Octuplet Hypocracy

Lately on the news we've heard a lot about the unmarried, poor woman who had octuplets through invitro-fertilization. Lots of people have been casting their judgments on her throughout the media and talk-shows. It amazes me how many people can so quickly judge her for her choices, and talk about regulating her bad choices after-the-fact. Yes, what she did was not done in wisdom, but it is more a sign of the times showing what regulations need to happen with the "implant" industry, not individuals. In fact, she acted within the law, and the law actually permits her to raise all her many fatherless children under the impartial umbrella of the welfare system. People express their outrage at it, but it is part of the American freedom to make stupid legal choices.

Our taxes will pay for her to raise her kids, just like they pay for so many other smaller single parent families who are poor. She will be able to pay the hospital bills with Medicaid help, and the hospital will have to show no impartial bias against her just because her bill was so much more than most. Also, we have to remember that this is a democracy that we live in. Unfortunately, our government can't force wisdom on people, and in this event, everyone will have to live with the consequences that come from all the choices they have made: From passing welfare laws, that have to cover every case and not discriminate, to the this woman's choices to get impregnated by an industry that has no standards.

I am glad to know that she loves kids and wanted a big family. But the kids will miss not having a father, and their lives will forever be affected by it. But this comes down to parents' rights. She is the parent and she can raise her family the way she wants to because we live in a free country. It is upsetting to hear people condemn and write her off so quickly. Our country wants the freedom to sin and live with impunity and anonymity, but having so many kids - well, that's where they draw the line. Maybe before they cast that stone, a long hard look at some personal short-comings should happen.

People like to cast judgments. It makes them feel better about who they are.....hmmm....kind of like how bullies pick on the weak to show how powerful they are - and righteous. All are dust and have nothing to be proud of, but we do have a lot to thankful for. He who has been forgiven much, loves much. When we realize the awful truth that none of us deserves God's love or His forgiveness, but that it is given out of love, then we all should condemn others less and show more of the same kind of love and forgiveness that God has shown us.

Day of the Ghost

I would like to share what today retrospectively looks like from my corner of the woods.

It started off like any other work day, except that I had a plan to take the van into the shop, and that one event kept popping up in my thoughts. But when I got to work, a strange day quickly began to unfold. The first person I saw, a woman named Teri who was spraying castings with glow-in-the-dark solution, looked at me with surprise and said, "Are you still here? Well, I'm glad, but I heard that you got laid off." Well, this was news to me, but the way things sometimes go at my work is that I find out more from the hourly folks than I do in my own group.

Five minutes later it happened again. A guy saw me in the hall and whispered over my shoulder, "I heard you got the axe today!" I assured him that I was there until I wasn't, but I was beginning to doubt. Well, then I went into the wax department, and about four people asked me if I was still there. "I'm still here," I said. People kept looking at me like they'd seen a ghost. Two people even said they thought they were seeing a ghost or the walking dead.

If there were ghosts that walked the earth, I think I can relate to them better now, because I got a lot of weird glances and stares - even shocked expressions! In all, about twenty people either told me they heard I was canned or they called my desk to see if I would answer, and to their shock, I did answer.

My boss told me I was mentioned in a meeting along with many others for the people that got laid off last Friday, but that for now I was not to worry. "Tell them they can't believe everything they hear, " he said.

It is evident that I did still have a job at the end of the day, and so did Stephanie - a woman that everybody thought had quit to take an insurance selling job. The "rumor mill" can be a very powerful thing. I later thought about it and decided that if anyone else tells me they heard I got canned, then I will just tell them that if they don't want me to be, then they should tell their supervisors what a good job they think I'm doing.

It was a sobering and ominous experience. But I wasn't really afraid of being let go. Some people really did look at me as though they had seen a ghost. Well, I figure God is in control of the situation more than what anyone else decides. It had that feeling like I found out the day I was going to die, or that I had a week to live, or something like that. I guess to wherever someone works they like to think they can't be replaced - that no one could ever do their job. But the truth is we are all expendable. Someone else could do our job, even the boss, and do it well. I'll just keep on trusting God that he'll be in control no matter what happens. Regardless of the job I do, I work for God alone. I merely express my work to my employer. God has a much higher standard than any boss I've ever known. Yet He is the perfect boss. We just can't let work be our identity. It's not who we are. It's just part of what we do.

I wonder what tomorrow will be like. I'm already praising God that the van won't need nearly as much work as I thought it would. I've been praying about it for about a week. Praise God for being trustworthy!

Poem: Remembering

Johnie Levell's Blog

Poem: Remembering

2/15/2009

Here I share a poem that I wrote quite a while ago, but it seems like yesterday. I found myself struggling with my past, trying to sort out all the joys and pains that have had a hand in shaping who I am, or at least who I was at the time. I do believe I have changed quite a bit since I wrote this, but I revisit the poem as one going back to an old childhood house.

Remembering by Johnie W. Levell on September 3, 2003

Deep within the hollow halls,
Deep within the catacombs,
Descend I the steps of my ancient thoughts,
The remembrances that haunt me.

They drip with tears of joy and pain,
And form puddles that I know
By name and place, time and face -
The remembrances that haunt me.

Were I chained to these walls,
My affections would stay where
Earth cushioned my weary feet,
And nature was my friend - in life...in rest.
But with my freedom I have claimed
To make myself a slave,
A lonely nomad who makes his home
In the remembrances that haunt me.

Can a man escape his past,
Or a woman her regrets?
Deep within each heart of us
Are lifeless chambers of remembrance.

Filled with halls and secret rooms -
Some so painful, I keep them locked,
Yet I am the ghost leaning on the door
Of the remembrances that haunt me.

