Election Day: It's not what you think

One last comment about election day--
Okay, so it's probably not my last comment about election day, but then again, I'm not talking about a political election.

I'm talking to my fellow followers of Jesus and encouraging them to be certain of their election.
Read this short passage from 2 Peter 1:5-11.

Did you get that? Look at the qualities that Peter tells us to add to our faith: goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, mutual affection and love. He says that possessing these in increasing measure will keep us from being unproductive and ineffective in our knowledge of our Lord Jesus.

Then he tells us to be certain of our calling and our election.

Are you a follower of Jesus?
Does the fruit of your walk give testimony of your following?
Are you giving verbal testimony (saying that you're a follower) but not living a life that demonstrates that you are actually a follower of Jesus?

From time to time I encounter people that will realize that they are not really followers of Jesus. They have said that they are. They really want to be His followers. But self examination leads them to the conclusion that are not and never really have been a follower of Jesus.

So, I'll ask again--Are you a follower of Jesus?
Would you like to be?

Call me. Text me. Send an e-mail. Leave me a comment.
Eternity stands in the balance.

John <><

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Playing Church: A Change of Heart

I've said it myself.
I've heard others say it.
It's always said with a tone of frustration or weariness.

It sounds something like this -- I'm just so tired of playing church.
We say it like the environment at church has something to do with our state of being.

Have you ever said that?
Have you ever felt that way?

I understand that any community of people (including a local church) has issues of politics, leadership, finance, etc. Some of that can be frustrating. Some of that can distract us from God and distract us from our relationship with God. I can understand that frustration and have been in that place.

But as I've thought about this, I've decided that it is really just a matter of perspective. When I'm at church on any given Sunday (or Wednesday night), it's fair to ask, "Why am I here?"

If I am there to worship, or there to teach--then doing those things is not playing church. If my walk outside of church is less than it should be, then maybe I am playing church. Or maybe it would be better if I called it playing Christianity. Fixing the issues that surround the frustrations of what the "church" is or isn't doing is not going to solve my frustrations. Only fixing the the issues of what I am or I am not doing will solve my frustrations.

As the church provides for corporate worship, bible teaching, wholesome fellowship and opportunities to minister, we have to bear the responsibility of doing our part. Our part in following Jesus has to continue beyond the church doors. If we aren't taking responsibility for our own Bible study; if we aren't taking responsibility for sharing the Gospel; if we aren't about faithfully following Jesus -- then we are responsible for just playing at our Christianity.

Just playing church?
Yeah, I need to stop that.
Pretending to follow Jesus?
Yeah, I need to stop that, too.

There are people with physical needs -- food, clothing, shelter, jobs. Maybe we can help some of those people. That would be following the teaching of Jesus.
There are many more people with spiritual needs -- prayer, encouragement, salvation. Sharing the Gospel of God's love and salvation, being there to minister to them and meeting their physical and spiritual needs are the callings of the followers of Jesus. Are we going to be followers? Or are we going to go to church so that we can pretend to be followers?

I, alone, am responsible for how I follow/worship/honor God.

John <><

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Facebook Wisdom

You and I both know that there is a great deal of information and misinformation that finds its way to the grand social medium of Facebook. Sorting through the piles of manure to find the gems of truth is a daunting task. Fortunately, one of my Facebook friends has done the hard work for us.

He posted this as his status and gave me permission to copy and paste it to my status. In giving his permission he said, "Copy, copy, copy away. I hope it gets a million hits."

I few others have copied it and posted it as their status but it deserves to be read by many more people.
To make it easier for you to share, I'm posting it here at Out of My Hat. You can simply share this link so that everybody can benefit from the wisdom that he has gleaned from the postings on Facebook.

Thanks to Facebook, I now feel very well informed as to the issues our nation faces and the basic differences between the big parties are very clear. So the summary of what I have learned is: If I vote for the one guy we will have no jobs, outrageous debt, become slaves to China, get nuked by Iran, dissolve the military, ban God, Bibles, and guns. Have all our problems instantly solved by raising 

taxes on a handful of evil rich people. People will have children just to abort them. The nation will be secretly run by Islam. George Carlin will be the smartest person to have ever lived. Gas prices will remain at record highs, but the earth will heal. The government will decided who gets to see the doctor and who doesn’t. Academic and financial achievement will be capped because everyone needs to be average. If you work you will have to support 100 who don’t. Terrorism will be defeated with warm smiles and free hugs.
Then there is choice number two. All the poor people will die instantly because there is a huge advantage to keeping the poor people poor. The rich will be, well, rich and pay less in taxes than a secretary. Birth Control will be illegal and Row V Wade will be instantly dissolved somehow. My black friends will be placed in chains. All women will be raped. Schools will collapse. Student loans will be outlawed. College will be a rich kid’s game. People will not be allowed to have abortion because we need more children just to make more soldiers to steal more oil. The earth will collapse because one more pipeline will connected to Canada. The nation will be secretly run by Salt Lake City. Gas will be $.87 again. Detroit will fall off a cliff. Starting a business is like becoming a slave owner. Grandma’s social security will be stolen to make more nuclear weapons. Banks will collapse, but not Swiss banks, because that is where this guy keeps his money.
But no one will do anything about illegal immigration, because they need that Hispanic vote to win.
What a world we live in. Happy voting, Tuesday.

