The Kingdom of God

Why is the Kingdom of God so far away? Why is it that we must wait for eternity? When did God ever give us the impression that we must wait, with our teeth ground to nubs for his Kingdom to arrive? Many times Jesus himself refers to the Kingdom of God in the present. Many of the authors view it the same way. Did Abraham believe Gods Kingdom was anywhere other then Israel? Did Noah believe the land left after the flood, to be given to man forever, was anything other then the Kingdom of God? Was Gods Creation in the begining anything other then his Kingdom? Too many men and women have spent to much time looking for gratification in the after life, looking beyond the here and now for an escape. The Kingdom of God is no pleasure cruise and he never said it would be when he cast Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden. Gods Kingdom, his original creation, is as much his gift to us as heaven is. Was man turned loose on earth just to wait for heaven, or the second coming? Is it really that bland, is that all we can hope for? Or is it more, can it be more? Can it be that man was put here to look after one another and all Gods creation with equal care and respect? Do we trip over peace and salvation,trying to pickup words and versus hoping for the next step to salvation? Do we want to corner the market so bad on salvation that we are willing to look over the simplest and most basic of the things God has given us?
In a rush to hope the Rapture is the next blockbuster hit we miss the fact that Jesus the Son of man, Gods own Son told us to see God in everyone, see hope in the littlist of children to the oldest of men and women. Jesus wants us to know this because we are living in the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom and glory are all around us. These versus from Deuteronomy 30:11-14 explain it best
Now what I am commanding you today is not too dificult for you or beyond your reach. It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, "Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?" Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, "Who wil cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?" No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it.

More, more, more

In a world so full of more, more, more, don't let yourself get caught in the undertow. To establish a belief and a set of morals that stem from that belief is important. To get caught in the more, more, more of society is to weaken those morals not just in thought but in deed as well. When we were given the Ten Commandments they were not meant so much as restrictions as they meant peace could be established for all humanity. The ideals and thoughts brought about in the Commandments as well as other writings are there to keep man honest amongst each other while we meander through life trying not to botch it. If we compromise these things by letting ourselves be caught in the undertow of more, more, more we lose sight of keeping our neighbors well being ahead of our own. We stop thinking of the importance of our families and more of what we can have outside of it. Most of all we lose sight of the man upstairs who keeps everything together. Next time you reach that impasse where you want more or "need" more think of others you put out because of it, and if you want to look at it another way everyone you step on going up the ladder will wave at you on your way back down.

Faith is not a weapon

Since I can remember faith of almost all kinds have had to fight with the idea of power and violence. Christians have had the Crusades not to mention a smattering of other less glorious violent routes in the name of God and Jesus. Islam has had its share of wars not only with Christians but with Jews and any number of non-believers. The Jews despite many episodes of torment have become a people well versed in the strength it takes to overcome adversity with faith, yet recently(circa 1948) feel the need to use force against those who have "invaded" their home land. Why is it that we must use our beliefs as weapons against each other not only between faith but within faith. Either their is room for movement in belief or their is no movement in belief. There is no middle ground, period end of story. That is what many would have you believe. They would have you believe that the answers are here, whether they are in the Bible, the Koran, or the Torah. Why is there no room for movement? Why is it that a God we believe is so powerful wouldn't want us to find what we need from different faiths or different creeds within a certain faith? It is my hope that one day it may be possible for my children or children's children to understand not just Christianity but other religions as well so that they may appreciate what they have to offer not only in belief but in history. Most all faiths that I can think of are based on the idea for the betterment of society as a whole no just the singleness of the individual. We need to take a close look at our faiths and examine why it is that we must be self centered as a faith, instead of outgoing to others whether like minded or not. That is what we are called to do whether it be via God through Jesus, Abraham, Mohamed, Buddha, or any other figure. Our focus should be on what makes us the same rather then what makes us different. If you float along the river of love God has given us you will begin to understand the love and comfort that comes from helping others float rather then struggling against them.

