Much ado about what?

This past week and really for about the past year or so I've been coming across blog after blog on these issues, Barack Obama, Gay Marriage, and Abortion.  Now I'm not going to mention each of these in this blog but I will take on the issue of Barack Obama's behavior and early presidential decisions, Gay Marriage, and throw in a little Rick Warren based on what he has recently said about gay marriage.  So in the words of the Joker "And here we go."

On Sunday night I don't know if you heard but the USA pagant was on, miss California was clearly in the lead when it came time for the interview.  Her question came from Perez Hilton a gossip collumnist and yes he is of the same family as the famous hiltons, his question was very much direct and to the point.  "Vermont just passed a law that says it is legal for a gender of the same sex to marry, how do you feel about this issue?"  Now California was a devout Christian and Perez knew this very well, she answered from a personal point of view that she believed that marriage was for a man and a woman only.  Now hows that for your controversial headlines, needless to say her answer would forfet the crown, what kind of world do we live in when we no longer have freedom of religion?  We can no longer speak our own mind?  What's frustrating for me is that most Christians actually care about how the world treats us, now here's what I mean by that.  In the New Testament you here story after story of men like Paul and Peter going to prison because they just wouldn't shut up about there resurrected savior, you see it didn't matter to them what the government said or popular demand they kept on preaching.  All I've been hearing lately from Christians has been "well there taking away our freedom of speech."  That may be true to a point but you have to understand that if you are a disciple of Christ you are not an American, German, Canadian or whatever country you call residents.  You see your residents is in the New Jerusalem with Jesus himself, so it shouldn't matter what happens here as far as freedom goes, if it's truth according to scripture I don't care if it's Hitler or Obama never be afraid to speak the truth of Christ.  It says to count it a blessing whenever you face trials and persecutions of many kinds.  If this verse is true then I think Christ for the persecution that came about Sunday, thank you Jesus and may this be the first of many times in which one of your creation stands up and proclaims your name, maybe it will be like during the stoning of stephen when you stood and clapped for your disciple Stephen when he was being persecuted and yet still preached your word.

Now as far as Obama goes do I think yet that he is the anti Christ, my answer is still the same NO!  Am I concerned with some of his decisions yes, but let's look at something positive that happened this week at the forum.  Barack Obama sought out the president of Venezuala and shook his hand, this has been a man who has had a bad relationship with the US during Bush's administration but after words he said to Obama thanks for the gesture and know that I want to be your friend.  Now I know this is something little but I think we can take some positive away from this.  

Now Rick Warren was quoted as saying this past week that "I'm not anti Gay."  Now what he was saying is that from a political stand point he's not going to be an activist when trying to make Gay Marriage illigal, but know that from a Scriptural Standpoint he is still very much a man who understands God's view on such an issue.  So please don't be too harsh on the man after all countless people have been changed because of his ministry and as his brothers and sisters I think we celebrate that fact.

So may God teach us to be the kind of people who simply wont sit down but will stand up for truth, and may we speak your word even if one day it may cost us our life.  For our residence is not here but up there with you.

Grace and Peace be with you.

C-DUB.

Paradise

Today is that in between day of the resurrection weekend, it's the day where Christ is said to have gone down to hell and defeated Satan and finished the job or was it a sabaath?  I wonder looking back at one of his final words recorded on the cross, he says to the thief that today you will be with me in paradise.  What does this mean?  Last night I spent some time thinking about this phrase and I got this picture of Jesus and the thief spending Saturday together in paradise fulfilling his promise to this unknown man who appears only briefly in the Bible.  

Another thought that came across my head was this, maybe he spent the day with me, and then this new picture arose of me walking with Christ on a Golf Course in paradise with Jesus sipping on some amazing Coffee discussing the significance of what he had just done for me.  Maybe Christ was saying today you will be with me in paradise which perhaps translates into today you will all be with me in paradise, I want to spend time with you I want to have a personal relationship with, I want to partner with you in this thing we call life.  So Christ wants to be with me today in paradise?  What a thought what a creator who would want to be with the sinful person that I am.  so here I stand on the 11th of April waiting for my savior to arise in the hopes that I too may continue to live a life of resurrection so that I too may spend the day in paradise with Christ.  

Maybe Paradise isn't really an actual place but maybe it's when you are spending time with your savior wherever you are, maybe that's paradise.  So may you spend this day in paradise with your creator and may you arise a new creation with him.  

Grace and Peace.

C-DUB 

Is it an oil change or is it something else?

Today has been a rough day but also bright in lots of ways too, this morning I had to get my car looked at which turned out to be a continuing sago that will last through Monday ugh.  As I'm sitting in the waiting room I strike up a conversation with this older man from Clearwater, found out he as in town for his son's basketball game and had to get his car looked at as well.  So since we were in the same boat we decided to pass the time by talking to each other.

As I look back on the conversation I can't help but wonder why it happened, I wonder if there was something more spiritually significant going on?  If there was I wonder if I made the test did I do what God wanted me to do, the conversation did go into what I did for a living and what I'm studying to become?  My prayer this day is for him and his family that maybe a seed was planted and that I have more oil changes like this on.

Good?

I was walking down the sidewalk on campus today with one of my friends, we were just talking and shooting the breeze when he said this "Gosh it's already good friday."  Have I totally forgotten about it?  Well it was the first time all week I had given it thought and I am ashamed to say that, I'm busy but should I really be so busy that I forget what the main thing is?  Sometimes I wonder why they call it good friday, I mean what was so great about it?  My savior hung on a cross for some 9 hours for myself and that's suppose to be good?  It makes me scratch my head cause I think there is something more significant going on here, something that I may never be able to understand.

When I read this in scripture I see this picture of the disciples looking from a cowardly distance with no clue as to what's really going on, if you've been in many churches recently you would get the same feeling.  I walk into the foyer and some people are being real but some are being fake.  "How are you doing today?  Fine! "  Or when translated it would say this "I really don't care how your doing but I'm gonna ask anyway and I will have no idea how you responded cause I'm ten feet down the hall."  People just don't get it, they say they understand but they really don't.  It's just like the disciples on the original good friday, they sat and watched while something more significant than they could ever imagine was going on right before there eyes, I mean Peter even denied him.  Whats happened when some people will only attend Church on easter and the only time we even mention the resurrection is on this Sunday, it seems to me that if he really is LOVE then shouldn't we celebrate this event all the time?  Now don't get me wrong I hold this weekend very dear to my heart every year but if your looking for me to make a big deal about it I won't because I want to see us become the Kingdom that celebrates the empty tomb every day, I mean after all it is an empty tomb still isn't it?  Now that's worth celebrating!

Grace and Peace.

C-DUB