Monday, April 12, 2010

These two issues can only be dealt with if we have a proper theology of our freedom in Christ. Both flirting and flaunting can be justified by a good legalist. People justify themselves by saying things like, “I'm not committing any sin and we're just having a good time” as well as “Well they shouldn't be looking anyway.” The problem with this reasoning is that it is ultimately selfish.

Dressing modestly. First, lets clarify some things. We are all personally responsible for our own sins. If I lust for a girl after seeing her cleavage, I am fully responsible. I cannot blame her nor justify my sin by revealing another's sin. That logic did not work when Adam blamed Eve for making him eat the fruit, and it has not worked since. (Genesis 3:12. The man said, The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.) Likewise, my pension for lusting, does not justify someone else's disregard for my purity.
In 1 Corinthians 8, Paul addresses one way in which we should view our freedom in Christ. “Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.” He is talking specifically about eating meat but the principle applies to every aspect of our lives. The spiritual well being of others should always trump our own desires even if those desires are not inherently sinful.

Saturday, February 27, 2010

Daddy issues

All girls got em. Somewhere, somehow, there will be daddy issues.
When i hear about bad fathers it creates in me a stronger desire to become a father. I want to be that father that every daughter of Christ deserves. I want to represent Christ in such a manner that my daughter thinks positively of God when He refers to Himself as Father.

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Community. I think this is one of the problems of para-church ministries. I use to think that time consumption was the issue, but time can be such a relative thing. After all, we always have time to do the things we want. The problem is not that our time is too divided, it is that our communities are too divided.
That is where community comes in. The Bible talks about two types of communities; the family and the church. The church appears to be a community made up of Christians that tend to be a part of a family community as well. In our culture, we have many different communities. These communities are based on things like: work, playing sports, watching sports, role-playing games, school, religious beliefs, music, art, or any other common interest.
Though we can always find time for what we are most passionate about, it is very easy to spread our passions too thin with too many communities.
The difference between an activity and a community is paramount. If you go to a bible study once a week and rarely communicate with others in the group then that is probably just an activity. If that bible study is a time when you get together with your friends that you communicate with and rely on other times then that is probably a community.
Our first community that we should be committed to is that of ourselves and the Trinity. The second community is our family. The third is our church. All other communities should come after these three. I'm not saying they are bad, just inferior. Therefore, if any community is a higher priority in your life than those three then something is wrong. If a college group is a more important community than your church then it is overstepping its biblical duty. If a dating relationship is interfering with your church community then it is not healthy.
Don't be that ministry.
Don't be that boyfriend or girlfriend.
Respect the local church community that God has given us, and seek to build that community rather than usurp it.
This may also be a problem in the mega-church structure. They split the local church community into at least two communities. The church as a whole, then the small groups that provide the tangible aspects of community. It almost makes the church as a whole an activity by ceding community to the small groups.