Not afraid of an apparition am I,
Nor would it have fear of me.
Those who haunt are truly haunted
By remembering.

Incredible Providence

In the second book of Kings is the story of Naaman the Syrian commander who had leprosy and went to Elisha to be healed. But in the story there is mentioned a person that you might think had very hard luck. You might even say that what happened to her was just unfair!

During a Syrian raid into Israel a young girl was captured and made a slave. What an awful fate! She ended up being the servant of Naaman's wife. The circumstances that she found herself in would probably make some people, even Christians, question God's sovereignty. But this little slave girl is mentioned in the Bible because she told Naaman's wife that Elisha could heal Naaman. She didn't wish ill on her captors. She never lost faith in God. She is a really great example of how we can make the best of a bad situation, and to remember that there really isn't any chance or luck to what happens to us. God is in control. Even in where you are right now, and what you're going through, God is working out His will in your life. Look for Him past the pain, past the struggles, and past the "pity party".

Remember He is faithful to complete the good work He began in you, not forgetting that He created all the good works He has for your assignment here on earth. The Bible says in Ephesians 2:10 that "God prepared beforehand" the good works created for us in Jesus, "that we should walk in them." It is more LIVING in good works than DOING good works. They aren't ingenious ideas we come up with from our own imaginations. God has pre-prepared all that He wants us to live like. It's a continual way of life, not just a mission trip once a year, although that can be good.

How will we walk in good works today? How will our lives reflect His love and sacrifice? These are uncertain times we are living in, but that doesn't change God's care for us, even though, like with the slave girl, it may look like abandonment. He was still her God even after she was captured and enslaved. Could God say of us that we have the same faith in our circumstances as this girl did? It doesn't take money or power to walk in and live in a good works way.

Think pure thoughts and focus on the Way, Jesus, and you will find yourself living a life that you never thought was there. The joy in life that you seek is 100% there in the step by step following of Christ.

Your tough time has a choice, so what will you choose?

You Can't Forget Giving

I finished reading A Little Princess to the kids tonight. There is so much good about this book, I almost couldn't read because I was getting choked up. Something that I thought of was that the gifts that are given from your "needs", the things that are not just extras - well, those are the things that you remember most, both on the giving and receiving ends. When you give out of love, thinking more about others than yourself, it changes you.

Jesus said to lay up our treasures in heaven instead of on earth. I think that part of that treasure is the way that we are changed by how we let God use us and work through us. That is part of a purification process that is making us more of the citizen of heaven that we rightly are. The change is as much part of laying up treasure in heaven as whatever else God will surprise us with when we get there. Giving inspires more giving. It makes life more lovely to us in a way because of how it changes us! It is a mysterious process of God that turns us from the selfish slaves of sin that we were, into a beautiful shining creature that we never thought we could be. Does the caterpillar know he will get wings? How many times do we get myopic in our faith and can't rightly imagine a better transformation that God do in us?

I have lately found myself finding that though I thought I trusted God, that when I had to do it, I wasn't trusting Him nearly like I thought I did. I have told God my worries many times lately, and He keeps telling me the same thing - "Trust Me." I wonder sometimes why I write this blog. Do the things I write have an impact? Do I connect with anyone? Well, if anything, I guess you could look at it like a therapy session for me that you are free to read. I am glad to put my thoughts down. I figure that there are others that can benefit from it, too. I hope you do.

Loving One of the Populace

In the story A Little Princess, young Sara Crewe was one day wrongfully scolded and had her meals kept from her and made to go run many errands through the wet, cold, muddy streets of London with the poorest of clothes and shoes. Her mind was fixed on her hunger, but she was trying not to let it. Then she saw in the gutter a four pence, and right across the street a baker's shop. She was almost up the stairs and through the door when she saw a little girl standing out in the rain unprotected and more poorly clothed than she. She asked her if she was hungry, and the little girl told her she didn't remember when she last ate, it had been so long. "This is one of the populace," she said to herself. Sara went into the bakers, and asked the tending woman if she had lost a four pence, and she said no, but the woman could see the hunger in her eyes. She had a little pity on Sara, and gave her two extra rolls besides the four Sara bought. But to her amazement, she saw Sara go out and give five of the rolls to the little girl outside the door. She knew Sara was hungry. Why would she give almost all her food away?

The woman felt convicted by Sara's charity and sacrifice, and seeing how much she had to offer, she then called the little girl into the shop and told her that whenever she was hungry to come to her for food and a sat her by the warm fire.

Their is something very powerful about love, especially when the sacrifice that goes with it is a difficult or painful sacrifice. When one complains the least bit while showing compassion, it takes away from the deed because that person kept part of it for himself in voicing his complaint. When we give without any chance of repayment or even acknowledgement, it means so much more. It blesses not only the receiver, but also the giver, and fills one with more joy than one would ever expect.

Jesus said to not seek recognition or reward when blessing others or doing good, because you will forfeit your eternal reward for the pat on the back of the moment. I think that part of the eternal reward is also how it changes you to give in a way that you get no credit. It is purifying to show kindness without expecting or wanting something in return. It is like a servant who goes and gives a basket of food to a family, and the proud father says they don't need it, but the servant says that they must take it for the master said to give it to them and them only, so they take it because it was intended for them by some unknown important figure. God is our Master and He has called us to share and to give as He leads us.

If you have been bought out of sin by the sacrifice of Christ, then you are a royal child of the Living and eternal Creator God. You are royalty! We must remember that God does not call the lost to live as good of lives as they can so that He might find favor with them. No! He can only commission those whom He owns to do His work, and the lost are His work. He is a mystery to the lost world - a God who would sacrifice His own Son for people who hate Him - a God who does truly love them and is not out to get them - a God who wants to adopt them and give them favor they could never earn! They do not understand a God like that, but He draws them to Himself when His own children show that kind of love, even to those who hate them.

