Don't be so open-minded that your brain falls out.

A tolerant, open-minded, non-judgmental attitude is publicly presented as the creme de la creme of progressive secular humanism and group think. It is often represented by those bumper stickers that leave a tickle of annoyance to squirm through the back of your mind: "COEXIST" and "TOLERANCE" being the main examples wherein the letters are scrawled out as major religious symbols (i.e. the "t" is a cross, the "c" is the star and crescent). While thinking about this, I ran across a quote attributed to G.K. Chesterton: "When a Man stops believing in God he doesn't then believe in nothing, he believes anything."

...And believing in "anything" can get you killed because having true wisdom tends to shut one's mind to foolish, man-made ideologies that have no capability to save or enrich (Consider this passage from Proverbs 1). Wisdom brings life but a belief in "anything" breeds foolishness. The image below conveys the fallacy of open-mindedness and tolerance between competing and wholly different ideologies and philosophies.


I have seen quotes from Muslims and atheists that fall along the lines of "We love death more than you love life." Such people will lord their authority over those who are not willing to sacrifice their life to protect what is good and holy. Where can we find such a person? I thank God that through Jesus Christ we have such an advocate and defender. Only Jesus has the strength to save us from our enemies in this life and our final enemy which is death. All those who put their trust in Him will by no means be put to shame.

Look to the chickens for wisdom!

Do you have chickens? I do. They are incredibly wise creatures in their own way. They live according to their design and they never deviate from the simple existence they were created for. They wake up with the sun and go to to bed with its setting. For them this process is simple: They walk into their coop when it gets dark and walk out when the sun rises. That's it. Compare that to our sleeping habits (or lack thereof). And we think that we are wiser than such humble birds!

I work at a school and every morning a large number of the students respond to my question of how they're doing that morning with a lame "I'm tired. I didn't sleep much last night." It's almost always the same students! Look to the chickens for wisdom! But I digress.

I mention the simplicity of a chicken's life to bring up some important lessons they have taught me. Lesson one: They are absolutely, totally and completely helpless in almost every conceivable way. They can't fly but have wings to supplement a low jumping capability. They can barely run at all. They panic when endangered. Their only defense is to hide because even though they have beaks and claws, they are dull and useless and made for seeds, people! Lesson two: They fully depend on my protection. This simply means locking the door to their coop at night. If their door is not locked, the raccoons, opossums, coyotes and other night predators will come to eat them. And they will be successful in the hunt because they have nothing to fear.

Sadly, spiritually, we are exactly the same. We believe we can keep our souls safe simply by withdrawing into the shelter of whatever gives us comfort, whether it be our guns, families, religion, education, position, drugs, lusts, etc. Yet, if we place our hope in such places, we will be snatched from the comfort they provide in an instant or bound forever with their siren calls. This is simply because no good protector would ever lock his wards into such a house of cards. Only an enemy would ever seek to spring such an ambush to trap our hearts with those things that will pass away no matter how hard we hold on. Who is that enemy? We are told in scripture that "[Our] adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour."

My favorite chicken, eaten last week while I was gone on vacation

Where can we run to hide from such deceit? From what I wrote, if we place our hope in what we see then we are damned if we do (find peace in it) and damned if we don't. We are either trapped to rot in our comforts or chased out to be consumed by the predator. There is only one house in which to find safety and that is in the house of God! Psalm 91:1-2 states:

He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress;
My God, in Him I will trust.” (Chapter linked above)

There is only one Man in whom to trust when we are aimlessly wandering and chained. Matthew 9:36 states, "But when Jesus saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd." (Again, incredible chapter linked above)

But Jesus wasn't just moved with compassion for we know He acted upon it. For our final hope, we are given Isaiah 61:1 in which the Lord says of God,

"He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives,
And the opening of the prison to those who are bound..." (Linked)

So I end by saying trust in the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and He shall keep you safe and give your soul liberty.

Random thoughts and questions from tonight.

-Putting thought to paper (or blog) is an amazing thing to do. It takes a lot of effort but bears rich rewards if you can apply reason to reality to find wisdom. In fact, much like praying before a God who knows you perfectly, writing your thoughts out helps in the process of obtaining wisdom by exposing hypocrisy in your thought processes. The best way to find wisdom is to ask questions and discover certain principles that never change. Once you've found those principles, you have an immutable foundation upon which to build your life. This foundation leads to a strong conscience and character and a hatred of deceit.

-A friend writes concerning the scriptures: "Okay, whatever. I'm done talking about the Bible because I don't know anything from it. I am useless."

My response: "That's foolish to say lil' sister! Ask me for scriptures for proof instead of lambasting yourself. Ask questions, ask questions, ask questions! You won't gain wisdom by denying your creation as a daughter of God, made in His image!"

-A question I asked on Facebook: "How does gay marriage infringe upon our rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness? Does another person's marriage take away your ability to live life as you see fit?"

A friend writes: "I feel that if our nation was to legally endorse gay "marriage" then the judgment of our heavenly father would be upon the whole nation."

My response: "Doesn't the judgment of God fall upon people for every sin? Does God deem one sin as more worthy of eternal justice than another? Doesn't our allowance of abortion as a country place us under God's judgment already? We are either under judgment already or we are not."

