Pray for Indonesia

The death toll from last Saturdays earthquake in Indonesia is nearing 6,000 and doesn't seem to show any sign of slowing. Tens of thousands more are injured and homeless. All in in instant. Takes my breath away. Take a moment to be silent, reflect, and pray.

Missions and Mercy

I have often found that Christians are either concerned with missions to the unreached or mercy to the poor, sick, and downtrodden. This is unfortunate because these things are actually two pockets on the same pair of pants...those pants being God's Glory.

Usually people who argue the primacy of reaching the unreached over mercy and compassion types of work say things like, "What does it profit a man to save his life, but to lose his soul?" While I agree with that statement whole-heartedly, I think we should examine the truth of Ghandi's statement that "There are people in the world so hungry, that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread. " The falacy of their argument is called a false delimma. I have never heard of anyone who had to choose between feeding the hungry or sharing the Gospel. You can and should do both. As a matter of fact, feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, caring for the downtrodden, and healing the sick may are one of the many things that God uses to break down barriers to the Gospel. So, encourage mercy and compassion with your words, money, and actions. The Gospel will not go forth without love for those to whom it is going.

People who argue the primacy of mercy over proclaiming the Gospel to the unreached usually say something like, "What good does it do to give a mother with starving children a Bible?" Once again, there is some truth in this statement, but also once again we're back to the false delimma. You can both help that mother feed her children and tell her the Good News that a Savior and Great King has come and help her to follow Him well. Those who tend to overlook the importance of the Gospel going to every tribe, tongue, and nation should remember that the redeemed followers of Jesus are meant to be much more than just the Peace Corps. They are indeed the feeders of the hugry, the defenders of the defenseless, and the healers of the sick, but they are also the heralds of a precious and glorious Truth. A Truth without which all the food, social activism, and medicine in the world would be useless. For the follower of Jesus, all mercy and compassion has it's roots in the Gospel. We do well not to forget it. Support missions to the unreached with you words, your money, and your life.

No more false delimmas. God intends to redeem His Children from this world using those who have already been redeemed. This is a great mystery, as well as a great truth. Realize that both missions to the unreached and compassion and mercy works will be necessary in this endeavor. Also realize that various people are equiped and gifted in different ways to see this task to it's end, and rejoice in that fact. Not all will be missionaries to an unreached people, not all will join the Peace Corps, but all followers of Jesus have a part to play in pushing back the darkness.

Go and Find Out What This Means

So I went to the angel and told him to give me the little scroll. And he said to me, “Take and eat it; it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey.” And I took the little scroll from the hand of the angel and ate it. It was sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it my stomach was made bitter. -- Revelation 10:9-10

But you, son of man, hear what I say to you. Be not rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you.” And when I looked, behold, a hand was stretched out to me, and behold, a scroll of a book was in it... And he said to me, “Son of man, eat whatever you find here. Eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.” So I opened my mouth, and he gave me this scroll to eat. And he said to me, “Son of man, feed your belly with this scroll that I give you and fill your stomach with it.” Then I ate it, and it was in my mouth as sweet as honey. -- Ezekiel 2:8 - 3:3

Your words were found, and I ate them -- Jeremiah 15:16

Your Soul Needs the Wild

Last week I was in Colorado with my girlfriend, and she and I and our friend Matt went on a hike into the Los Pinos canyon in the Weminuchie Wilderness Area. As we were walking and talking I realized that the longer I follow Jesus, the more spiritual my time in the wilderness and out in Creation becomes. It landed on me as never before how much of God there is to see in the mountains, woods, fields, rivers, oceans, and skies. Our Sacred Writtings seem to confirm this (Psalm 19, Romans 1). Charles Spurgeon said it like this: "Every man may hear the voices of the stars. Many are the languages of terrestrials, to celestials there is but one, and that one may be understood by every willing mind." So, this is my encouragement to myself and anyone else to spend more time out in Creation away from the glory of men and in the Glory of God. To deprive yourself, or anyone else, of time in Creation is not too far removed from being deprived of Holy Scripture. Both reveal God. Obviously the Holy Writ does so with much more clarity and precision, but that is not to say that the woods and the wilds are not important. If you want to know God, experience God, and see God, then neglecting time in Creation is not an option. Your soul needs the wild. Once again, Charles Spurgeon says it well: "Strange is it that some who love God are yet afraid to study the God-declaring book of nature."

Missions Motivation Mondays

"He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose"

-- Jim Elliot, missionary martyr who lost his life at age 28 in the late 1950's trying to reach the Auca Indians of Ecuador

Hear ye! Hear ye!

