We are really excited about this new project that our friend Dan Portnoy has started working with. We are always heartened by people who go the extra mile to tell the story of God's love.
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Showing posts with label Faith. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Faith. Show all posts
Monday, February 23, 2009
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Adam Says: Faith or Manipulation Strikes A Chord With Me.
It does not happen often (mainly because thinking makes my head hurt) but every once in a while I read or hear something that makes me say "Hey that's what I was thinking." To that point here is a thought provoking article from Relevant.com that made me say that very thing.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Adam and Jeremy Say: In Light of Virginia Tech...
Obviously the events at Virginia Tech are on the minds of everyone in the nation, and Jeremy and I are no different. We were not sure how to go about expressing our thoughts and feelings, and have taken several days to assemble them together via email. What follows are our insights pertaining to the event… it goes without saying that our thoughts and prayers are with Virginia Tech, and so what follows has little to do with well wishes and more to do with how we each dealt with the situation.
Jeremy: Monday as I was walking into our local grocery store (Ingles), I had been watching the news about the shootings at Virginia Tech and it was heavy on me. It was weighing on my mind and I was thinking about the aftermath of this tragedy and how it might affect everyone. One of the first things that popped in my head was "People are probably going to blame God and ask the default tragedy question: Why would God let this happen?" so I felt like asking God that question. "Why would you let this happen?" Because He loves us.
What?! Letting people kill people seems like the opposite of love. A loving God would protect us. I don't really know how to explain it, but when God created us he knew the only way for us to be truly happy was to give us our own will, and freedom to do as we choose as far as He would let us go. How could He be a loving God if He controlled our every action and did not give us free will? What’s troubling is that our own will is exactly that, and it usually desires to please itself. God wants us to worship Him, which is often the opposite of a self pleasing will. He knew this would happen when he created us and yet, He still did. I have no answer for that, but I'm not going to complain about the opportunity to have a life.
Back to the point: God so loves that He gave us our own will even though we will use that will for evil and hatred towards Him. This is the same selfish will that causes people to self satisfy their life by putting them first.....sometimes that means killing other people. If only they knew the most self satisfying action is to give your will completely to the devotion of glorifying God.
Adam: You know my wife's brother attends Virginia Tech and I have countless friends who have graduated from the school, so when I heard the news I was concerned, worried, shocked, sad, disillusioned, and many other adjectives that I can't come to grips with at this moment. As the news broke my family had no idea if our relatives and friends were safe; which caused chaos in my life, but as I learned that those I loved and cared for were safe I began to think about what, if anything, I could do. Prayer was obviously something I had been doing since the news broke, but as the day wore on I began to search for something more tangible, and so I began to think, do we need gun control? Is there something wrong with our society? Both of these questions were pertinent and both should be discussed in the future, but the problem I came back to was me!
I literally found myself crying in my state van on the way back from Nottoway County as I realized that I had caused the death of more than thirty people. Did I give someone a gun? Did I pull a trigger? Did have anything physically to do with this incident? No, but maybe that is my greatest sin. Jesus Christ taught that the two greatest commandments are to Love God with all you have and to Love Others as yourself, and seriously I think I have fallen short. More importantly I think most people who claim to follow Christ have fallen short. We claim we love God, but we have ignored the hungry and the cold; those who are unloved and forgotten; we have become more preoccupied with our buildings and our lives than we have with people God loves, with the people who need hope.
In another place in the Bible Jesus teaches about the final judgment; He teaches that there will be many people who feel like they should spend eternity in Heaven because the said pretty things and preached pretty sermons in Christ name, but He will say that He never knew them, obviously they will be dismayed and Jesus tells them that when he was hungry, naked, sick and alone they ignored Him, and they will say “but we never saw you this way” and He will say "What you do to the least of these you do to me." What He is saying is that the world is full of people who are cold, hungry, naked, sick, alone and hopeless; and those who truly follow Him will be the ones who meet these peoples needs, the ones who give people hope! So I will repeat what I cried to my Lord in the van yesterday...
I am sorry!
