Not Catholic, but...

I just read a very interesting article, in which some prominent Catholic priests cried "foul" over two major Catholic universities who will participate in March Madness basketball games on Good Friday, one of the holiest of Christian and Catholic holidays.

While most agree Christ probably did not die on this exact day in history, it was on a Friday.

As the John Mark McMillan (artist famous for writing "How He Loves" made famous by David Crowder) writes in his beautiful song, "Death in His Grave,"

On Friday a thief, on Sunday a King.  Laid down in grief, but awoke with the keys,

to Hell on that day, the firstborn of the slain.  The Man Jesus Christ laid death in His grave. 

So, I do reckon this Good Friday holiday deserves a bit of reverence, right?

CLICK HERE to read the original article I am mentioning.  I believe the priest has a point.

So this Holy Week, I hope you take a few minutes to review your week and see about perhaps becoming a bit more like Jesus.

The Israeli Pirate Story

The Scripture is Joshua 7:13.

The folks of Israel are hot to trot after a recent military victory in Jericho (not to be confused with the pro-wrestler or that sweet show on CBS that only lasted 2 seasons).

The Israelis were not suppose to plunder anything after the win.  All the fancy gold stuff was supposed to go toward the Tabernacle (throwback Tent-Temple).

Come to find out, a dude stole some stuff and buried it, attempting to save it all for himself.

He should have known that a God who can cause raging rivers to turn to dry passable paths and cause dry old boulders to spew fresh raging drinking water is able to see where he buried stolen treasure. Silly pirate--tricks don't work on God!

After such a decisive victory in Jericho, Israel only send a fraction of foot soldiers to Ai town... except the Ai dudes come out in swarms and chase them off!  So, Joshua whines to God (in essence), "Where were you?!  We are trying to conquer in life like you want and BAM!  We get blindsided!"

Sound familiar?

We try to do our best in life to get where we wanna be, and next thing we know, BAM!  We get blindsided by life...

Moral failure...
Angry friends...
Broke down car...
Divorce...
Unexpected hospital bills...
You name it.

So, God tells Joshua (the leader of the Israelis at this time) to tell the folks this: “Get up! Command the people to purify themselves in preparation for tomorrow. For this is what the Lord , the God of Israel, says: Hidden among you, O Israel, are things set apart for the Lord . You will never defeat your enemies until you remove these things from among you."

If you are anything like me (hopefully not too much, the world can only handle so much Billy) then when you think about it, there are some things in your life you are keeping from God.

Time...
Devotion...
Loyalty...
Tithe...
Love...
Taking care of those around you...
You name it.

So before I go blaming God when my life is in shambles... I try to do a self-evaluation:

What happened before this negative event?
Have I been faithful to God and my fellow humans?
Have I been generous with my resources?
When was the last time I prayer or read the Instruction Book (Bible)?

Some things I realize I have buried hidden from God.  I dug a hole and threw some personal things (that were never really mine to begin with--they were blessings from God) and tried to hoard them.

I am not saying every issue you face is cause God is mad at you.

But I am saying if you are in a struggle, the best way to keep God close to you so He can lead you through the storm is by "purifying" yourself.

Unveil the hidden stuff.  He knows about it anyway.

After all, it is all already His.

He is just waiting for you to act like it.

A Christian Response to Islamic Terrorism and Gun Violence (Protect, Pray, Preach)

Every other day there seems to be a new news story of Jihadism, mass shootings, or ISIS beheading someone because they won't play ball by their rules. To cap off the sad news stories, we have a President and Congress who seems absolutely aloof and removed from the fears of every day folk.

As a Christian, a husband, and a citizen of the United States, I began to wonder, "What ought my response be to these perilous days?" I believe there are 3 main things that will deter terrorism, curb lack-luster lawmakers, and conquer radical Islam and gun violence. Let's explore them.


1. Protect
To effectively deter terrorism, curb lack-luster lawmakers, and conquer radical Islam and gun violence we must responsibly utilize our 2nd Amendment rights. This includes being vigilant (see something, say something).