Hear ye! Hear ye! Hear ye! All rebels, insurgents, dissidents, and protesters against the King! Hear the royal decree! A great day of reckoning is coming, a day of justice and vengeance. But now hear this, all inhabitants of the King’s realm! Amnesty is herewith published by the mercy of your Sovereign. A price has been paid. All debts may be forgiven. All rebellion absolved. All dishonor pardoned. None is excluded from this offer. Lay down the weapons of rebellion, kneel in submission, receive the royal amnesty as a gift of imperial love, swear fealty to your sovereign, and rise a free and happy subject of your King.

(Quote from God is the Gospel by John Piper)

I are Graduated!

My beautiful, wonderful girlfriend and I both graduated from college this week. WHOOP! Now, this distance relationship business can finally be over (There isn't enough space here for me to type out the appropriate onomatopoeia). I'm leaving in a few days to go be with my fair maiden, and then we will strike out on an adventure or two. Distance relationships are harder than I can describe, and while I wouldn't wish it upon anyone, it has been totally worth it. If you ever meet the person of your dreams, don't let them get away. Whatever you have to do...don't let them get away.

Why Christians Should Care About the Environment

Mark 12:28-34..."And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” And the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him. And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions."

I don't think anyone would disagree with me if I said that it would be hard to exagerate the importance of this passage in the life of a follower of Jesus. If you do disagree, then you should stop reading this because I am about to base much of what I will say off of this passage.

Here are some facts:

• Over 40% of all tropical rainforests have been destroyed and another acre is lost each second.
• While the U.S.A. makes up only 5% of the world's population, we use 33% of the world's resources and produce 72% of all hazardous waste.
• In 13 of 15 of the world's major fishing zones, harvests have shrunk by an average of 30% because of overfishing
• Roughly 70,000 people die prematurly in America from heart & lung disearse aggravated by air polution.
• More that 100 million Americans live in areas where the air is classified by the EPA as unsafe to breath
• One-half of America's lakes and rivers are too polluted to be safe for swimming or drinking
• Raw seage runoff has caused 8000 beach closures or advisories in America in the last five years
• Americans use 1,000,000 gallons of oil every two minutes.

It took me only ten minutes to find these facts, and I haven't even mentioned the third world countries who feel these effects even more dramatically that we do.

Historically speaking, such a large and massive environmental problem is very new. It has come to the point that it absolutely demands a response from the Christian community, yet Christians have been very slow to respond, or at worst made fun of those who are concerned about the problem. About the only time most Christians hear anything from other Christians about the creation is in the context of "versus evolution." Because environmentalism has been championed by the far left, hippies, free spirited tree huggers, etc., most staight-laced Christians have side stepped the issue for fear of being lumped together with that group. This is tragic because the liberals, hippies, democrats, republicans, and everyone else should have to get in line behind Christians to defend creation.

The only attempt I have come across at a Christian response to the environmental crisis goes something like this: Creation has fallen along with humanity, been made corrupt by sin and sinful men, and will be destroyed in the end times and then be remade again. Therefore, it would be foolish and shortsighted to worry too much about this temporary world.

While agree with much of this, I think that this argument is not only feeble and foolish itself, but dangerous as well. If Christ delays in returning, history will look back on fundamental, anit-environmental Christians with the same contempt as the "Christians" of the Spanish Inquisition and The Salem Witch Trials. We will have shamed our God, Master, LORD, Creator, and Teacher.

I am going to do my best here to actually formulate an argument, from the Bible, that God does not want us to burn down the house He gave us to live in. Not only that, but caring for the environment is intimately connected to the greatest commandment. In the 21st century and beyond, I believe it will be impossible to live out the Christian life rightly without being concerned about the environment.

So, the first part of the greatest commandment as shown above in Mark...Love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength...how does it relate to the environmental concerns of our age? Well, this is how:

• God is the Creator of all things (Genesis 1, Pslam 24:1-2)
• Creation belongs to God, not to us (1 Chronicles 29:11)
• Creation praises God (Pslam 19:1)
• God's Wisdom and Power are seen in nature (Romans 1:20)
• Creation was given to humans aas stewards and caretakers (Genesis 1, Pslam 8:6-8)
• Jesus, our Lord and Saviour, was creator with God (Colossians 1:16-17)

If my girlfriend was an artist and I told her that I loved her, but then cared little for her creations and worse, took part in the destruction of those creations, you would not say that I truly loved her, and you would be right.