COSLC Newsletter September 2007

What makes us Spiritual, Christian, Lutheran? What makes us Humble, Dedicated, Loving? What gives us Strength, Passion, Faith? Is it all even understandable? These are huge concepts to digest and understand. These aren’t things that just happen as we get older. These aren’t things that just one day manifest themselves. These are traits, beliefs, and attitudes that make us who we are. If one brick could make a house, then we would be at ease, but it takes more than that to keep us safe, dry, and warm. Just like life can’t be built on any one principle alone it takes many principles and understandings to build a solid individual.
What does make us Spiritual, Christian, and Lutheran? From birth we constantly want to seek knowledge and understanding. This is the reason we ask why the sky is blue, and other similar questions. It is this need to understand more that gives us our spirituality, our need to identify further then what can be seen, to comprehend and understand the heavens. For most of us our spirituality is cultivated via our parents into belief. For some it is a belief that Jesus died for our sins, and that no matter how bad we mess-up or stumble God will always be there, watching out for us. As we grow older we then begin to ask questions inside our faith. For some, such as Lutherans, this is encouraged. This is what our Denomination thrives on; it is why Martin Luther separated from the Catholic Church. It is Luther’s understanding of faith by grace that fuels us to ask questions because we know that if a question leads to a fall, God’s Grace will always be there as our safety net.
How then do we become Humble, Dedicated, and Loving? The mere idea of faith by grace opens the doorway to humbleness. To put ourselves in front of others can be an act of faith as large as jumping from ten stories into a safety net. Making a mistake in front of that group whether it is the church, our colleagues, our family, or a group of complete strangers can be an incredibly humbling experience. It is humbling of ourselves before others and God that can give us our Dedication. When we are humbled we realize that our fears of inadequacy and failure melt away because others are not judging us as hard as we judge ourselves. This is the doorway to understanding that God does not judge us as we judge ourselves. This in turn breeds a Dedication to others and God that is based not on our fears and inadequacies but on a humbled Love. This Love is steadfast and endearing and is willing to be open to others in a way we did not know when we were consumed in the fear of being humbled.
How then in this Love do we find Strength, Passion, and Faith? A Love that pours from us to others gives Strength not just to ourselves but to those we interact with as well. This isn’t a Strength of domination or power over others, but is a Strength of Loving and caring to see another succeed. As our ability to truly Love increases, so does our Strength giving us the Passion and drive to help others. Our Passion then doesn’t act on the whims of our wants and needs but acts to provide for the needs of others. Passion as we know it changes from a physical desire to a spiritual longing. A Spiritual longing that increases the Love, Strength, and Passion of others so that they may be able to go out and do likewise. This Passion not only gives us willingly to others, but also increases our Faith. It increases our Faith because if it were not for our Faith we would not be on this journey. Then as our Faith increases through Love, Strength, and Passion so to our Love, Strength, and Passion increase because of our Faith.
Go forth then and grow In Love, Strength, Passion and Faith.

Respectfully given with Love, Strength, Passion, and Faith,
Nick

Is it about Jesus or God

As Christians do we worship Jesus or do we worship God? It seems to me that we focus too heavily on Jesus and not enough on God. Was Jesus Important? Sure, as a Teacher and the Grace his death brought. But as the dictionary describes it, Christianity is based on the religious principles taught by Jesus. So is it right to raise the teacher above the subject matter? It's like asking if a math teacher is above his subject. You love and admire the teacher for the way they teach and the warm feeling you get when you begin to understand why a parabola can be graphed from an equation that consists of more letters then it does numbers. Is that going to help you when it comes time, in the real world to figure out your taxes, or calculate a food budget? Probably not. Now, Jesus and Math teachers may not have much in common to you, but the principal is the same. What Jesus was trying to teach was a belief in God that was loving and giving not only from God to human but then from human to human. It wasn't a love that could only be transferred from God to Jesus to human to believing human. It was a belief and love that transcended borders and cultures not through wrath and force of belief but through love and compassion for all mankind. A math teacher's gift to a student is knowledge and how to apply it in the real world, just as Gods gift to us through Jesus is Grace and Love, not Jesus himself.

For those of you who think you know God because you can quote scripture: Ask yourself why Mother Theresa spent so much time with the less fortunate.
For those of you who think wars and violence will lead to the end of disputes: Ask yourself why the Mahatma was able to end British occupation with out lifting a hand in violence.
For those who feel that monetary wealth is the only way to happiness: Ask yourself why the Buddha gave up a life as Monarch to live a life of poverty.
And for those of you who think you know “suffering” because you have seen the Passion of the Christ: Ask a Holocaust survivor how life can continue after suffering.

What is the point of Giving without Joy, or the purpose of Doing without Pride, or the Reason for loving without Sacrifice?

Where has the joy in giving gone?