(The picture above is an illustration intended to reveal conceit and is not in alignment with my beliefs)

Another friend writes on this topic: "A gay man thinks the same as a straight man. Therefore no limitation [on marriage] should be made. But what about those with a mental disability that could cause harm to oneself or another? Is it okay then to have limits?"

My response in part: "Who determines mental disability? Even mentally disabled people can be wise and make proper decisions. I know plenty of mentally enabled people who make incredibly destructive choices. Wisdom is not constrained by one's ability to think but rather by one's ability to have empathy towards others. Mentally disabled people I have known are some of the most loving people I have ever met."

-A third friend ask how I got on the topic and I said: "[My reason is] anger over the conduct of judgmental Christians who would rather judge their unbelieving neighbor instead of loving their enemies as God loved them when they were His enemies!"

In chains and liberated!

A friend wrote a letter about her son whose body is wasting away from a little-known disease called LEMS. She expressed a remarkably poignant thought that I wanted to share.

"It's so true that if we are to suffer well we must have good theology. Hard questions do arise, and we are compelled to press into the character of God and His purposes. However, in trying to gain that, I am reminded that God is not so much interested in changing our perspective on suffering as He is in changing us."

In part, this is my response motivated by a providential encounter with an extraordinary man:

"AMEN to that, sister! And yet, He is still deeply concerned about forming our understanding of suffering through the process of changing our hearts!

I wanted to share a story with you. I was sitting in front of the school today (as I am known to do) and a man with a walker emerged from the breezeway. I literally jumped out of my cart to ask of his business and also to offer my help if necessary. He was deeply scarred in many places and could barely shuffle along although his balance was good. He may have been near 40.

I introduced myself so he gave me his name of Ross. We shook hands as he launched into a spiel about how he had basically been a hedonist in his younger life and had gotten into a horrible, drunk accident that almost killed him. He gave many gory details of a well-memorized speech on himself and the statistics. It took years for physical therapy to get him back to being able to walk again, let alone speak.

He mentioned to me that he had been a prisoner trapped in his own body to which I responded by asking, "Are you still a prisoner in your own body?" He said that he was not and I (meaning to share the Lord with him) replied "Praise God!" His eyes lit up and we launched into a conversation about God's goodness and His amazing promises. I was thankful to hear that he was saved and had the promise of an end to his physical infirmities at the resurrection."

After sending the above letter back to my friend I was happy to recall some deep wisdom about the resurrection and the giving of good gifts to those who cannot repay them. Check it out:

Jesus said to his host, "When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."

When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, "Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God." ~Luke 14:12-15

Can you see? This is the gift that all of us who are imprisoned in these bodies of sin and death long for! We seek a release that can only be found in a loving God who invites us to Him when we are broken with nothing to bring but needy hands. His love for us is so great that He is overjoyed when we give him our chains in exchange for His riches!

How football taught me to take life's hits.

For some reason, football became an important means for me to relax on the weekend this past year. It also gave me a good reason to skip my singing class on Monday night! I think I became a real fan of the sport when I read the book "Quiet Strength" by Tony Dungy. He's the former coach of both the Buccaneers and the Colts and led the Colts to a Super Bowl win. I was considering the players and the way they pump their fists and point to God when they make a touchdown or do some sort of amazing athletic feat. I'd not seen a player point to the heavens when missing a touchdown pass. A faith that does not carry a person through difficult times when they fail according to worldly standards is a faith not worth having.

I watched my two favorite teams earlier this season play against one another. It was my childhood team, the Broncos and my hometown team, the Chargers. They were playing against one another for the second time this season and the Chargers crushed the Broncos. What impressed me most about the game was what happened after the final whistle. I believe Phillip Rivers (the Chargers QB) was giving an interview about the win when I saw a large group of players from both teams behind him. Other players were sprinting up to join the group and I was excited to see that they were all kneeling on the field together praying to God. I'd never seen that before.

I was even more astonished during the Super Bowl because I was given a rare treat. I was rooting for the Colts (which turned out to be a disappointment) but I got to see the character of Matt Stover after he missed a 51-yard field goal attempt for the Colts. As he was running off the field I saw him point his index fingers to heaven and give thanks to God just for the opportunity to kick the ball. The announcer mentioned Stover's faith and how he was a man who was willing to give thanks in good and bad times.

This was actually part of a months long process of the Spirit's work in my heart that came to fruition today. I had been praying that I would be a man who had a love for God even when my plans were not bearing fruit. After more than three months of trying to get into the Escondido PD and beating out almost 300 people to make it to the final eight applicants, I was finally dropped from consideration. I was disappointed but the Lord reminded me of His goodness first and that He is my perfect and good Provider. I gave thanks to God for the opportunity to make it as far as I did and, though I wasn't ecstatic, I was thankful to have Jesus pouring out His kind comfort into my heart.

My greatest joy now is knowing that God has the power to change my heart. My only comfort comes in the relationship I have with His perfect Son and the knowledge that Jesus covers me in the shelter of His wing. For a true blessing, read Psalm 27 and ask if you too want the one thing David asked of God in His times of distress.