You'll hear some say that God gave us dominion over creation to subdue it. Well, dominion is a good, but archaic word. It means control. If you let a friend borrow your car, you give him dominion over it. If that friend carelessly wrecked it and couldn't understand why that upset you and he used the argument that, "You gave me dominion over it," you would still be ticked, and you would have every right to be so. In a similar way, reading those passages of the Bible that speak of "dominion" and "subduing the earth" as meaning that it doesn't matter how we treat the earth is terribly misguided, and I would say absolutely wrong. If you love the Creator, then take care of creation.

Now the second part of the commandment, "Love your neighbor as yourself." How does this apply to the environment? Well, first let's define neighbor. Jesus, in the parable of the Good Samaritan, defines neighbor as anyone who needs your help that you are able to help. So, with that definition, in today's global society for a well-off American, that means nearly anyone.

Environmental degredation is a global human (think neighbor) issue. Problems like pollution, deforestation, biosystem destruction, etc. are primarlily liked to poor use and stewardship of creation. The actions of both the wealthy and the poor are responsible, yet the poor suffer most -- i.e. our neighbors.

For example, communities that rely on agriculture (esp. in 3rd world countries) can go hungry if polluted rain water causes diminished crop returns. Pesticides and industrial waste kills fish stocks upon entering water supplies. This especially harms poor communities that depend on fish. When trees are cut down from slopes, the soil becomes unstable and can cause landslides. Erosion into rivers caused by deforestation can cause flooding further downstream, again affecting communities that live near water resources. I recently heard a missionary from Kenya say that if environmental degredation in that country continues at its present rate, then it will soon kill more people than AIDS.

It is time for Christians, in the name of the beauty of Christ, the Glory of God, and love for neighbor, to turn around and swim upstream. The way we view and treat the environment says something to the watching world about how we feel about our Creator, and dramatically impacts our neighbors all over the world. Find a way to care. Find a way to make a difference.

Something Wrong Here

"When I meet a Buddhist leader, I meet a holy man. When I meet a Christian leader, I meet a manager." -- Japanese businessman

Hank Goes Church Shopping

I don't know whether to laugh or cry at this. All I can say is watch it. Maybe we should do both.

A Tribute to Steven Castro

When I first met Steven, he was homeless, jobless, a convicted fellon, and very hard to look at because of acne scars and his rotting teeth. That was almost four years ago, and now Steven has a job, an apartment, and a Christian dentist in Houston that made Steven some dentures for free. Being Steven's friend has not always been easy...as a matter of fact, there were definitely times that I wished I had never met him. You see, Steven can be a bit annoying at times. He doesn't just call once and leave a voice mail, he calls thirty times a day until you answer the phone and talk to him. This really bothered me for a long time, but then I began to see the way people (including myself) treated him, and I realized he probably doesn't get too many "call backs." My guess would be none. He has to keep calling, because if he doesn't, he will be forgotten. In some ways, it seems Steven was born forgotten. His life has been a sad story. Steven can be really good at playing the victim...he expects things not to go his way. This, too, can get very annoying. But then I kept thinking, "Would I be any different if I had not a friend in the world and all my efforts to get out of my hole were met with bitter frustration?" Even the churches in town won't let Steven in (5 and counting have turned Steven away, Chruches of Christ, Baptists, Bible, and non-denominational), even though he is a genuine, born-again Christian. He has a checkered past, he doesn't look polished and clean, and he has a tendency to ask for financial help continually from those he befriends, and so...he isn't welcome, not even to a church. He had a job at Sonic for a while cleaning the parking lot, but some woman who had heard about his past demanded that he be fired or she wouldn't be coming back. Needless to say, Steven was fired. She goes to one of those churches. He had a job at Quiznos for a while, but almost the same thing happened. His past was discovered, and he was fired. Just a few weeks ago, he was at a convenience store using a pay phone and was beat up by a man screaming, "We don't want child molesters around here." Too bad that man didn't take time to learn Steven's story. He might have learned that things are not always what they appear. Steven called the police, and even though he provided them with the man's licence plate number, they said they couldn't do anything. I'll bet if it had been a white, middle-class woman who got beat up they could have done something. But it wasn't...it was Steven. I confess, there have been many nights that Steven has called and asked if I could meet him at Starbucks to just hang out for a while and I told him I was too busy. I wasn't. If any of my other friends had called and asked to hang out, I would have found a way. Steven has called before and asked for money for groceries, and I told him I din't have any spare money. Yet, if any of my other friends had asked for money, I would have found a way to help. And I am one of Steven's friends. So why didn't I help him? This gets to the heart of the matter. I didn't help Steven because Steven didn't have anything to offer me. He didn't have money, he wasn't well known, he wasn't well connected, he wasn't easy to look at, and getting seen with Steven could give you a certain stigma around town, and so I didn't help. The root of the matter is this: my love is mercenary. How could this be? I am a Christian. I love everyone... at least I thought I did. Not so. I love those whom it is convenient to love. Father forgive me. Jesus forgive me. Steven forgive me. You have been my friend when in fact you should have spit in my face. I have turned my back on you in your hour of need many times, and yet you do not hate me. You still call and ask to go to Starbucks. You are a good man Steven. A better man than me. Only one other place have I found forgiveness like that... Jesus. Thank you Steven. This is my tribute to you. You have shown me unconditional love when mine was mercenary. You have exposed deep seeded and culturally accepted sin in my life, and in so doing have made me a better follower of Christ. You have helped me to see how prideful and selfish I can be, and I am a better man now because of you. One day Jesus is coming back Steven, and for every ounce of joy I will feel at His coming, you will feel 10,000 times more. I love this world far more than I should because it has been kind to me. You, on the other hand, have a far more clear understanding of reality. This world is not your home, and you know it. You are anxiously awaiting your Saviour, and on that day when He comes back your joy will be the envy of all who see. God bless you Steven, and I could wish that everyone had a Steven Castro in their life.

