkest and most evil selves reside.  My heart is no different.  I find that all of my sinful desires lie, at their core, with pride.  Unthankfulness, impatience, lust, greed, even boredom all derive from my pride telling me that I "deserve" things.  Oh I deserve something all right: death and condemnation.  My sin, even at the level of thought, has so offended the Lord that all I deserve is condemnation.

Our hearts are wicked and desperately evil (Jeremiah 17:9) and I am no different.  We all have thoughts that go through our mind that shock us, and I think at times will even make unbelievers ashamed of their own thoughts.  This is the hardest and most persistent battleground with sin.  THIS is where spiritual warfare is at it most brutal and most crushing.  THIS is the front-line.  THIS is Gettysberg.  We fight against ourselves our sinful self constantly battling with our new self, found in Christ.  And make no mistake about it, it is ALL OUT WAR.  There IS heartbreak.  There ARE casualties.

But, there IS hope.

Christ is with us throughout the war, reassuring us that we will be victorious, not because of anything we do, but because our Lord has the other guy's number.  It isn't a matter of "if".  It's a done deal.  No matter how much we fail or how much we succeed in this war, though Christ, we will achieve victory and ONLY because of Him.

Let us continue to battle to Glorify God.

Kneel

Rest In Peace Al Davis

Al Davis passed away this weekend.  I must confess, I CAN'T STAND THE RAIDERS!  But I do have Al Davis to thank for the NFL as I know it today.  He was THE reason why the NFL and AFL merged 41 years ago.  Without him, my beloved Seahawks might not have ever come into existence.     

When I think about the Raiders, two phrases come to mind: "Commitment to Excellence" and "Just win, baby!".  I can't help but think that these phrases are somewhat contradictory.  "Commitment to Excellence" has a very noble sound to it.  Excellence.  Commitment.  These are two things that are now rare in a society today that emphasizes "Do whatever feels good" or "That might be true (excellent?) for you, but it's not for me.".  It emphasizes the fact that there is something objectively excellent and that we should be committed to it.  I couldn't agree more.  

However, the flip side is the "Just Win Baby" slogan.  "Just Win Baby" speaks to doing whatever it takes to win (even if it means cheating or playing dirty).  This seems to be the antithesis to "Commitment to Excellence".  Is that not inconsistent, maybe even hypocritical? 

I don't bring this up to take shots at a dead man.  Anything but.  I bring this up to exemplify the fallenness of human nature.  Even a man who, I would think, would agree that there is objective right and wrong would admit that in his life, did things that were wrong.  I am guilty of this as well.

I pray that Al Davis had a saving relationship with Jesus Christ and that I will get to meet him in person one day in heaven.  But we must all face the reality that some day, we will stand before God and have to make an account for the times that we weren't "Committed to Excellence" in our lives and fell into sin.  

What will you say on that day when you stand before God?  Will you try and depend on some "good" things you have done so that God will overlook the bad?  The bible tells us that our good deeds are "filthy menstrual rags" to God.  We can never do enough good things to undo the bad things we are guilty of.  If a serial killer tried to get out of murdering 10 people by telling the judge that he saved 15 people from a house fire, does that make him innocent of murder?  No.  Justice must still be served.

Our only hope lies in faith in Jesus Christ (John 14:6, Acts 4:12).  I urge you, please turn from your sin and trust in Jesus Christ to save you from your sins.

Steve Jobs: An Amazing Life...but what now?

I heard about Steve Jobs passing yesterday and had some thoughts.

As much as I dislike Apple, Jobs' ability as a visionary and leader cannot be denied. He truly changed the world and his contributions will be recognized and impact our world for generations. He was extremely wealthy, respected and influential.

...but, for him, that is all gone now...

Now he has come to know the reality of Jesus Christ. His 56 years making an impact on earth are now just a puff of smoke and now comes judgement. Now he must answer to God for his sins. His only hope is that Christ will vouch for him to avoid eternity away from the presence of God.

I do not claim to know the man personally, nor can I make an authoritative judgement as to where the man is now.  But in doing a little research, I have to to find out the man was Buddhist.  That mean's that if he died a Buddhist, without saving faith in Christ, his empire and legacy are no comfort to him where he is now.  Now he has the eternal regret of not knowing Christ to bare on his soul.  I say this with sadness as I desire that no one be without God for eternity.  I take no joy in my estimation (that is a guess not a statement of fact) that Steve Jobs died without saving faith in Christ

But, regardless of the sadness I feel, I can not deny scripture and what it teaches:

1) ALL of us have sinned. NONE of us (myself included) are "Good people".  Don't believe me?

2) We ALL will be judged by God one day regardless of what we believed or if we believed in God. (Hebrews 9:27)

3) Faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior is the ONLY way we will escape God's wrath.  (John 14:6, Acts 4:12, John 8:24)

4) We are called to repent and believe, and my prayer is that if you have not already, that you will one day.

May lives be changed for the glory of God and the salvation of souls be achieved from Mr. Jobs' passing.

Kneel

Courageous the Movie

Today, my wife and I went to go see the movie "Courageous" with the Christian club at the school I teach at.  The movie was great: Heartwarming, convicting, though provoking, funny (the "Snake King" part had me in stitches) and biblical.  I was really impressed with the quality of the film given the small budget and I really hope that the team behind this movie continues to make more.  Movies like these are SO needed in our culture today.

There were men (MORE than one) in the audience that were visibly touched and convicted by this film's powerful call for biblical fatherhood in our society today.  The gospel was pretty well presented (could have been a bit more clear) and the dependence upon God was a reoccurring theme throughout.

I URGE you not to just wait to see this movie on DVD.  PLEASE make the effort to go see and support this movie in the theaters so that it sends a message that Americans want more Christ-centered movies!

God bless,

Kneel

My very first time open air preaching: Luke 23

My very first time open air preaching.  It is NOT easy to do.  But it is even harder for me to suppress the urge to share the gospel.

Something I have learned about open air preaching since this time is how important it is to pray and to have others pray for you.  When I went to the Ambassador's Academy, I tried open airing a few times, and every time I did so with no prayer or very shallow prayer, my preaching was awful.  I would forget things, you know important things, like the Resurrection (duh?).  But when I really prayed, had others praying for me, and relied on God and not myself, the message was much better.

I really encourage you to get out there an try it, at least once.  It is scary but also incredibly satisfying to literally shout the gospel to a dying world.  Radically obeying God IS radically satisfying!