The lost are the populace - blind led by the blind and sheep with no shepherd. Have pity on them, and do not be afraid of sacrifice. The time is coming when our money will be worth nothing and our possessions worthless. Do not trust your wealth or the promise of it. Trust God who can make a dollar have the purchase power of a thousand and who can provide for all your needs.

Trusting God

There has been a lot of uncertainty in the world lately with people losing their retirements, their jobs, and their confidence in what they thought was security. The fact is, God says "Trust Me, no matter what." I never knew how little I trusted Him until I felt like I had to do it. I thought I trusted Him and my confidence was in Him, but that was when times were good. Now that times are hard I see that I am not where I thought I was in trusting God.

What if my work cuts back again, and I'm one of the ones to go? I can't let my work define who I am. In the end, I am confident that I will never say the words, "oh, if only I had worked harder...." I know that I am called to do my work, whatever it is, as to God, not to men. He is my boss, not the general manager of our factory. So I will continue to give my best and do my best where I am. And if I lose my job, I have to trust God because He knows where He wants me and He will lead me there. I truly have a peace about whatever happens, even if it might be painful. But to do something that God calls you away from is more painful.

Natalie Grant wrote a song called Our Hope Endures. In it she says the following:

"Sometimes the sun stays hidden for years
Sometimes the sky rains night after night
When will it clear
But our hope endures the worst of conditions
It's more than our optimism
Let the earth quake
Our hope is unchanged."

If you're there then ask Him for the strength to just stop worrying and trust Him. He is faithful and He loves you very, very much.


--Johnie

Sin, Stubble, and Motives

A thought hit me this morning during the sermon. Not only do I want to stay pure from sin, but I want to stay clear of stubble. How many times have I wasted a day on stupid stuff like reading the news on Yahoo's front page, or just trying to find something to entertain me because I'm bored. I'll take out a blank sheet of paper and just doodle. Most of those drawings are day dreams of buildings or house designs, but I can honestly say as I think about them that they are a result of me not having a plan. I can't say that I was doing those things for the Lord. I can think of a lot of Saturday mornings or holidays where I just vegged out.

I know that it's fine to just rest. I just want to have a plan for my time. I guess what I'm trying to say is that there are some pretty worthless things we can spend our time on that will burn up in the end. The Bible talks about it as stubble, the worthless grass stalks left over after the harvest. It's not necessarily sin, but it can be. To him who knows to do good, and doesn't do it, to him is it sin.

But I also know that it has to do with my motives. If I do a bunch of good stuff just to look good, and not because I'm serving God, then it too is worthless. Your motives can also be good, and you are seek to please God before all else, and then it may seem like nothing really happens or gets done. Well, I believe that if in your heart you are fellowshipping with God, that nothing else matters. A young child may not really be able to help you with the laundry, but if they offer to help then you adore their efforts and their heart attitude to help, even if they only take a couple of socks out of the basket. It's the same way with God. He judges our motives for what we do, not necessarily the quality of our work. When we spend our down time focusing on God and praying, it is more valuable than if we just watch TV or try to find something to entertain us.


--Johnie

Investing in Eternity

In Matthew 13, Jesus tells a parable about the kingdom of heaven being like a man who finds a buried treasure in a field and he goes and sells everything he has and buys the field to get the treasure. When a person realizes that the kingdom of heaven is eternal and is so much more rewarding than anything that can ever be gained on earth, it only makes sense to invest all of ones time, money, and energy into that Kingdom. Why would you invest it in something that you know you will soon lose here on earth? In a hundred you'll be dead and where will all your fortunes be then? Investing in heaven's kingdom should consume our thoughts and desires, especially since the rewards are so great! Just think about all your lost friends saved from their sins and in heaven with you, enjoying their new life right beside you because of the way you lived. True fellowship with their Maker was possible because you were using your time, energy, and money to share the best news!

Not only does it make one think about investing in heaven, but also about what God sees in us. He paid the highest price for us, Jesus on the cross, because He saw us as valuable. He saw a treasure in us in the muddy fields of sin, and He didn't desire condemning us. He desired to give all that was most valuable to Him, His pure and flawless Son, just to buy us out of that miry clay that had covered us.

So examine your heart. Where are you investing? Do you spend your time serving God or your pleasures? What about you energy? Do you see all your cash, assets, and possessions as God's or yours? In a hundred years, you will be gone, but what you do now will affect how you spend eternity.


--Johnie

2009 Is Here

Happy new year! It's 2009, and the days and months just keep marching on. Let me ask you, do you have peace about going into this new year? I can personally vouch that after one is redeemed by Jesus, all the problems are just as real as before being saved. Well, let's see what we know we have on the menu for 2009 so far.

1. A new president is about to take the reigns. This does not comfort me. The only comfort I have in it is that I know that regardless of the immoral policies Obama pushes, he is subject to God and he will be held accountable for all that he does. God has brought many nations down and the election of this man shows that the majority of our country has given their stamp of approval to some very ungodly policy objectives. I believe dark days are ahead for our country, and a setting of the stage for the end times.

2. Economic instability has already frightened many as they saw their investments diminish in 2008. The "protecting of the global market" has already been shown to be the primary concern for lawmakers world-wide. Why not let businesses fail? Fear wins out. If the markets were unnaturally high, then failing businesses would stabilize where it really should be. But the idea of letting deserved outcomes befall irresponsible companies and governments is seen as unacceptable to our spoiled generation. In the end it will only grow peoples fears because "bailing out" never solved anyone's problems. While the government verbally chastises banks for lending $500K to individuals that make $20K a year, they throw billions of dollars at them like plastering a cancer patient in band-aides. People will be more afraid of failure than ever.