Josh Garrels has a new album

Josh Garrels recently released his new album "Over Oceans." I haven't heard it yet, but if it is anything like his previous efforts, then it is a work of absolute musical genius. I can't recommend music by this man in strong enough terms. His music is creative, catchy, profound, not cliche, and will make you happier than a puppy with two tails.

...And this is the spot where Jason messed up big time

Often, as I drive down the road, I notice little memorials to people who have driven off the road and killed themselves in those spots. I would like to say here, very publicly, if I ever drive off the road and kill myself, please don't put up a cross or anything else to memorialize my last and greatest screw-up. If you must put up a memorial in my honor (and I strongly encourage you to not even do that), please put it somewhere that I actually did something right and good.

Are luxuries a sin?

I am here going to do my best to give a Biblically faithful answer to the question:
Is having luxuries in a world full of preventable suffering a sin?

Before I go any further, I would like to first define luxuries for my purposes here. I define a luxury as anything above and beyond meeting basic needs, basic levels of comfort, basic responsibility, basic ability to function well in your culture, and basic ability to do your job well. I get the impetus for this definition from Proverbs 30:8. I suppose I could go on and further define basic needs, basic responsibilities, etc., but that could get a bit tedious, so for now we will let this definition stand alone.

So now, where to begin? Let's start with Matthew 10:29-37:
But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”

I gather that the point of the parable is this: Your neighbor is anyone who needs your help that you have the ability to help. Furthermore, we are obligated in love to go out of our way to provide that help where we see a need. So, how do we apply this to our current situation as educated, fairly affluent, Western Christians in a world that is still repleat with enough preventable hunger, disease, and suffering to bring any thoughtful and loving Christian to tears? Here is my train of thought:

• Is it a sin to disobey a clear teaching of Jesus? Yes
• Is it a clear teaching of Jesus to show mercy when you are able? Yes
• Therefore, it is a sin to not show mercy to your neighbor when you are able, and in this day and age, almost everyone is your neighbor according to Jesus' definition.

So to bring back our original question: Is having luxuries in a world full of preventable suffering sin? My answer is this: If luxuries prevent you from showing mercy and love to your neighbor, then they are a sin. If you could get by with a car that is several thousand dollars cheaper, then it seems that vanity would be the only reason to have a nicer one, especially if that money could be used to advance the Gospel or alleviate preventable suffering. The same could be said of clothing, recreation, food, Dish satelites, second homes, etc., etc. This obviously wouldn't look the same for everyone. One man was told by Jesus to sell everything he owned, another was moved to sell half and commended for it, still another sold a field, and still others in Scripture sold things "as others had need," and yet still others used their possesions themselves as a way to advance the Kingdom without actually selling them. James 2:16 is also a scripture that could be looked at here, but this is getting a bit long already.

In general, perhaps it is the "entitlement mentality" that is sinful. Just because you can afford something, doesn't mean that you are justified/entitled to have it, especially if your resources could be better used in some Kingdom capacity. I am fully aware that if I am correct, then my life is far from this ideal, and I pray that God will help me to do some pretty heavy duty repenting so that I will not be like the man "desiring to justify himself."

An immediate, and almost cliche, objection to this line of reasoning usually go like this, "David, Solomon, and Abraham were wealthy, and they were considered righteous men of God." My answer to this objection comes in several layers.

