A Call to Action

So, I’m up pretty late studying, and trying to make sure I’m ready class tomorrow night. The study this week is on the Lord’s prayer, and how it is more than just a conversation to God, but also, a call to action within the world. While studying this point further, I came across this quote from Karl Barth.

“To clasp the hands in prayer is the beginning of an uprising against the disorder of the world”

Let us pray in such a way that is not to move God into action, but allows us to be moved into action by God. Rather than let our lives determine our prayers, let our prayers determine our lives.

ABC Nightline Debate: Does Satan Exist?

Well, I’m a little bit behind on this one, but I just finished watching ABC’s Nightline debate that aired a few months ago. The question was, “Does Satan Exist?”

The panelists included:

Mark Driscoll, from the Mars Hill Church in Seattle

Annie Lobert, a prostitute turned Christian, who founded Hookers For Jesus

Deepak Chopra, a philosopher and New Age spiritualist

Carlton Pearson, former Charismatic preacher, who changed his theology after having a conversation with God

First, let me start by saying I wasn’t much a fan of the debate. I felt the biggest problem was a lack of scholars. On both sides, really. The closest to scholars was a philosopher on one side, and a preacher on the other. Don’t get me wrong, I thought it was interesting, sure, but neither side did much to actually answer the question that was presented.

Annie Lobert, who has an amazing story, was probably in over her head a little. She has a ministry that is awesome, and has changed a lot of lives, but she does not have any theological training.

However, on the other side, Carlton Pearson, seemed to be speaking absolute nonsense. You never knew what he was going to say next. I find it sort of funny he still refers to himself as a bishop, because he seems to reject most of what enabled him to gain that title. You almost felt like he was sort of making it up as he went.

So, in reality, it turned into more of a debate between Driscoll and Chopra. The bad part is, because of the way the debate evolved, it made both of them come across as arrogant. I don’t believe either of them meant to come off that way, but I did get that feeling.

Chopra, a philosopher, had some interesting ideas. He seemed to be a little scatter-brained, which made it difficult to understand him sometimes. And a couple of times he said something that either is over my head a little, or just doesn’t make sense.

Driscoll, I thought was the most articulate. He made the points he was trying to make, and made them understandable. I also thought he was pretty enjoyable to watch.

The biggest thing I loved about the debate comes from my Christian bias. Early on you could tell the question was not going to be answered. The Satan does exist side said, “It’s in the Bible, and I’ve felt him.” While the Satan doesn’t exist side said, “I don’t believe the Bible, I’ve felt something, too, but it’s not Satan.” So what Driscoll and Lobert did, I thought was amazing. They turned it into a presentation of the gospel. For them, it became about Christ, rather than about the devil.

The biggest example of this happens towards the end. Driscoll, for a few seconds, talks to Annie about her past. Yes, he eventually turns that into a question for Chopra, but I don’t think that was his purpose. His purpose was to make sure the people watching knew her story, knew her pain, and knew how Christ brought her out of it.

So if you want to watch the debate, it’s about 21 minutes long. Here is the link to watch it at Mars Hill’s website. Y’all have a great time.

Coming Up

Hello to everyone (both of you) who has decided to stop by. For some who don’t know, one thing I really enjoy is the opportunity to speak/teach about God. Luckily, this summer God has blessed me with a couple opportunities to do just that. Once again this summer, I will be heading down to Barton Bible Camp to be a counselor for the high school session. This is always an amazing week, and I really look forward to the chance to work with campers there.

This year I will be speaking on Monday night. This is back to the same night I spoke a couple of years ago. After speaking on Thursday night last year, believe me when I say I am happy to be back on Monday. For two reasons, really. Speaking Thursday night, I was the last one to talk. I was really nervous that by the time it was my turn, I would have nothing new to say to the kids. That everything I had studied for would’ve been said by one of the other speakers already. Fortunately, God worked it out fine. And fortunately, this year I am saved the temptation to worry about the same thing, since I am one of the first to speak. Second, is the biggest reason I am back to Monday night. Even though I enjoy every second of speaking, I have a severe problem with nerves. I’ve heard it said that nerves are good, and just shows you are focused. Well I am here to say that person never got near as nervous as me. It is not something that always happens when I speak, but for some reason Barton is a different story. I’m talking can’t eat, can’t drink, leaves the opening few songs so I can go throw up again, type of nerves. Luckily, they all seem to subside once I say the first word. But until then, it pretty much sucks. So this year, by speaking on Monday, I can get that out of the way, and enjoy the rest of the week.