One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek...

Sharing the Gospel with homeless people.

I've been meditating on a popular idiom that originated in the 16th century by an English farmer and writer named Thomas Tusser. He wrote, "A fool and his money are soon parted." It is oft quoted as a Bible verse (even by myself, mistakenly) but in fact is not one. The closest the Scriptures come to making this statement is found in the book of Proverbs 17 verse 16. It states, "Of what use is money in the hand of a fool, since he has no desire to get wisdom?" Tusser must have been thinking of that particular passage when he wrote down his famous bit of popular wisdom.

My reason for pondering these truths began last Monday when a couple of homeless women named Tommy and Marcy approached me asking for a couple bucks to get themselves dinner. They had supposedly not eaten for two days. After some brief conversation I said I could do better than that and took them to the nearest restaurant for some hot food on the condition that I eat with them. I chuckled in the line and made the comment to Tommy that I had been praying for opportunities to be generous.

After we sat down, I asked them for a favor. They accepted and I said, "Do you know Jesus?" They gave me the deer in the headlights look (which I expected) and I laughed and told them that I just wanted to pray for the meal in His name. The weight of religion was immediately lifted from their shoulders and they broke out into wide grins and chortling laughter and said that they would LOVE to pray with me! They extended their hands out to me and I thanked God for His grace, compassion, goodness, mercy and provision. When we released hands, I chuckled again and mentioned the looks on their faces. I told them that I could "totally understand" why they were nervous.

We feasted, buffet style, for about 30 minutes, at which point I had to take off. We packed up the left-overs for them and I asked if I could take them anywhere for blankets or anything else they might need. Tommy started crying and Marcy soon followed and they just started giving me hug after hug after hug. It was an experience. They told me that they needed to do their laundry because the deluge of rain the previous week had soaked all their clothes and blankets (this is where my foolishness entered the picture). I gave them enough money to do their laundry and quite a bit beyond that. I didn't even bother to think that they were homeless because they were probably irresponsible with money. They started crying even more and thanked me for the money with hugs and smiles.

Still, God is able to redeem even foolishness with His amazing grace. Wanting to have the opportunity to share the love of God with them again I asked if we could meet at the same place on Friday evening. They agreed and the time was set...for precisely when I was supposed to be getting to my second job! I don't know how I forgot about that one. My mind was obviously on other things. That proved to be providential, however, seeing as a young man should probably not be meeting up with a couple of homeless women. The Lord offered me a great opportunity through my own lack of organization and foolishness!

When Friday rolled around, I stopped by a (cheap) hole-in-the-wall Mexican food joint and bought a couple orders of rolled tacos for them. I drove to our meeting point and, right at 5 pm, saw Tommy on the corner. I got out of my car with the food and walked over to her. It was great to see her again! Marcy was not there because she was apparently sick. I said that I had stupidly organized our meet up during work hours and gave her the food. I also gave to her a card for my church which providentially was right down the street and invited her to show up on Sunday morning if she wanted help to get back on her feet. I mentioned that I could understand the vicious cycle of trying to work as a homeless person. She had no home, no convenient bathroom facilities to clean up, no decent clothes, etc. She indicated that she would show up because her lifestyle was "getting old" but only if I promised to be there. She basically made me promise three times.

We'll see if Tommy and Marcy truly want help and are able to make it some Sunday morning. What a blessing from God that would be! In the meantime, I am considering the truth behind a few other amazing Scriptures and have determined that I am thankful, even in my foolishness, for I would rather part with my money temporarily and learn the goodness of God more greatly because of it. I will not have the same lack of wisdom again! I desire only to know God more. Here are those Scriptures:

Proverbs 16:16 - "How much better to get wisdom than gold, to choose understanding rather than silver!"

Luke 12:15 - "Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."

Matthew 7:7-8 - "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened."

How shall we boast?

As I've continued to consider the issue of elders and the authority they are given I thought about Paul and the sort of authority he took. After all, being a follower of Christ (with the mind of Christ), what he teaches in the scriptures comes from the Spirit of Christ. What I found gave me a rare insight into Paul's character: He was not above using LOTS of sarcasm to convey deep truths. Read 2 Corinthians 11:16-21 and tell me if you agree.

I repeat: Let no one take me for a fool. But if you do, then receive me just as you would a fool, so that I may do a little boasting. In this self-confident boasting I am not talking as the Lord would, but as a fool. Since many are boasting in the way the world does, I too will boast. You gladly put up with fools since you are so wise! In fact, you even put up with anyone who enslaves you or exploits you or takes advantage of you or pushes himself forward or slaps you in the face. To my shame I admit that we were too weak for that!

Paul is talking as a fool when he likens himself at the end to one who is "too weak" to have taken advantage of the believers of Corinth. He could have easily done so but, having the mind of Christ, it was not his desire to force action from people when their hearts would not be in it. Christ wants a heart that willingly serves him. Actions are a byproduct of a changed heart. Paul could not be a fool and ask for the actions without the heart change and still be Christ's ambassador! Be wise and go with the spirit of what Paul is saying: In your wisdom, do not "put up" with fools.