Addiction

A man is an addict; he consumes not only his desired escape, but slowly his own demise. For some this will destroy a family, for others it will provide a valley from which to rise but for all it will create a divide within the soul. If this man has wealth and notoriety he will check himself into an expensive rehab program. If another man uses his wealth or lack there of to prolong his addiction, then he may resort to panhandling or other degrading behaviors to continue living and in most cases living with his addiction. Should this group with little to no money be seen as a problem to sweep under the rug and forgotten about? No, they should be afforded the appropriate help as well. We applaud the Celebrities for taking their fortunes and getting better but when it comes to the less monetarily wealthy they are seen as a disgrace, or a failure. Others will argue that it is their Karmic Justice for the seeds of disseat they sowed. Perhaps it is some form of justice but what good is it for them or anyone else to let this human life waste away. For many all they need is help in understanding how to battle urges and a system of support to pull them through. If anyone you know has an addiction whether it is substance related, sexually related or, gamboling related, do the Christian thing and regardless of their belief or their frustration lend a hand and let them know you are there to help. Specifically, sexual and gamboling addiction, these addictions rip families apart and many times it is seen as something that shouldn’t be addressed or worried about because they are just phases, but phases can turn to addictions quickly and before you know it someone is participating in illegal activity to keep there addiction fed. Put pride aside and do the right thing address the issue. If you let your pride or someone else’s get in the way everyone may be worse for the ware. If you don’t know where to begin consult a Counselor, a Pastor, or any addiction agency and they will be more then happy to help. Addiction can be beat but it can only be beat if we put the stigma aside and help each other. Isn’t that what we are here for anyway?

YOU or GOD

The southern accent wafts in, the big thousand dollar smile blinds, and the three piece suit oozes dollar bills while a preacher addresses a stadium, “All YOU have to do is accept Jesus as YOUR personal Savior and obstacles will fall, the heavens will open and YOUR life will be tenfold more joyous!” My favorite thing to hear large main line Ministers, Televangelists, and Mega-church propagandists say is that there is a simple solution. All YOU have to do is accept Jesus as YOUR savior. Just like YOU pick a personal trainer, or YOU pick a Politician, YOUR favorite American Idol, or YOU pick YOUR favorite team. It is completely dependent on YOU not God, not Jesus, but YOU. YOU are the in control of YOUR own future YOU decide what is important nobody can tell YOU YOUR wrong because who knows better then Y…O….U.
When Moses crossed the Red Sea who was in control? When David fought Goliath who controlled the sling? When Daniel was in the lion’s den, who kept Daniel safe? When Jesus wants nothing more then another way out who tells him to stay the course? When that hard time hit and YOU made it through who was in control? Was it Moses, David, Daniel, Jesus, or even YOU?
When YOU or I are responsible for OUR faith WE screw up, WE want to know God so bad that WE make ourselves the center to which the entire spiritual universe revolves. When GOD is responsible for our faith we can’t screw it up we become bound within a framework WE were too busy to notice. When all of the YOU, WE, and I statements become you, we and i statements we can rise above knowing GOD and truly experience GOD, an experience that isn’t miles and miles away but right here.
In this experience with GOD our Faith becomes a reaction as opposed to an action. We are faithful because our eyes are opened and we can see for the first time that GOD is much more then OUR acceptance but GODs acceptance of us. An Acceptance GOD gave us through Grace in Jesus. Not, an acceptance WE earn through Jesus.

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.