Also, beginning in a few weeks, I’ll be leading the Wednesday night devos for the college class at UCC. I’m planning on taking 3 or weeks to really dive into a specific topic. I haven’t decided for certain what that will be, and if you have any ideas, please leave a comment and let me know. The one idea that I am looking at is a short study on the names of God. Specifically inspired by John Waller’s song, Love To Say Your Name. I don’t know. With how my mind works, I will probably change it about 30 times between now and then.

Random Bits

Hey, everybody! Just thought I would stop in and give ya’ll an update on things I’ve been excited about.

First, I want t send out a big congratulations to Kris Allen. I know everyone here in Conway is super excited for him. But there is one thing I want you to know. Kris and I both worked at Hibbett Sports for a while, although at different stores. On a couple of occasions, I would go over to the store Kris was at to be a fill-in manager. Talking to Kris on those occasions, and hearing him talk about wanting to do the whole music thing, what you see is what you get. I always tend to be a little cynical of people who gather fame, but I can tell you for a fact, that Kris is a great guy, a strong Christian, and every bit deserving.

Second, Chris Carpenter returned to the pitcher’s mound yesterday for the Cards, and as always was incredible. Here’s to a few more great starts before getting hurt again,Chris! It really is sad. Carpenter just can’t seem to stay healthy. I fully believe that if not for injuries, Carpenter would be a hall-of-famer.

Works vs. Legalism

So, just for your own knowledge, I have decided to cancel the rest of causes week. I found that the other causes I was going to present, were not as meaningful to me. Therefore, I felt it would be dishonest of me to bring forth other causes that I’m not even sure I would support with my own money. That being said, whenever I do find new causes that I love, I will put those on here and bring them to your knowledge.

Today, I want to talk about something that has troubled me recently. I have found there seems to be more and more people who a tendency to put the works of a Christian and legalism together. Bunching them like they are one in the same. This really bothers me because, I feel, it destroys the importance of living a faithful life.

I like to explain the difference like this. Legalism is living for grace, while works are living from grace. One is to achieve, while the other is a response to the grace of God.  We preach a God who offers his grace freely, recklessly, with no regards to caution. But this grace is a grace of stipulations. This is a grace of circumstance. It is offered to everyone, yes, but it is not received by everyone. You see, to receive God’s grace means you must submit to God as God. It means everything else becomes secondary.

John 14:15, the popular verse, quotes Jesus, “If you love me you will keep my commandments.”

Grace must have an effect in our lives. I do not baptize to achieve heaven. I baptize because Jesus said to (Matthew 28:18-20). And I love him. I do not live the Christian life because it makes me more worthy. I live the Christian life because Jesus said to. And I love him.

Legalism is just too easy of an excuse not to do anything. God’s grace is free to us. But if we accept it, then it will show in our lives. Because we love him.

John

It is a question you can’t avoid. If you grow up in the church, the question is going to come up eventually. If you could be any character in the Bible, who would it be? I always answered the question, but my answer was different every time. I usually just answered the first guy I could think of that I liked. Because I really didn’t feel strongly about anybody. There were a lot of amazing people in the Bible, sure, but no one ever “grabbed” hold of me. No one ever stuck. Until now.

I have recently started studying the Gospel of John. I wanted to study one of the gospels, searching to know more about Jesus. But while learning about Jesus, I have become attached to another man, also. John the Apostle.

What would it be like to be Jesus’ best friend on Earth? What would it be like to be given a nickname by Jesus himself? To have the opportunity to laugh and tell the other disciples what Peter said about building houses for everybody, during the transfiguration of Jesus? And of course to see the Jesus in his glory? To lean your head on Jesus chest, like only a close friend can do, and to show concern over who would betray him? To see your best friend flogged, and beaten, and mocked? To see him nailed to a tree? To have Jesus trust you enough to leave you in care of his own mother? To run on a Sunday morning to find an empty tomb? To see your closest friend, who had died, alive again? What would that be like? John knows. What an incredible journey.

I am a man fighting and longing for the day when I can truthfully say that Jesus is my best friend. John can say that.

So, in an effort to get a couple of comments, hopefully. If you could have been a Bible character, who would it be? And no, you can’t pick Jesus.