First, I am not saying that luxuries, in and of themselves, are sinful.

Second, just because an OT character portrays a certain attitude, action, or lifestyle, that doesn't necessarily mean that Christians would be justified in immitating it. Abraham, David, and Solomon were wealthy indeed, but they also did many things that it would be sinful for the Christian to do that we don't see them recognizing as sinful. Solomon's many wives pop into mind.

Thirdly, Jesus and the Apostolic witness shed new light, in many ways, on how the Children of Promise should live. Jesus himself updates (I'm not sure what the best word would be here) many practices that were seemingly endorsed by the OT. Divorce comes to mind. Moses said it was OK with a certificate, but Jesus gets straight to the meat of the matter and draws out a previously unseen way of viewing life and choices, one that is radically God centered. The New Testament, along with other things, seems to give Christians a new and higher view of possessions and money than the one given in the OT.

And the last reason that I don't think Abraham, et al. , are a good example for the Christian of how to use wealth is that their lives were foreshadowings of deeper truths. The material blessings belonging to the Old Testament heros of the faith were pointing toward the deeper, truer, more eternal spiritual blessings that we enjoy here, and will enjoy even more in Heaven. As the Biblical revelation moves from "type" to "reality" we see less and less material possesions and more and more spirtual possesions.

In conclusion, I am not saying that all rich people are necessarily any more sinful than poor people. I am saying simply this: If luxuries prevent you from showing mercy and love to your neighbor, then they are a sin. Ultimately, anything that does not spring from a love for God, His Glory, His Kingdom, and your neighbor is sin. God help us. Soli Deo Gloria!

How do we recieve the children?

Mark 9:34-37 -- "He [Jesus] sat down and called the twelve. . . .And he took a child and put him in the midst of them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them, ‘Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.’"

If we want to know how we are doing in our quest to follow and become like Jesus, one thing we can use as a litmus test is this, "How do we relate to children?" According to Mark, if we recieve children, we recieve Jesus, and if we recieve Jesus, we recieve God. Therefore, how we feel about children is a good indication about the condition of our relationship with God. Something is deeply wrong with a soul that won't condescend to love children...to hold a child in its arms.

According to the newest International Labor Organization report, "the end of child labor is within reach." Highlights of the report include the following: "...between 2000 and 2004 the number of child workers worldwide fell from 246 million to 218 million... The number of children aged 5-17 doing hazardous work saw an even steeper decline, from 171 million in 2000 to 126 million in 2004."

Apparently the primary contributing factors to the decline are increased political will, awareness, poverty reduction and mass education. This report should cause Christians to both rejoice, and to anxiously press forward. Director-General Somavia said, "In this 21st century, no child should be brutalized by exploitation or be placed in hazardous work, no child should be denied access to education. No child should have to slave for his or her survival. Let's keep up the momentum. Let's resolve to keep investing in the struggle for the right of all children to their childhood." AMEN! How are you recieving the children?

Dumbfounded

So, I don't really consider myself much of a TV watcher, but I'm not really a TV abstainer either (although I'd like to be). When I do watch the Ol' Tube, I'm usually watching the news, The History Channel, The Discovery Channel, The National Geographic Channel...you get the idea. So lately I've seen several shows about people who spend lots of money and effort to "bring up" ships and airplanes that have sunk or crashed and burned respectively to the bottom of the ocean/sea/lake. My question is , "Why?" These transport vehicles are at the bottom of the sea because they failed to do what they were intended to do. In other words, they suck. So now that they've been on the bottom of the sea for several decades, I'm guessing they suck even worse. What gets really crazy is that it costs more money to get the cruddy hunk of metal off the bottom of the ocean than it would cost to buy a brand new one that works!!! Brilliant. Then, once you've retrieved said sorry hunk of metal, it costs even more to "restore" it to its former suckiness. Now don't get me wrong, I understand that some of these boats and planes have historical value, but they (museums, collectors, the military, etc.) already have the same kinds of boats and planes (some still in service) that actually work. Why do they want to spend all that money to fish up the ones that didn't? I'm absolutely dumbfounded. Can someone explain this?

For Better or For Worse....

I've been kicking the idea of starting a blog around for a while, but I wasn't sure if it was a good idea or not. What in the world could a 24 year old from Texas have to say that hasn't been said already? And furthermore, why would anyone care even if I could think of anything unique and original to say? I have finally decided that I don't care. This blogging thing seems interesting enough, and I like to hear myself talk enough to give it a spin. So, watch out world. For better or for worse, I'm entering the blogosphere.