I am sorry that I have not loved, I am sorry that I have not shared my hope. There is no solution to the problems in this world. The world is really without hope... the Lord says that one day the whole thing will be destroyed and replaced by a new Heaven and new Earth. Obviously that does not bode well for this planet, but that doesn't mean that those of us who live on it are without hope, no, Jesus Christ came and sacrificed Himself as God and Man on the Cross so that everyone may have hope. A hope of a life filled with purpose, love and joy. Hope of an eternity in the awesome presence of God. A Hope for the end of the pain and the suffering of this world. I work in Petersburg VA, a desolate, crime and poverty ridden city, and everyday I drive down Washington and Wythe streets in the heart of the city and every day I see the most amazing sight... literally dozens and dozens of Churches, and ministries line the streets. And I ask why? Why are they there? What is the point of having a church or ministry when the people next door can’t pay the rent, and the girl on the corner has turned to prostitution, and a boy down the alley just got shot while dealing drugs? Why even exist if people are living under bridges, drinking away their pain, and waiting for HIV to kill them? Christians have failed! These people, all people, WANT HOPE and these churches and ministries have not given it to them; more importantly we have not given it to them. I could rant for days about the modern church and its worthlessness but instead I will just say... I am sorry.
I have to man up and say that the faith I represent is letting people down. Why can’t we love people why won’t we give them hope? I am no free love hippie, I don’t thing giving out hugs will cure the world of its ills, but I do think that loving the people God loves can stop people from walking into schools and killing innocent boys and girls... and I do think that giving people hope can break them of addiction and stop the cycle of poverty and pain... I think there is a God mightier than all the woes of this earth and I think if we are faithful to Him we can see this world changed, and I will never again have to say I am sorry when more than thirty people are killed by a man who had lost all hope.
Jeremy: Word. I think you have more hope for this world than I do. I confess that I have convinced myself that this world is hopeless and although I may try to reach out, I do so with the grief that my efforts are not going to change the world. I feel like the world has gotten so far from the cross that there is no turning back, and I wish Jesus would just come back and make everything right. Or maybe God could go back on his word and send another flood. Your hope is encouraging, but I will probably always struggle with the fact that I’m hopeless for the world. Don't get me wrong, my personal hope for my future and the future of my wife is based solely on the fact that we have accepted the grace of God and His salvation.....but as for the world....I know God can do miracles, but I feel the world is hopeless. So it’s almost out of sheer discipline that I do the work of the kingdom with the thought that it probably won’t change the world, but at least maybe it will just help this one person. "...if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land..."
Adam: Man I am sorry to hear you say that , and I hope that you change your mind and take the Lord seriously when He taught us to pray; “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Let the will of God be done on earth, and let us strive for the Kingdom.
Jeremy: Monday as I was walking into our local grocery store (Ingles), I had been watching the news about the shootings at Virginia Tech and it was heavy on me. It was weighing on my mind and I was thinking about the aftermath of this tragedy and how it might affect everyone. One of the first things that popped in my head was "People are probably going to blame God and ask the default tragedy question: Why would God let this happen?" so I felt like asking God that question. "Why would you let this happen?" Because He loves us.
What?! Letting people kill people seems like the opposite of love. A loving God would protect us. I don't really know how to explain it, but when God created us he knew the only way for us to be truly happy was to give us our own will, and freedom to do as we choose as far as He would let us go. How could He be a loving God if He controlled our every action and did not give us free will? What’s troubling is that our own will is exactly that, and it usually desires to please itself. God wants us to worship Him, which is often the opposite of a self pleasing will. He knew this would happen when he created us and yet, He still did. I have no answer for that, but I'm not going to complain about the opportunity to have a life.
Back to the point: God so loves that He gave us our own will even though we will use that will for evil and hatred towards Him. This is the same selfish will that causes people to self satisfy their life by putting them first.....sometimes that means killing other people. If only they knew the most self satisfying action is to give your will completely to the devotion of glorifying God.