Budgets for large churches must be met somehow. Forcing tithing not to be done out of joy but out of necessity. People are led to believe that their place in heaven could be in jeopardy if that check of the right amount doesn’t make the offering plate. Which to me sounds like buying your way out of purgatory. All so the pastor and his cronies can buy bigger houses and bankroll bigger retirements. A church in Michigan recently bought a home for their pastor. No big deal right? Unless the home sits on 4 acres and is over 11,000 square feet costing over 4 million dollars. Of course it is owned by the church, a non-profit, so that means it is costing the town $40,000 in taxes every year. Could there have been a starving country we could have fed with this money or possibly a few hungry, sick, or homeless families in America that this money could have gone to? Probably not, as the elders of the church put it, we honor our athletes and actors with giant bankrolls and multi-million dollar mansions what are we saying if we don’t do the same for a man of God. I believe that if someone wants to be a man of the cloth so he can live in a 4 million dollar house he may be in the wrong profession. I don’t think our clergy need to go poor but I also think a Church that can afford to buy a house of that girth has a greater responsibility to the community in using that money for more Christianly endeavors. The last time I read the Bible I could have swore greed and envy were sins? Interesting how this pastor and church don’t see the correlation. And in a church that size, you don’t think there is one parishioner who may be starving or on the brink of losing their meager home or struggling to pay medical bills? This is the kind of thing that pushes people from Christianity. They see too many churches like this and not enough that make it a joy and goal to use their finances to help others. This could be because the churches with a greater bent towards helping others don’t have the operating budget that allows for flamboyant shows of wealth to get peoples attention.

JESUS CAMP!

This movie is a must see and an incredible eye opener. I could drone on about how many things were incredibly wrong with the way these crazy’s abuse the kids but all of that is obvious. What I have to say is about the biggest victim of this movie. Beyond the children as a whole there is one in particular. He is a small boy with blinding blond hair in a bowl cut. Unlike the other main, more outspoken kids he only has a small section of dialog, one I might add, that is the most honorable dialog out of the whole movie. A boy sitting in a room full of kids with incredible zeal, a boy who is worried because he doesn’t feel that same zeal. He speaks of doubting the Bible and God at times. This elicits a response of gapping horror from the parents and the head preachers. Why is no one proud of this young boy who has the courage to say these things to a group of peers who feel very strongly the opposite? Why does no one encourage this boy to ask questions? Why is that such a bad thing, to ask questions? Multiple times these children are brought to tears and while many seemed genuine, this young boy’s looked more like frustration. Tears that were for the want to understand. To know the zeal all these other kids feel. Why it can’t be a zeal that encourages questioning is beyond me. When you see this movie, if you have not already, don’t be sad for Levi the Evangelist in training or the two girls who are headed on the same path, because they are content in what they have “chosen”. Instead be sad and concerned for the young blond boy and the others like him who cry out of frustration because they are not allowed to question.

Did Hitler go to Hell?

Whoa, there must be some form of parody in the universe, a dictator who tried to commit the genocide of all Jews. Surely he went to Hell. But, what if by the grace of God he didn’t. I am not asking you at any point to believe in or act upon the ideas and propaganda of a psychotic ruler who thought the benefit of all mankind included the eradication of the Jews. Nor am I standing behind or saying I believe in the mission of any Nazi or Neo-Nazi organization. Do I think Adolf Hitler went to Hell? In short… Yes. But only after some major thought was dedicated to this topic. The act of condemning or believing someone should go to Hell is rather presumptuous; Only God can decide who will be welcomed into Heaven and who will be condemned to Hell.
In Church a couple of Sundays ago Pastor Dan brought up an interesting point that led me to this topic. Has your Karma run over your Dogma? In other words Karmaticly you believe good things happen to good people and that of course the converse is true, that bad things happen to bad people. This thought process allows you to stand on the sidelines and point to people and say, “That bad thing happened to that person because of the negative things he has done.” However, Christian Dogma states that good things and God’s grace can happen, to even the worst of people.
Just a small side note, in stating that Christian Dogma holds to this belief I do also have to say that I acknowledge that various other beliefs hold true to this same tenant, that God’s grace and love are imparted upon even the worst of individuals.
So again I ask; did Hitler go to Hell? No, but only when assuming that he felt remorseful and asked for forgiveness for the atrocities he had committed. To me this is the strongest tenant of any belief whether it is religion or a 12-step program, a person must acknowledge the problem they have and ask for forgiveness. Without this, a person will have shown no remorse, and therefore have not shown a reason for anyone to help them. First they must show they are willing to help themselves. Not to say that others shouldn’t try to help or that they won’t, but in most cases without the self-realizing step that what they have done or what they are doing is wrong, what reason is there for a person to stop? With this caveat in play, I may have to change my answer.
Based on what I know of Hitler, he believed with all of his heart and soul in what he was doing. He was very committed to his ideas of Arian superiority and how they pertained to the eradication of the Jews. He also carried out his decree with extreme fervor, as we all know. Whether it was mass execution, murder for personal gain, or concentration camps, Hitler carried out all his actions with methodic and remorseless precision. This leads me to believe based on simple human nature he did not see fit to ask for forgiveness, let alone believe he needed it. But, in that off hand chance he did ask for forgiveness, I am positive God welcomed him with open arms and tears of joy.