I am not advocating the use of force to accomplish anything. I am however advocating the legal use of arms in protecting your family and country. The goal is to never, ever have to use them.

As a Christian man, I consider it my responsibility to look after my family and those who cannot look after themselves. I used to think a shotgun at home was enough, and that may be so for some. But for years now, I have been a Hoosier concealed carry permit holder. And I carry more than just the card.

Let me be clear. I do not want my community to turn into an OK-Corral with a bunch of deputy wannabes toting firearms with the safety off. Let me be clearer. I do not want my community to look like the bad side of Chicago or the south end of Paris.

The answer to gun violence is not to take away guns from the good guys. If I meet Jihadi John in Indy and it comes down to me or him... hey, I plan on it being him.

If I am taking a walk in the park with my wife and Lunatic Larry opens fire, I would prefer have a fighting chance.

Fidgety Frank is less likely to break in and steal my Ny-quil and TV if he knows I am armed with more than a cell phone.

I have a couple buddies who are in law enforcement. I love and respect them. But I know they can't be everywhere I am. But I am everywhere where I am.

Be responsible. Take the required training. Learn to safely, legally and effectively operate a firearm. 

2. Pray
I don't mean to over-spiritualize everything. Thankfully, the Bible backs me up on this. It says to not worry about anything but pray about everything. To ask God for what we need and thank Him for all He has done and then we will experience His peace which is far greater than we can ever understand. Check out Philippians 4:6-7 for that.

How should we pray? We ask God to fill us with His power in order to live like Jesus: Full of love, compassion, and wisdom. We ask God to protect our country, community, and family. We ask that there would be a Christian awakening, or revival. That way the same Biblical principles we know cause positive and powerful change for us will permeate our whole culture again. We ask God to lead our leaders.

Here is a wonderful prayer we can pray. It is the final verse of that great anthem of the country, "America:"

Our fathers' God to Thee,
Author of liberty
To Thee we sing
Long may our land be bright
With freedom's holy light
Protect us by Thy might
Great God, our King!

Bet they don't sing that verse in school anymore.

3. Preach
How do we eradicate darkness? Turn a light on, for crying out loud!

We tell God to leave our school systems. He does. We tell God to leave our public squares. He does. We tell God to leave our government, and He may be on His way out. Take God out of an area, and there will be a major void. Guess who fills that void. Really, guess.

The prophet Isaiah in the Old Testament said this: "When someone tells you to consult mediums and spiritists, who whisper and mutter, should not a people inquire of their God?... Consult God's instruction and the testimony of warning. Of anyone does not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn. Distressed and hungry, they will roam through the land; when they are famished, they will become enraged and, looking upward, will curse their king and their God."

Allow me to paraphrase: Folks start looking for answers from boneheads and neglect asking God. Then darkness starts creeping in and morning time seems to never come. Then they get mad that God won't help when things get real bad. Example: the recent major news magazine that had as their front cover: "God isn't going to fix this."

Thankfully, at the beginning of chapter 9, Isaiah continues, "Those walking in darkness have seen a great light; and those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned... for to us a child is born, to us a son is given... he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

So to make darkness run we have to turn on this "great light." His name is Jesus. As Christians begin to preach the good news of Jesus' arrival, perfect life, death, resurrection, ascension into Heaven and imminent return, darkness will get scared, fight tooth and nail, but ultimately flee.

How can you preach the Gospel? Ask God to show you ways you can. It starts by living a holy life so when you actually use your mouth to speak about Jesus, people won't be turned off. Talk to your pastor and church family and friends about ways you can change the world by simply sharing the hope of Jesus.





If you're reading this and you're not a Christian, the fact that you made it through all that religious talk says a lot about you.  I think it says you are thinking there may be something to all this Jesus stuff.  Good news for ya:  you can know Jesus in a real, personal way.  Just talk to him (yeah, it will seem weird at first) and ask him to help you out every day.  Start reading the book of John in the Bible to learn more about him.  It is my sincerest of beliefs that Jesus is the absolute answer to these troubling times.
–
I'd love to read your comments!  Post them below.  I'll respond ASAP.