Adam: You know my wife's brother attends Virginia Tech and I have countless friends who have graduated from the school, so when I heard the news I was concerned, worried, shocked, sad, disillusioned, and many other adjectives that I can't come to grips with at this moment. As the news broke my family had no idea if our relatives and friends were safe; which caused chaos in my life, but as I learned that those I loved and cared for were safe I began to think about what, if anything, I could do. Prayer was obviously something I had been doing since the news broke, but as the day wore on I began to search for something more tangible, and so I began to think, do we need gun control? Is there something wrong with our society? Both of these questions were pertinent and both should be discussed in the future, but the problem I came back to was me!
I literally found myself crying in my state van on the way back from Nottoway County as I realized that I had caused the death of more than thirty people. Did I give someone a gun? Did I pull a trigger? Did have anything physically to do with this incident? No, but maybe that is my greatest sin. Jesus Christ taught that the two greatest commandments are to Love God with all you have and to Love Others as yourself, and seriously I think I have fallen short. More importantly I think most people who claim to follow Christ have fallen short. We claim we love God, but we have ignored the hungry and the cold; those who are unloved and forgotten; we have become more preoccupied with our buildings and our lives than we have with people God loves, with the people who need hope.
In another place in the Bible Jesus teaches about the final judgment; He teaches that there will be many people who feel like they should spend eternity in Heaven because the said pretty things and preached pretty sermons in Christ name, but He will say that He never knew them, obviously they will be dismayed and Jesus tells them that when he was hungry, naked, sick and alone they ignored Him, and they will say “but we never saw you this way” and He will say "What you do to the least of these you do to me." What He is saying is that the world is full of people who are cold, hungry, naked, sick, alone and hopeless; and those who truly follow Him will be the ones who meet these peoples needs, the ones who give people hope! So I will repeat what I cried to my Lord in the van yesterday...
I am sorry!
I am sorry that I have not loved, I am sorry that I have not shared my hope. There is no solution to the problems in this world. The world is really without hope... the Lord says that one day the whole thing will be destroyed and replaced by a new Heaven and new Earth. Obviously that does not bode well for this planet, but that doesn't mean that those of us who live on it are without hope, no, Jesus Christ came and sacrificed Himself as God and Man on the Cross so that everyone may have hope. A hope of a life filled with purpose, love and joy. Hope of an eternity in the awesome presence of God. A Hope for the end of the pain and the suffering of this world. I work in Petersburg VA, a desolate, crime and poverty ridden city, and everyday I drive down Washington and Wythe streets in the heart of the city and every day I see the most amazing sight... literally dozens and dozens of Churches, and ministries line the streets. And I ask why? Why are they there? What is the point of having a church or ministry when the people next door can’t pay the rent, and the girl on the corner has turned to prostitution, and a boy down the alley just got shot while dealing drugs? Why even exist if people are living under bridges, drinking away their pain, and waiting for HIV to kill them? Christians have failed! These people, all people, WANT HOPE and these churches and ministries have not given it to them; more importantly we have not given it to them. I could rant for days about the modern church and its worthlessness but instead I will just say... I am sorry.
I have to man up and say that the faith I represent is letting people down. Why can’t we love people why won’t we give them hope? I am no free love hippie, I don’t thing giving out hugs will cure the world of its ills, but I do think that loving the people God loves can stop people from walking into schools and killing innocent boys and girls... and I do think that giving people hope can break them of addiction and stop the cycle of poverty and pain... I think there is a God mightier than all the woes of this earth and I think if we are faithful to Him we can see this world changed, and I will never again have to say I am sorry when more than thirty people are killed by a man who had lost all hope.
Jeremy: Word. I think you have more hope for this world than I do. I confess that I have convinced myself that this world is hopeless and although I may try to reach out, I do so with the grief that my efforts are not going to change the world. I feel like the world has gotten so far from the cross that there is no turning back, and I wish Jesus would just come back and make everything right. Or maybe God could go back on his word and send another flood. Your hope is encouraging, but I will probably always struggle with the fact that I’m hopeless for the world. Don't get me wrong, my personal hope for my future and the future of my wife is based solely on the fact that we have accepted the grace of God and His salvation.....but as for the world....I know God can do miracles, but I feel the world is hopeless. So it’s almost out of sheer discipline that I do the work of the kingdom with the thought that it probably won’t change the world, but at least maybe it will just help this one person. "...if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land..."