3. God's chosen people Israel will be in the news just as much as ever. The attack on Gaza should come as no surprise to anyone. It could escalate into something bigger, but the growing hatred of Israel is big enough. I keep watching for the rest of the world to push for Israel to give away more of their land for "peace." I think they will end up giving most of the country away to gain total control of Jerusalem including the temple mount.

Well those are just a few things that I know will be happening this new year. Still God will remain faithful and in control no matter what happens.

--Johnie

Dealing with Death

I woke up a little after five this morning. I couldn't sleep because I dreamed that a family member died. Truthfully, there are some people that one expects to die more than others, but no matter what death is a hard, cold reminder of what Adam's fall eventually leads into.

When my father died it was a real blow to me. I mourned his death for over a year. Now we're coming upon four years since he died, and I do not quite feel the same about it. My spirit within is resolved about his death, and more so death in general. I was with my father a few minutes before he died. I aided the funerary in moving and releasing the body from Hospice. That may sound alarming, but it was part of my mourning. I remember telling the attendant what my father did during his life. I shared through tears how I fully expected him (and all the funeral home preparers) to respect his body.

I remember that before he died, my mother and I had been sitting in the room with my father for a very long time. My father had not responded for most of that day, but he would look at each of our faces through his thin grey eyes. Death is no pretty business. Hospice even had a pamphlet on the stages of dying. It was very eerie to me. I didn't want my father to die, and I kept talking to my siblings like he might somehow pull out of it. But by the brochures account, he was in the last stages of death. It was just as it said, but just a little too callous to me.

My mother asked me to take her home. She was just worn out. When we got to the car, I remember that she told me things about my father I had never heard, and about his family. I felt like something was going to happen that day, and so did mom. We talked in the car for about thirty minutes. When we got to her house, she poured herself a bowl of soup, and she answered the phone. She dropped it. It was "the call." We turned right around and went back to Hospice.

I kept feeling so sad for my father, wanting so much to be there with him when he died. Mom did too. We didn't want him to die alone. We wanted to be there. My father's sister Jettie later told me that we had probably not even left the building before he breathed his last. It was just after both mom and myself had left his room after telling him goodbye and that we loved him and that we would see him later. We meant later that evening, but I truly think he took it as a final farewell. The day before he had pulled me close to himself and told me all that was in his heart. "I love you very, very much," was all he said.

He died the evening before my 30th birthday. That was the most bitter of birthdays. Nothing, absolutely nothing, could have made it any different. I wondered how I was to ever enjoy my birthday again. In many ways it will never be the same.

Joyce had gotten me two small pine trees for my birthday. I broke off one of the branches and placed it in my fathers hand. He always was more of an outdoorsman and loved Colorado more than any other place. My nephew Bo made his casket of unfinished pine. Dad always wanted to be buried in just a plain pine box. He had said it many times. He thought it was a waste of good money to spend a fortune on a box that would be seen only for a few days and that would in the end be buried with the dead. Also he wanted to be buried like they were buried in the Old West.

I still dream about my father all the time. In my dreams, we will talk as if he had never died. Sometimes we will talk about his death. It is okay with me though. I know that death is something we must all face. I feel like as we grow, we face death a little at a time. I am fine with dying whenever God calls me. I am not afraid because I know that Jesus took death on for me, and He promised me the resurrection. My body may perish, but I will not be dead because I am just a spirit trapped inside this sinful flesh. My death will be my release from sin, and my resurrection will be my gift from God.

Paul said that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord, and so I'm not worried about my spirit being trapped somehow inside a dead decaying body. The very instant I die, I will be in the spiritual world with my Saviour. The spirit world is all around us, and we will one day see it all plainly with our spiritual eyes. Jesus is all the Life we need both in the body and in the spirit.

All of us will die, and we don't get to pick how that happens. It is the painful reminder that the curse of physical death is still alive in the world. But dealing with death is a choice we are faced with continually. Our mortality stares us in the face on a regular basis until it our time to go. Seeing death is a bitter pill. But more bitter is the soul that never deals with his own mortality at all the opportunities that God gives us in dealing with death.


--Johnie

Thankful Giving

Today is one of those holidays best known by the foods we eat. Turkey, stuffing, sweet potato pie. Pumpkin pie. Pecan pie. Pies in general. Cranberry jelly in the shape of a can. So food oriented this day has become, most weathermen call it "Turkey Day." Even the President is expected to pardon a turkey from his eminent execution meant for his lunch. (I do wonder what he eats if not turkey? Maybe he only pardons one turkey from a whole bunch of death-row turkeys, so that way he can still eat some.)

I hope that this day has more meaning to you than just food and football. I just watched the Pixar movie "Wall-E" where all these people on a spaceship don't have to lift a finger to do anything, and they're all just grossly fat. They were born on the spaceship and so were their parents and grand-parents going all the way back 800 years. They just laid around on these floating mats and let robots do all the work. Maybe if I hadn't just celebrated Thanksgiving I would never have thought about connecting today's feast with how those folks lived on board the BNL spaceship (Buy in Large - yeah, pretty gross, huh?).

I have never known hunger, and that is a fact for which I am thankful. There really are children who die every day from starvation in harder parts of the world. It's hard to even imagine. Today while we were feasting, cries went up to heaven for precious lives lost because they had no food or water.

