Who died and made you king? Remember that one? It was something we said when I was a kid, so you would have to be pretty old. One of your friends is getting a tad bossy and you have had enough. It is a basic wondering of where this authority to give you orders came from. Did somebody knight them? Did they inherit the right to strut around in bossy pants? Did the one with the authority die and bequeath the right to them? Maybe a woman in a lake handed them a sword. Our problem is that we find ourselves doing this question of authority thing with God. Who put you in charge God? Hmm. That seems risky to me.

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Okay, along comes this person who says and does things that is contrary to what you believe; what you have accepted your whole life. And the people love him; the people listen with rapt attention to everything that comes out of his mouth. His words and actions stomp all over your traditions. And maybe, there is also a loss of power. The people used to come to you for answers. No longer. It is an undermining of all your authority. Continue reading →

What are your thoughts about a charity that is actually a front for bilking people out of their money? There is something here that angers us, isn’t there? More so, than when a for profit company that is caught cheating. Both are wrong, to be sure. But it feels different when people are giving money to help others only to be cheated than when someone is buying a product and finds themselves duped. So, lets say that you buy what is supposed to be a family sized pool for a hundred dollars only to find out that only one child, if he is small, can enjoy the cool water. Continue reading →

Jeremiah is known as the weeping prophet. Buck up Jeremiah. Judah is getting what they deserve. They are prideful; stiff-necked; rebellious. Years and years of turning their back on God and his holiness. Years and years of sacrificing their babies. Continue reading →

When I do a Bible study at the Youth Correction Center, some of the students come because I have snacks or because it is an opportunity to leave the cottage. I have heard several of the youth say, “I hate it when kids come just for the snacks.” I always respond with, “I’m okay with it. At least they hear the lesson.” And I think there may be a difference of seeking here. They are seeking something that is often superficial; candy, playing a game, a change of scenery. They may even be there because they think I’m a nice guy who says some interesting things sometimes. Who know? I guess its possible. But I am seeking something more. I am seeking their salvation. I am seeking for them to have a life changing relationship with Jesus, my Lord. They and I may be seeking completely different things.

What does faith look like? Is it a tool to subjugate God to our wants? In the book “Gone with the Wind” Scarlett O’Hara views prayer as a bargaining tool. “I will be good if you keep this bad thing from happening or make this good thing happen.” That sort of thing. And because that is not what prayer or faith is, she is disillusioned with God and gives up on prayer altogether. And there is a problem here: faith then becomes a means of being superior; a means of saving of self. I am doing better because my faith is just better than yours, don’t you know? God is answering my prayers because I’m a good person, and God is not answering your prayers because, well, you draw your own conclusions. Faith, in and of itself, is absolutely powerless. It cannot heal you. It cannot save you. If you put all of your faith in your ability to fly off of a mountain side without being harmed or killed, that faith, not only will not keep you from harm, it makes it likely. It is what we put our faith in that matters. The power of faith is discovered in the source of our trust. And faith trusts even when that source doesn’t bend to our whims.

In the book “Pride and Prejudice” Elizabeth’s cousin, Mr. Collins, proposed to her. I know. But the time frame allowed for that kind of thing. Now, Mr. Collins is a minister and he is well connected. After all, his patroness is the Lady DeBerg. Naturally, he expects Elizabeth to say “yes, of course I’ll marry you.” But she doesn’t. She flat out refuses his proposal. He doesn’t understand. He suspects that it is a feminine thing; that she is being demure or something. She says it more clearly. He still doesn’t get it. He thinks she is saying “no” so that he will prove his love and be persistent. She unequivocally refuses. I mean it couldn’t be clearer. But he still doesn’t understand. He never even considered that Elizabeth would say “no.” His station is above hers. It would be a good match for her. He is condescending even to ask. The whole scene is exasperating and slightly ridiculous. But people are like that. They have a hard time understanding anything that is the opposite of their expectation.

His name is Intong. Originally, he was from Laos and he, and his entire family, were Buddhist. He was a professor who was conscripted into the Vietnam army. Even though this was not his choice, he was determined to be a traitor and if he had returned to his homeland he would have been arrested. I don’t know if Intong was among the Hmong people or not. That would have been enough for him to never return to Laos as the new government is suspected of having killed four hundred thousand of the Hmong people because they supported the royal government over the Lao People’s Democratic Republic which seized control during the Vietnam War. Intong made his way to the United States of America and became a citizen. While in Texas he converted to Christianity. He was disowned by his family and probably most of his friends. I knew him when we were both in Sioux City, Iowa. And disowned is probably too soft. He has been struck by his brother. When he moved back to Texas to take care of his father, it was most likely his family who disabled his fire alarm and then set his mobile home on fire. He was in a coma for sometime with horrible burns on most of his body. He survived with horrible scars. Nothing in this story would make it sound as if being a Christian were a good thing. Ah, but this is not the whole story.