Adam: Man I am sorry to hear you say that , and I hope that you change your mind and take the Lord seriously when He taught us to pray; “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Let the will of God be done on earth, and let us strive for the Kingdom.
Monday, March 26, 2007
Adam and Jeremy Say: Faith Fundamentally
Adam:
I read a rant in Seth Godin's book, "Small is the New Big," today that maligned fundamentalist and tried to marginalize their beliefs by calling them superstitious and equating them to pigeons. This was sort of surprising because Godin normally commentates on "out of the box" business thinking and not on religious beliefs. Now to be fair he framed the whole argument against fundamentalist by pointing directly at the world of business but he did his best to let it be known that he felt the same ill will towards religious fundamentalist.
I say all of this just to give you some background to the line of thought that ran through my head after reading this rant. Godin made it seem that the best way to handle fundamentalist would be to "rationally" question the faith that has led them to be fundamental on any point. In respect to me and Jeremy we are most often called fundamental when it comes to our faith in Jesus Christ as the sole Son of God and Savior of mankind. Does this make us fundamentalist who need be questioned into rationalizing our faith until we finally give up on God all together and admit that man is the greatest being in the universe and deserves all the praise for what he has accomplished? No it just means that I have a faith that guides my actions and thoughts; however, in our society we have allowed labels like fundamentalist and evangelical stunt our thinking about what a person who is labeled one of the terms actually is. For instance Jeremy and I are both Christians, but Jeremy is a capitalist hippy and I am a socialist. Does that fit into the label of fundamentalist? Or evangelical? I think it is interesting how excited the media gets when an evangelical pastor decides to crusade against global warming or poverty or aids... its like just because this type of activism does not fit into the stereotype that society has labeled "Christian" it is suddenly news... never mind that Jesus commanded us to care for the poor and sick... forget that God called us to be good stewards of the planet! Honestly most people go around thinking that Christians are a people who follow this giant list of "Do Not's" Like Do not drink, do not lie, do not cheat, do not kill, do not have an affair with neighbors wife, but in actuality the Christian Faith is a list of "Do's" Jesus said the two greatest commandments are to Love God and Love Others (the Adam paraphrase.) What in that sounds like do not in that? It's Do! Do love your neighbor as yourself, Do watch after the widowed and the orphaned, Do unto others what you would have them do to you. Of course this all sounds like gibberish if do not have a genuine faith in Jesus Christ, because it is through that faith that you truly feel a desire to please God and to do what is right in God's eyes and not your own, but that's okay, because we all start at that point.
So if you want to call me a fundamentalist, and you want to question what I believe please do so. I have no problem with that, but please don't try to hang so bogus stereotype on me when you start labeling me. Jeremy and I would love to tell you what being a Christian personally means to us. I would love to talk about whatever accusation or hang up you have about the faith I hold, but please do not come in with a big long list of preconceived notions... yes I went to a Bible college and yes I am opposed to abortion, and yes I do not support homosexuality, evolution, alcoholism or any other type of addiction, but I do support gun control, my wife and I regularly support environmental causes and the arts with our money and patronage, I have been known to smoke a cigar from time to time, and ever once in a while I may utter a curse word, and probably most shocking... I regularly listen to NPR. So let's throw out all the labels and the negativity and just sit down and talk like civilized adults.
Jeremy:
I completely agree with your thoughts. I think one thing the world gets confused about it is, why do some Christians think its ok to smoke a cigar and then other they think its wrong. Obviously there are many different fundamentalist Christians out there, and when we all start contradicting each other, the world doesn't really buy that. I mean another "do" of the Christian faith is to "do be unified as a body", and when we are not, that just makes us look like hypocrites. Now since everybody in the world is a hypocrite, I don't think that is really a good argument anymore for not wanting to believe something. Everyone has something they strongly believe in and have compromised that belief at some point.