I encourage you to free up your mind from the commercialized aspect of the approaching holidays. It's something hard to shake free when we've grown up with the "holiday spirit", but lights, music and food can hypnotize us straight through the next month if we let it. We'll be going through the motions and getting into the mood of the season. For businesses it is big bucks. Advertisements entice and tempt. We'll start to want things that we otherwise wouldn't have wanted because we saw it on TV or the web, just because it's being promoted. We'll start buying things for the people we know and love, just because we would feel guilty for not getting them anything. We don't want to hurt their feelings. Are you planning on charging a lot of your Christmas this year? Don't do it! Give what God has enabled you to give! Even if it is only your time! Build friendships and help others. Buck against the purchasing for the sale's sake. I'm not saying don't buy anything. Just ask God what he wants from you. Could He want you to pay someones water bill? Could He want you to help them in a tangible way? Are you a handy man? Are you a good cook? Build and bake and fix with your own two hands, and build friendships.

There is a story that Jesus told that I have always found fascinating. Here it is:

He also said to His disciples: “There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and an accusation was brought to him that this man was wasting his goods. So he called him and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward.’ “Then the steward said within himself, ‘What shall I do? For my master is taking the stewardship away from me. I cannot dig; I am ashamed to beg. I have resolved what to do, that when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.’ “So he called every one of his master’s debtors to him, and said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ And he said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ So he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ So he said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ And he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light. “And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home. He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in what is another man’s, who will give you what is your own? “No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”

When Jesus says that we should use unrighteous mammon (wealth) to make friends, He is telling us to plan for the future. The steward brought favor on the master from the debtors for reducing their debts. In the same way we can bring favor towards our God by spending our wealth (and time) in ways that bring them to Christ. A good rule of thumb is to look at all your wealth as God's spending account He has hired you to manage in order to bring more people into His family - His kingdom. It's all about motives. I hope that as the red and green pre-wrapped presents stare you down in the aisles of Walmart and Target, you don't get caught up in the "it's Christmas season so I've got to buy something" mindset. Before you go the store, take the time to shrewdly plan out how your investments will yield the most for your Master. And think outside the retail box. Don't just count your blessings - share them!

--Johnie

Is There Truth?

In Ben Stein's documentary "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed", Mr. Stein addresses the fact that many professors have been fired from universities or high ranking positions in science, just for mentioning intelligent design as a plausible possibility. Then he interviews many high profile evolutionists and asks them many questions about the controversy. Most of them, if not all, said that there could never be anything else besides evolution, and they believed it whole-heartedly, too, but with reservations. They did not want evolution questioned. They saw it as a step backwards, and commented repeatedly that they saw intelligent design as nothing more than a mere attempt to reconnect church and state.

In the documentary, Ben Stein asks Richard Dawkins, a self proclaimed atheist converted by evolution, about the origins of life, and Dawkins admitted that there could have been an intelligent force behind it all - maybe aliens from space! My, how Richard Dawkins has a strange way of being open minded. I guess since he has already closed his mind to God, he can't go there anymore. He just cannot bring himself to face the possibility that he might be wrong. Open to aliens and closed to God, and all to defend his precious faith in evolution.

So, that is the background for today's blog. And now I offer a challenge: Ask yourself why you believe what you believe, and how can you know that you believe the truth?

Now you might be thinking, "How can anyone really know what is true? Truth is relative." Well, I will ask another question for you to ponder: Have you ever been angry at anyone? Why? Did they hurt you? Were they mean to you? What did they say or do that got your blood to boiling? I hope you're not boiling now that I asked you to remember it, but I asked for a reason. What made what they did "wrong"? Couldn't it have been right for them? You remember the old song, "...feels so right, can't be wrong...." We have been told that some things are absolutely wrong, but what makes what any of us believes "the truth"? What makes something right or wrong?

I will illustrate the difficulty in determining right from wrong with two scenarios.

Is it wrong to steal?
Scenario 1-A: Is it wrong for a poor street child who grabs a piece of fruit from a marketplace stand? If you were the child, you would justify your stealing because you were hungry. You would be inclined to excuse yourself for stealing. If you owned the fruit stand however, you would want to be justified and would seek the offender because if you let one go, he would spread the news and soon you would be the most robbed fruit stand in the city.
Scenario 1-B: Is it wrong for two teenagers to shoplift Christmas presents at the mall? If you were the teens, you would feel justified because you deserved to give good gifts to those you loved. You would also feel justified because the prices the stores charge are like highway robbery anyway. You're just doing to them first. If you were the store being robbed, you would feel the injustice, and would have those children, once caught, prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law to set a harsh precedence to discourage others from stealing. If you did absolutely nothing, you would eventually be known to all who had it in their hearts to steal.
Question: Are you inclined to justify either of these thieves? If so, why not justify those being robbed? You would be hard-pressed to convince those robbed that they were not wronged.

Is it wrong to murder?
Scenario 2-A: Is it wrong for a brother to a kill a sibling out of jealousy? If you were the murderer, you would justify your murder because it made you feel powerful to put your sibling lower than you. If you were the sibling, you would feel the pain of the hatred as well as the injustice of having someone end your life. You only wanted to be liked.
Scenario 2-B: Is it wrong for a man to kill a foreign soldier after seeing his young daughter killed by a ground assault on "an insurgent stronghold"? If you were the man, you would feel justified because of the immense anger at the undeserved death of your little girl. If you were the soldier, you would have felt justified for throwing the grenade in the direction of the gunfire.
Question: Are you inclined to justify either of these murderers? If so, why not justify those being murdered? You would be hard-pressed to convince those murdered that they were not wronged.