Causes – Invisible Children

The next cause I want to bring to your attention is Invisible Children. Some of you may know of the IC movement from whenever it gained mainstream popularity a couple of years ago. However, since that time, it seems to be a cause that has been put on the back burner for the next great causes. But it will not be forgotten here on Neil’s Diamonds. Started by three people to raise the awareness of children being abducted in Uganda and then turned into rebel soldiers. So watch the video below, then head on over to their website and store, and if you want, get a new t-shirt. Or even add a new documentary to your movie collection.

 

Causes – TWLOHA

TWLOHA stands for To Write Love On Her Arms. They are the feature of my next installment here of causes week. Put simply, TWLOHA is an organization formed to raise the awareness of cutting. Cutting is not something I’ve been aware of until just recently. I first found out about it through a co-worker who had been struggling with it. I think what scares me the most about it is how dangerous it is. And sadly, it is becoming more and more popular. My co-worker once described the pain with cutting, because not only is it a battle internally, but it is also a very public battle. Cutting is not something that is easily hid. Here is a video featuring the story of a girl and how the whole organization got started. If you would like to support TWLOHA, the easiest way is to buy something from their online store. They have all sorts of cool t-shirts and stuff, so go check it out. And also as a warning, the video is a little bit graphic in nature, and understandably so, considering the subject matter.

 

Causes – TOMS Shoes

Toms shoes is the opener for causes week. Toms is a company I have recently found out about, and hopefully a company that lasts for a long time. Founded by Blake Mycoskie, a former contestant on Amazing Race, Toms shoes is designed to provide shoes for kids who don’t have any. It is very simple. For every pair of Toms you buy, a pair will be given to a kid in need. The company is really gaining notoriety, as more people find out about their mission. Below is a video from the Toms website that does an amazing job of showing the difference they are making.

 

Dallas Cowboys Draft And Causes Week

Let me start by telling you what I have coming up for the , rest of the week, and then I will get into my thoughts on how the Cowboys drafted this year.

Starting tomorrow (Monday), and going through Sunday, I am going to do something I have titled Causes week. Basically, each day I will highlight a cause or organization that Christians can get behind. These are groups that are trying to make a difference in the world, and really live out the work of Jesus. I hope you will come back and join me for the next 7 days, as we look at easy ways you can contribute to these missions.

Now onto the big topic for the day. The NFL Draft. I hate to say this, but the Cowboys draft was absolutely horrible. And that is putting it lightly. I don’t think there is much argument against the fact that they had the worst draft of any team. Every player they picked could’ve been had at least 1 round after they were drafted. Nevertheless, here is my opinions on the players that were drafted. The Cowboys got 12 players total, so I will only highlight some of them.

1. Jason Williams, OLB, Western Illinois  -   To be honest, I had never heard of this guy going into the draft. He is the Cowboys first pick, albeit in the 3rd round, so he better have something to show. So far, from what I’ve read, seems to be a solid pick for the 3rd round.

2. Stephen McGee, QB, Texas A&M  -  Don’t get me wrong, I really like McGee.  I watched him play Oklahoma a few times, and always came away impressed. He will be a solid 3rd QB, and in my opinion, develop into a solid back-up after Kitna leaves. My problem is this. He was drafted with the 1rst pick in the 4th round. He very easily could have still been available at some point in the 6th round. Good player. Terrible value for the pick used.

3. David Buehler, K, USC  -  I don’t know what to say except “WOW” I don’t know if you know this, but the Cowboys already have, arguably, the best kicker in the NFL in Nick Folk. That means they just spent a 5th round pick on kick-off specialist. That is correct. A kick-off specialist. The worst pick I’ve ever witnessed in any draft.

4. Mike Mickens, CB, Cinicinnati  -  This is the one of two picks that I actually love. Mickens is an extremely talented corner. The only reason he dropped to the 7th round is because of injury concerns. If not for injuries, Mickens is closer to a 3rd rounder. He is gonna provide some good depth, and really help out the secondary.

5. Manuel Johnson, WR, Oklahoma  -  This is the other pick I love. And I am not afraid to admit that I am very biased about it. I watched almost every game Manny played at Oklahoma. He is a good receiver. There are some big questions about his explosiveness and speed. This is where I don’t like the combine. Manny didn’t do so hot in his 40 time. But after watching him play for 4 years, the kid is a playmaker. And he is explosive on the field. He is gonna be a good player. Hopefully.