John <><

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Christmas 2012

It is difficult to believe that Christmas is just a couple of days more than seven weeks away. I've noticed the local Christian radio station has already started playing Christmas music.

I think that it's odd that they will be playing primarily "Christmas" music for the next eight weeks when they always play songs about Our Lord and Savior. Throughout the year, they never play secular songs, but during the Christmas season they will play seasonal songs like Frosty the Snowman, Winter Wonderland, White Christmas, etc. Not a big deal--just an oddity.

Each year, we have this great opportunity to share with people of all backgrounds and beliefs the reason for celebrating Christmas. For the next 50 days, let's be very mindful of the opportunities to share the reason for the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus.

Merry Christmas!

John <><

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Decision 2012

For anybody that is still undecided about which candidate they will vote for in Tuesday's Presidential election, I want to share these two interviews that were done by Ed Stetzer and published on his blog.

The first is Why Vote for Governor Romney and the second is Why Vote for President Obama.

I hope that you find these to be informative.

John <><

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Getting to the Polls

As we enter into the weekend prior to election day (and to the end of this cycle's annoying political ads), I hope that everybody (that hasn't already voted) is making plans to get to the polls.

Several weeks ago, I requested to have Nov. 6 off at work. I've done this to make myself available to help people get to their voting places. If you live in Southwest Missouri and know of somebody that needs a ride to their polling place, have them contact me. They can leave a comment here, send me an e-mail, or give me a call.

In spite of the fact that Missouri is primarily a red state and I'll probably be taking people that will vote in opposition to my own vote, my main objective is to get people to the polls. Since I don't know if there will be anyone that wants to take advantage of this offer, it would help if any requests would be made at the earliest opportunity. I prefer to avoid the peak times (early morning, lunch hour, evening) but will be available all day.

Pastors, if you have people in your churches that need a lift, give them my number. Facebook friends, do you know of somebody that needs a lift? Put them in contact with me.

Let's all get out and vote.

My prediction is that either President Obama or Governor Romney will become the President of the USA.
Either Senator McCaskill or Congressman Akin will become the Senator of Missouri.
... And God will remain on His Throne.
Those that vote against Romney, Akin or any others like them will not burst into flames and be condemned to eternal hell fire (at least not for their vote).

Maybe we can re-learn good manners and treat people with differing opinions with respect. Maybe we can learn to ignore the hateful vitriol that the politicians and the political spin doctors spew (and will continue to spew) on a regular basis.

Whether you view your vote as a civic duty or an incredible privilege, please vote.
We are the USA
...and that's what we do.

John <><

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Non-partisan Disaster Solutions

The past few days have shown many pictures and clips of President Obama and Governor Christy working together to take care of the Superstorm Sandy destruction.

In the aftermath of 9-11, both parties came together to work together to rebuild NYC and to direct our military efforts in retaliation to the enemies of the USA and those that harbor them.

It is clear that we work well when the citizens of our country are facing a crisis, whether by natural disaster or by attack of an enemy. I'm just wondering how long it will be before our elected representatives will realize that we are facing an economic disaster when it comes to the ever increasing National Debt. It is a crisis that is worthy of non-partisan solutions.

I want to point out that I have purposely used the term "non-partisan" instead of "bi-partisan." I want to see us solve our debt crisis as Americans rather than as Republicans and Democrats. I also want to clarify two terms that are often used interchangeably when that are not interchangeable.

The deficit is the difference between what we spend each year and what we take in. It is the amount we borrow to meet our extravagant spending habits. It what increases our total debt. Even though the deficit has decreased in recent years, the simple fact that we continue to spend more than we take in means that the debt continues to increase. To pay down the debt, we have to eliminate the deficit.

To eliminate the deficit, one of three things has to happen.
We can spend less.
We can earn more.
We can use some combination of the two.

I really hope that our Congress will work together after the elections to work for all Americans. A part of me believes that if President Obama is re-elected, we stand a better chance of getting things done for the simple reason that there will no longer be a reason for the partisan crap that would keep him from re-election. I'm afraid that if Gov. Romney is elected, the Democrats in Congress will pull the same obstructionist garbage that the GOP has been doing for the last four years and we would continue in our debt spiral.

Sometimes you just want to slap those people and tell them to grow up! They act like junior high kids fighting over who is the most popular kid in the school. It's too bad that our representative are more interested in representing their parties than they are about representing their people.

Maybe Gov. Christy could help President Obama bring the parties together and work the budget as if it was a natural disaster. It may be entirely man-made, but it is a disaster just the same.

John <><

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