Either there is a God or there isn't. But whether you believe in God or not, you will no doubt continue to cherish the God-given knowledge of injustice. There are some universal things that, no matter who they happen to, the recipient feels the injustice, where the heart cries out for justice. Rape, murder, abuse, being spit upon, torture - these are all things that bring out the worst in the perpetrator. They are known by their hatred and disregard for life. They flaunt their self-fulfilled sense of superiority over another. They defame and tear down. But more than anything else they are known by their justification of their..., what should we call it? How about sin?

The Creator of you and me established Himself as God and Judge of all mankind. It is amazing how it always comes back to God. If you do not accept God's authority as your Judge and Creator, then you will no doubt be one of those people who justifies their sin; maybe not to the extent of Richard Dawkins, but on the same path. It is for those who try to disprove and dismantle God, that He Himself gives the gift of the knowledge of injustice. Although they wish truth were relative, and regardless of how they have convinced themselves how right they are, their clock is still ticking down, and they have to work ever harder to justify their beliefs, actions, and choices. What they have is not true relativism. Instead what they have is only "relativism on demand": Quick to justify their own actions, but feeling superior to those they disagree with.

Take to heart where you stand in all this. Do you justify your sin? Are you avoiding church? If so, why? Have you been adopted by the living God? Are you angry with him for something from the past? Don't just trust your feelings. Question your beliefs. God wants to free you from the chains that bind you. Jesus chose to take your place on the cross. He really does care about you.

Jeremiah 17:9: "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; Who can know it?"

Psalm 44:20-22: "If we had forgotten the name of our God, or stretched out our hands to a foreign god, would not God search this out? For He knows the secrets of the heart."

Proverbs 16:4: "The LORD has made all for Himself. Yes, even the wicked for the day of doom."

Psalm51:6: "Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom."


--Johnie

Politics: From Rare to Well Done

Since the election this last Tuesday, I think some people have walked away with a few battle scars. Scars that were inflicted by friends, relatives, and co-workers of the opposite political party. I'm sure both sides have been pretty nasty and often over-zealous, so let's just go ahead and clear the air now. Deep breath in, deep breath out. Do that for a while until your blood pressure is down and then read further.

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Putting partisan politics aside is hard to do, especially when there is always a loser, and let's face it, America is pretty much split down the middle now-a-days. So how can we live with each other now after all the arrows have been flung and lots of judgments have been cast? Whether you personally like it or not, Barak Obama is about to be the next President and our national congress is a little more Democrat heavy than it was before. So what are we to do?

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Well, I'm glad I put the question in your head, and I also have an idea. In order to bring about a little more peace to your election weary mind, treat politics like steak. Some people like their steak so well done that its like a thick piece of beef jerky when it's taken off the grill. Others like their steak just barely seared on each side, nice and bloody and very pink. And either way we like it, we still manage to put up with seeing it eaten the other way - by our friends, relatives, and co-workers. The sight of it, either way, may make you cringe, but you just grin and bear it. For your own peace of mind, just chew your steak and not theirs!

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I liken a well done steak to conservativism, and a medium rare steak to liberalism, and then there are lots of medium-well independents in between. If you're a eat it while it's mooing kind of person, and happy that your steak just got voted favorite in 2008, please don't gloat. Be humble at the dinner table. And if you've been wounded during the steak flinging battle of the year, practice forgiveness, and if you really want to see change, or not so much change, then pray for those you differ with. And remember that God isn't into getting political converts. He's into changing hearts. So as you go back to the grill, no matter who you voted for, work on charity, humility, and caring for others, especially those you disagree with.

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Matthew 22:34-40 says, "...a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, 'Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?' Jesus said to him, '‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.'”

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--Johnie

My Own Personal Mr. Miyagi

I always wished I had my own personal Mr. Miyagi, from The Karate Kid movie. He's the kind of person who takes the underdog under his wings and teaches him everything he knows. You know, the true wisdom of life. Wax on-wax off! Paint the fence up! Paint the fence down! Catch fly with chopsticks! I watched the movie. I learned from Miyagi. At least I thought I learned.

After that movie came out, I'm sure every boy in America thought they had found the best thing since apple pie. Me and my friends had to try out the things we learned from Mr. Miyagi. We waxed on, and waxed off. Painted the fence up and painted down. When we wanted to show our power and our knowledge, it was customary to raise our hands in the air and assume the stork kick position. If you could do the famous stork kick while balancing on something sticking out of the ground then you were the man!

But what every boy really wanted was their own Mr. Miyagi. A man that took the time to teach them how to be a man. Someone who would teach by example. A leader who would challenge to go well beyond mediocre, to the point where there was satisfaction that you were doing your best and upholding a great tradition. I just knew in my heart Mr. Miyagi would have done the same for me and for anyone else. And I was right. He went on to make many more less famous Karate Kid spinoffs where he took others under his wing and taught them the art of Karate.

Now I'm 33, married with four kids, and I still sometimes find myself wanting my own personal Mr. Miyagi. Someone that makes the time to include me in developing my character. I think most guys hit adulthood feeling pumped about getting out in the world, but find that after a while it's a lot harder than they thought. Also not a lot of guys really ever experience friendship like Daniel-san and Mr. Miyagi had. Mr. Miyagi had maturity, and I wanted it too.