All to say: I think our belief system is set up to still function even with some us thinking its ok to drink and not get drunk while others think it’s wrong to drink. The most important thing we need to agree and be "unified" on the foundational beliefs you were talking about: love your God; love your neighbor, etc.
I read a rant in Seth Godin's book, "Small is the New Big," today that maligned fundamentalist and tried to marginalize their beliefs by calling them superstitious and equating them to pigeons. This was sort of surprising because Godin normally commentates on "out of the box" business thinking and not on religious beliefs. Now to be fair he framed the whole argument against fundamentalist by pointing directly at the world of business but he did his best to let it be known that he felt the same ill will towards religious fundamentalist.
I say all of this just to give you some background to the line of thought that ran through my head after reading this rant. Godin made it seem that the best way to handle fundamentalist would be to "rationally" question the faith that has led them to be fundamental on any point. In respect to me and Jeremy we are most often called fundamental when it comes to our faith in Jesus Christ as the sole Son of God and Savior of mankind. Does this make us fundamentalist who need be questioned into rationalizing our faith until we finally give up on God all together and admit that man is the greatest being in the universe and deserves all the praise for what he has accomplished? No it just means that I have a faith that guides my actions and thoughts; however, in our society we have allowed labels like fundamentalist and evangelical stunt our thinking about what a person who is labeled one of the terms actually is. For instance Jeremy and I are both Christians, but Jeremy is a capitalist hippy and I am a socialist. Does that fit into the label of fundamentalist? Or evangelical? I think it is interesting how excited the media gets when an evangelical pastor decides to crusade against global warming or poverty or aids... its like just because this type of activism does not fit into the stereotype that society has labeled "Christian" it is suddenly news... never mind that Jesus commanded us to care for the poor and sick... forget that God called us to be good stewards of the planet! Honestly most people go around thinking that Christians are a people who follow this giant list of "Do Not's" Like Do not drink, do not lie, do not cheat, do not kill, do not have an affair with neighbors wife, but in actuality the Christian Faith is a list of "Do's" Jesus said the two greatest commandments are to Love God and Love Others (the Adam paraphrase.) What in that sounds like do not in that? It's Do! Do love your neighbor as yourself, Do watch after the widowed and the orphaned, Do unto others what you would have them do to you. Of course this all sounds like gibberish if do not have a genuine faith in Jesus Christ, because it is through that faith that you truly feel a desire to please God and to do what is right in God's eyes and not your own, but that's okay, because we all start at that point.
So if you want to call me a fundamentalist, and you want to question what I believe please do so. I have no problem with that, but please don't try to hang so bogus stereotype on me when you start labeling me. Jeremy and I would love to tell you what being a Christian personally means to us. I would love to talk about whatever accusation or hang up you have about the faith I hold, but please do not come in with a big long list of preconceived notions... yes I went to a Bible college and yes I am opposed to abortion, and yes I do not support homosexuality, evolution, alcoholism or any other type of addiction, but I do support gun control, my wife and I regularly support environmental causes and the arts with our money and patronage, I have been known to smoke a cigar from time to time, and ever once in a while I may utter a curse word, and probably most shocking... I regularly listen to NPR. So let's throw out all the labels and the negativity and just sit down and talk like civilized adults.
Jeremy:
I completely agree with your thoughts. I think one thing the world gets confused about it is, why do some Christians think its ok to smoke a cigar and then other they think its wrong. Obviously there are many different fundamentalist Christians out there, and when we all start contradicting each other, the world doesn't really buy that. I mean another "do" of the Christian faith is to "do be unified as a body", and when we are not, that just makes us look like hypocrites. Now since everybody in the world is a hypocrite, I don't think that is really a good argument anymore for not wanting to believe something. Everyone has something they strongly believe in and have compromised that belief at some point.
All to say: I think our belief system is set up to still function even with some us thinking its ok to drink and not get drunk while others think it’s wrong to drink. The most important thing we need to agree and be "unified" on the foundational beliefs you were talking about: love your God; love your neighbor, etc.
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