Doubt

If there is one thing that I wish could be publicized more it would be doubt. In my belief there is nothing more valuable to a human soul then doubt. But isn’t doubt what puts seeds of evil in your head and heart leading you away from the church? Quite to the contrary if it is nurtured and cultivated it can lead to gigantic spiritual breakthroughs. Would the United States be in existence if the Founding Fathers didn’t doubt the Royal Family? Would the Church have ever experienced the reformation if those involved hadn’t doubted the church of the time? From my experience the doubts we have are very well founded and should be explored intelligently to increase our belief. If we are told to blindly believe for the sake of believing rather then to experience things for what they are our belief will stay stagnant and what we believe we have can never be one tenth of what it could be. In my life I have had doubts I have pushed limits, but I never try to do so just because. This is important in doubt and one thing that I think is over looked. If you just go out and do crazy things because they feel good or because you wanted to see how it would affect someone else then you are exploring your doubt the wrong way. Doubt should be explored scientifically. With prudence and intelligence, until you become grounded in where your doubt led you.

What is Most Important?

"Hearing Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in law, tested him with this question: 'Teacher which is the greatest commandment in the law?'
Jesus replied: 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." Matthew 22:34-40


What a novel thought, the greatest of all the commandments has nothing to do with judgment, blame casting or who is more righteous. This seems to be a lost thought in Christianity today. Instead we are focused on the “right” way to believe. Accept Jesus, say this prayer, give this much money, do X amount of good deeds. And certainly don’t Sin, Sin is the product of the devil, and if you Sin you hence have communed with the devil and therefore are going to Hell. Of course these things include not accepting Jesus, being a homosexual, drinking alcohol, using tobacco or other substances, and questioning the church. But don’t worry just follow the steps listed above and you will have done right by God and the Church. Of course when I say Church I mean Christianity as a whole. But once you are in this group then you can join the rest of the righteous and look down upon those who have committed the atrocity of Sin.
But wait wasn’t there something about loving your neighbor as yourself?
That was probably just a typo; let me look that up in my Bible… Nope it does say that, Gee Whiz. Oh but it says neighbor, and all my neighbors are good Christian folk so I am ok because we get along great. But, you know that family around the block, I heard their daughter is pregnant, and she is only 17 years old and obviously not married. God’s honest truth. Can you imagine how her parent’s feel knowing that their daughter is a harlot? I just can’t believe the disaster the world is becoming.
So maybe I took some license with my scenario there but come on, everyone full well knows that in this day and age we are neighbors the world over. If we can’t begin to love each other beyond what sin we may or may not have committed we loose sight of those two commandments that say so much. Regardless of sexual preferences, stupid choices, or religions we are one people under God. Jesus didn’t say the only rule we need to follow is that we believe in him and serve him or that we shouldn’t be a homosexual, or make stupid choices that can change our lives, but to serve God first and foremost and take care of each other second.

What Does It All Mean?

A Mohawk? What kind of stupid crap is this, right? Who is stupid enough to say Jesus had a Mohawk.
Well me I guess.
So again you ask what is with this stupid Mohawk garbage?
Aside from the Indian Tribe, the Mohawk has become a basic staple in the Punk, anti-culture, rebel look.
Right, so what does that have to do with Jesus?
Everything, and if you don’t get it, this Blog probably isn’t for you.
If you do get it, then it has become obvious that if Jesus was to walk with us today he wouldn’t be attending Sunday service with Billy Graham and the like, but spending his time at soup kitchens and shelters sharing his blessings with the less fortunate. I weep for a world of Christians who think sitting in a church doing bible study instead of helping others is what we are called to do. Not that Bible Studys are evil, but if you never leave your comfort zone who are you helping but yourself. Jesus’ message was about love and caring for all regardless of differences, and yes that means different religions, homosexuals, criminals, and all those other people who are too smelly, too weird, and too this or that. The world is full of labels and that of a rebel is one that I am sure Jesus would be glad to wear, even if it means having a Mohawk.