Well, I'm sure I have a point in all this. It's not good to try navigating life all by yourself. You'll sink your ship for sure. Also understand that while you may long for a mentor like Mr. Miyagi to help you deal with whatever stage of life you're in now, it might just be that you can be the Mr. Miyagi in someone else's life where they are. Look around everywhere you go, and these are the people that God has placed in your world where you have something to offer. Don't just spend all your time and all your energy on yourself, which is the norm. Invest yourself in others and you will have a full life. If you feel really alone and wish you had your own Miyagi, then talk to God about it. Hebrews 4:15 says, "We do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses." Jesus, our High Priest, knows what you're feeling, and beckons us to ask God to supply us with what we need. The Bible says, "Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us" and again it says, "whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight." In the book of James we are warned, "you do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures."

Do you need a friend or a mentor? Ask God specifically for one. Also ask Him to teach you how to be a true friend and mentor to someone else. No one can trick God into doing what they want, so we must examine our motives for what we ask. God never promised us a Mr. Miyagi, but He does promise, "I will never leave you nor forsake you, " and He is looking out for our best interests, so trust Him.


--Johnie

Pray for Your Leaders

Well there was a lot of cheering and a lot of worry going on this week across the country. Some people are just ecstatic that the first black president got elected. Others are worried that he is a democrat. I didn't vote for Obama because he is pro-abortion. I voted for the most pro-life candidate I could. I feel like Obama will do lots to undermine the rights of the unborn, just like Clinton did. Should we hate him though? No way!

God told us to submit to those in authority over us. Romans 13:1-7 says, "Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience’ sake. For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God’s ministers attending continually to this very thing. Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor."

Even if John McCain got elected he would still be a fallible man capable of immense amounts of evil. The same holds true for all leaders, even Barak Obama. He needs our prayers more than anything, especially since he is for some pretty immoral things. Just like with Saul, the people got what they wanted, and now we will all live under his rule. It is comforting to read the passage above though, and know that God is over Barak Obama. I'm not saying that God approves of everything that he does or says or wants to do. But Obama is subject to the kind of disciple that God gives to all the leaders of the world.

In 2 Samuel 24, David is given three choices of punishment for wanting to take a census of the people. He chooses God's judgment, but He says, "Please let us fall into the hand of the LORD, for His mercies are great; but do not let me fall into the hand of man.” The ultimate judge will always be more compassionate and merciful than any man. God then relented in His anger, when man would not have stopped.

Pray for not only the president, but all the leaders in your life, from spouse to boss to pastor, and on up the leadership chain. They are all prone to fall, and fall they often do. Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. There is an old hymn that fits us all, but I wish our leaders would sing it as a prayer in public everyday: "Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love. Here's my heart, Lord, take and seal it - seal it for Thy courts above." Lots of republicans were glad when Bush got elected, but he disappointed many of those who elected him, especially with the torture issue and people losing civil rights. It will be the same thing for Obama and his supporters once he starts his job. He is not "The One" or "Messiah." He is a man who now has a tremendous responsibility and a huge opportunity to mess up. Even if you didn't vote for him, pray for him. That's really trusting God.


--Johnie

Beyond Mediocrity

When my days on earth are done, I wonder what my first experience in heaven will be like. Will I see "the tunnel of light" that many near-deathers have reported? Will it be like the cartoon where you just appear at the outskirts of heaven waiting in line at the pearly gates? Or will I have to endure the heavenly movie "This was Your Life"? That would be depressing.

I do periodically reflect on if I am wasting any of my time. Is this blog really making a difference? Am I actually connecting to the people God has placed around me. Am I stuff focused or spirit focused? Temporal or eternal?

I think that the searching out of the heart is like a wake up call to shake off all those things that don't matter. Once I spent more than ten hours over five days trying to deal with a bank over the phone. What great memories! I'm sure my wife thinks back to that week and says to herself, "Oh, what a great week that was, cooking supper, chasing children, and watching Johnie shuffle bank statements while pressing a phone to his ear." Shirley Dobson wrote a book called Let's Make a Memory. When I remember that week I want to say, "Let's make up a memory! That one's pitiful!"

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I know from experience that just getting up, going through the motions, and then kissing that day goodbye just isn't good enough! Lately I've been trying to connect with the people around me, whoever they are. And I'm finding myself caring about them! Some of these same people were the reason I wanted to quit my job a couple of years ago. Now I want them to find the hope that I have found!

I try to make the most of the time with my kids, too. When they ask me to look at their drawings, it's not an annoyance - it's a blessing! I mean, when I weigh "paying the bills" against "making my daughters day", it's not really a hard decision. Which one will have more of an impact? The bills will always be there, but my kids won't. My oldest is 7 years away from the age Joyce was when we got engaged. I'm not saying it will happen the same way, but I can't take that risk. I sure don't want to be whispering "rosebud" on my deathbed. I want NO regrets.

The main reason I write this blog is that I want to see others discover their Creator, and to see that He's is working all around us! Jesus said, "The kingdom of God is within you." (Luke 17:21) That is where God wants to sit as king. I just see it as beneficial to share what God has been teaching me. I sure don't write it because I'm all that.

This life is about God. God wants us to look for Him, find Him, and become His friend. And if we spend our time doing anything else, we miss out and we wonder when we'll find OUR calling and OUR purpose. I don't care if you clean the floors at a nursing home, which by the way is a really grungy job, even there God wants us to look for Him. Do you see Him in the eyes of others?

"Give and it will come back to you, pressed down shaken together and running over."


--Johnie

God's People, Work, and Inheritance

I still remember the first time I read Isaiah 19, and how it rocked my world. I grew up always hearing my father say how he wished our government would just drop "the bomb" on all those "Arab countries", and then the world would be a better place. They were nothing but trouble, and deserved it. Well, I too thought that way for a long time, until three things happened.

First, my sister who was living in Ecuador told me about a lot of Palestinian Christians that lived in Quito had a tough time getting out of the Palestinian territory because they were suspected terrorists. But inside the Palestinian territory they were persecuted because they were Christians and not Muslims. I had never thought about Christians being stuck in the Palestinian territory and facing double persecution from the Muslims they were neighbors with and from Israel who treated them all the same.

Second, I heard a news story about the same thing. It was a radio interview of a Palestinian Christian family who was having an unbelievably hard time existing because of the ostracizing, the death threats, and the shutting off of the borders from the outside world. I couldn't believe that at one time I had honestly agreed with my father about wiping them off the map.

Third, I read Isaiah 19, and I heard God say these words,

"In that day there will be an altar to the LORD in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the LORD at its border. And it will be for a sign and for a witness to the LORD of hosts in the land of Egypt; for they will cry to the LORD because of the oppressors, and He will send them a Savior and a Mighty One, and He will deliver them. Then the LORD will be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians will know the LORD in that day, and will make sacrifice and offering; yes, they will make a vow to the LORD and perform it. And the LORD will strike Egypt, He will strike and
heal it; they will return to the LORD, and He will be entreated by them and heal
them. In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and the
Assyrian will come into Egypt and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians
will serve with the Assyrians."

And then in verses 24 and 25 it says, "In that day Israel will be one of three with Egypt and Assyria—a blessing in the midst of the land, whom the LORD of hosts shall bless, saying, 'Blessed is Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel My inheritance.'"

God says right there that He loves these two Muslim extremist nations, Egypt and modern day Syria. Now it says before this that He will break them with suffering, and make them His own, but He would only bring tough times on them to change their hearts.

I hope you can see the lesson I learned. Who am I to cast a God judgement on a people. God is God, and I am not. Even Michael didn't try to throw an accusing word at Satan when disputing the body of Moses. Instead He said, "The LORD rebuke you!" (Jude 1:9) For God is the Judge; not me - not you.

Now, let me ask you, is there any skin color, nationality, pedigree, social class, lifestyle or faith that you have ever wished was erased from the earth. It's hard to look at the ugly in us, but if it's there, deal with it. Throw out your pride, pray for your enemies, and confess your hatred to your Creator. If you choose to keep it, you will shut out any chance of finding joy or peace in the tough times. It will control your life.

Trust God, who prophesies of some of the evil people around you, calling them, "My people, the work of My hands, and my inheritance." Do you doubt it. Well, if you're a Christian, don't you see it? That's exactly what He did for you.

--Johnie

Fireproof - The Movie

Always stay with your partner, especially in a fire.

Joyce and I watched Fireproof the movie tonight, and it was great! It made me think a lot about how love is interested in the other person's best, and that without expecting anything in return. Love is a verb, and is not just something spoken. Love is shown by our choices and our actions.

It's hard to describe a movie that actually has a moral. Watching it really made me want to take action. What are the things I expect out of my spouse that I have no control over. I mean the only thing I really have any control over is what I do. I can't change anyone but me. I can show the love for my wife and kids by how I spend my time and money. If I spend on me, then I guess I am showing love to only me. But if I sacrifice some of my "me time" then I then have time to spend on others.

Here's a test: If you truly care about your spouse, then they should know it. Ask them:

• Do you think we have a great marriage?
• On a scale of 1 to 10, what would you rank our marriage?
• Do you think I care about you more than anything else?
• Is there anything you wish I would give up for us?

How well do you know your spouse? Well, you may think "too well," but if you want a strong marriage then by your actions you need to show them that they are important to you. Even if it doesn't reciprocate. Love is a gift that you can give by caring about someone besides yourself.

If you haven't seen the movie, go see it. You'll be glad you did.

--Johnie

Letting Go is Hard to Do

"Then they also brought infants to Him that He might touch them; but when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. But Jesus called them to Him and said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.” - Luke 18:15-17

What does it mean to be in control? Is it if someone has all their debts paid off and has a healthy savings account? Are they financially "in control"? If someone always keeps the house spotless and dresses nice, does that make them "in control"?

Often we think we have everything under control when circumstances fall in our favor. You know: All the bills are paid on time, the car is running good, no family members are sick, and your boss likes you. Things are going good, so everything is under control.

But what about when things are not so good. Your boss doesn't like you, your parents are in the nursing home constantly sick, the belt on the car is about to break again, but you are still driving it around because you don't have the money to get it fixed. Yikes! Life is spinning out of control!

We all want to think ourselves capable, but how important is it to God if we are capable? How does God feel about beggars? Well, its pretty easy to judge them as "do nothings", but God freely accepted Lazarus the beggar when he died. He was loved by God as a beggar just as much as when he was resting in Abraham's bosom.

To be honest, I think we all have trouble contemplating total submission to God. We work to provide for our families - don't we? We are strong and healthy, probably because we are eating oh so right - aren't we? We stay busy with work, church, organizations, hobbies, and our kids activities, so we're productive - right? What could we possibly do to earn God's favor? The answer is nothing!

A child knows how to enjoy life and not worry about the fine details about how things happen. Just like children, we need to accept God's free gift for what it is - Free. Also children believe what they hear, and their belief is unshakable because they trust adults as caregivers. Those who trust in Christ's forgiveness are new creations and adopted children of the Living God. We have to face the fact that He is our provider and we are not. We really don't have anything to offer God. But He wants us to let go of thinking that we are in control. He wants us to trust Him. You may have a good paying job right now, but if you lose it will you worry because you are no longer in control? If you lose your house or your car, does that make you a bad person? No, but if you think it's all up to you, then you'll be down on yourself.

There is nothing we can do to earn God's favor. God just wants us to trust Him in the big things and in the little things. He wants us to then be amazed at what He does and to praise Him for it.


--Johnie