Crazy Theological Thoughts

Many people ask me how people can not believe in God? Most of the time this is related to the struggles of life. How can people handle pain without God? Simple answer is to watch House the TV show. It is easy to deal with pain and suffering when you realize that is the natural way of things. The world has a natural course of things. This is really easy for people to believe. People can convince themselves that God does not exist. People find it easy to live with the understanding that this is all there is. People are confident with their lives when they only face the worlds judgments. It is easy to believe in a God that judges rightly all things. One would think that a God who knows all things would judge with righteousness and honor. But I have to ask how can you believe in a God that accepts everything? How can people believe in a God with low standards? How can people believe that He will not judge all people? How can people think he would not judge them all the same? People who do...

One of the greatest Lenten accounts does not come from the Gospels but from the Old Testament. It is not something new but something God revealed to us a long time ago. In Genesis 22, some call this the testing of Abraham. I like to think of this as the Sacrifice of the Son of Promise. God tells Abraham to take his son to the land of Moriah (not the mines) and sacrifice him on the mountain. Abraham saddles the donkey, cuts the wood, grabs the fire, and the knife. Abraham takes his son and two young men with him to the land of Moriah. The trip has taken him about three days. Abraham heard the news that his one and only Son was to be killed. Three days they travel and finally Abraham and boy go on alone. Abraham places the wood of the sacrifice on his son's shoulders. The Son carries the wood while Abraham holds the fire and the knife. Now the son is starting to recognize something is wrong. The Son pleads to his Father isn't there supposed to be a lamb for the offering. Are you ...

A new ceremony connected to weddings. Instead of the older unity candle the use of sand. Mixing the sand together to symbolize the two becoming one flesh. I also thought this had an interesting connection to dust and ashes. I guess I am just too close to ash Wednesday and funerals. But think about it. Here is something I wrote up for the ceremony. Unity Sand Ceremony Need: Large empty vase, small jar of white sand for Pastor, 2 vases of 2 complimentary colors of sand one for each bride and groom. Pastor reads Genesis 2:7, 22-24 "Then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. … And the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said, 'This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.'" The Pastor takes a small amount of white sand pours it in ...

Many of us struggle with ups and downs. We have very positive emotional days. Other days can be completely distraught. Most of us trust in our emotions and we know they can help us in difficult times. They prepare us and when we listen to our gut we can accomplish great things. My emotions help bring me closer to God. When I remember how awesome God is. I take great sorrow in my sins. I take great Joy in a God that forgives me all my sins. How great is the emotional divide? How can we laugh so hard that we cry? How can something bring us great sorrow and great joy? How do our emotions yield conflicting acts? Emotions can not be trusted. Most of our emotions occur against our own will. When I survey the wondrous cross, it makes me mourn, but also brings me great joy. When I think of God he can make me mad but also makes me very happy that he created you. I love my God. He is the one who made all of us. He is the one who gives us life. But our emotions can lie to us. They tell us to cry ...

Most of us would love to live our lives without rules. I can do whatever I want. But the problem is there are rules all over the place. Classrooms have rules. Schools have rules. Streets have rules. I was even told once there are rules against spitting in public places. We are surrounded by rules. God has created rules that govern our lives. He establishes these rules for our own safety and to build us up. Sometimes we discard the rules. Sometimes we break the rules, because we want to push the limits. Really take a hard look and figure out what rules you treat as breakable and what rules you must follow. I know there are rules that are set in stone and other rules that are set in jello. We need these rules to help us in our life. They not only keep us safe. But St Paul reminds us if the Law did not tell me not to covet I would not know what coveting is. But once we know the rule we know we are rule breakers. We are sinful people. We have been redeemed by Christ Jesus our savior. He ha...

Sports teach us a great number of things about life. Most sports teams try to win the Game. I like to talk about Basketball. When the ball is tossed at the beginning of the Game both teams try to build a lead. These teams are trying to win the Game. But every once and a while a team has reached a rough spot. They start to try not to lose a game. Their goal is not to win but not be defeated. Think of the New Jersey Nets who are not winning games. This is most likely a response to not wanting to lose. They have lost sight of Victory. Most people have the same thing happen to them. They spend most of their lives trying to win the game. When you go through a rough patch, you start to no longer try to win. People get a defeated attitude. They only see defeat. This is when you can not look past your sins. But here it comes the Victory for all defeated people. Christ forgives us all our sins. He is the one who takes defeated people and gives them Victory. The phrase "snatching Victory fr...

In the creed we confess our faith in God. Most Churches state that I believe in God ... The LCMS Explanation to the Small Catechism says, "Everyone must believe for himself or herself, no one can be saved by another's faith." This is absolutely true. All people must believe for themselves. But none of us can believe on their own. "I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him," from the Small Catechism. But in the early texts of the Creeds it still reads "We Believe." These are not personal statements of Faith but confessional statements of faith. Christians are people who share in a common belief. Thus, they should say we believe in Jesus Christ. This does not mean I believe for your salvation but that we are joined in our confession. St Paul says we are baptized into the Body of Christ. We are joined together through Christ. We are one body with many members. All of Christians joined together as brothers and s...

I must state clearly that I am Pro-Life. But really do not like the term Pro-Choice, because most of the people that call themselves that are Pro-Abortion. I do not know why they don't call themselves Pro-Abortion as an Option. Even people that are Pro-Life still believe people have choices. Just because you are Pro-Life does not mean you can not choose to cloth yourself. I must also state clearly that I believe in Capital Punishment. The Government has the authority to kill people in order to preserve order in their Realm. Capital Punishment has been around for centuries. Capital Punishment should also be thought of in connection with Military or Police forces. The Military has the authority to kill people in order to defend the Realm. Police forces have the authority to kill people in order to defend the Realm. Thus, the Government continues to reserve the right to kill people in order to defend the realm. Now the crazy twist comes from connecting these two things together. Capit...

Today is the First Friday of Lent. Did you eat Meat or Fish tonight? Did you have a fish fry to celebrate Lent? Did you have a big juicy hamburger? There was a Whopper feed during a Local Basketball Game. This feed was designed to be a fundraiser for a local Scholarship. The problem became when they recognized that tonight is the first Friday in Lent. Catholics make a common sacrifice to not eat meat on Fridays. Catholics also have a tradition of giving something up for Lent. This tradition is very good to help train ourselves to sacrifice things for God. In a similar way we take the time of lent to turn away from our pet sins. Those things we turn to instead of God. So what are you going to give up for Lent. I always give up Roman Catholicism for Lent. But maybe this lent I should give up something else. Like writing in my blog. I doubt I will really succeed in giving up anything for Lent. Back to the point of Meat, God told the Israelites to eat Kosher food. God told M...

Many Pastors do not even understand the Hermeneutic they use when they look at Scripture. Most Lutherans use a Law and Gospel Hermeneutic (may be using this in a broad sense). Confessional Lutherans use the Lutheran Confessions as their Hermeneutic (running all passages through where they are found in the Confessions). In our Post Modern world we find more people saying scripture has one meaning for each person. But how we understand scripture does depend the tools we use to approach it. Dr Voelz in What Does this Mean has a chapter where he talks about the two texts. The one text that we read or hear (Scripture itself). The second text is what is on our mind at the time or all our experiences but more importantly our understanding of scripture as a whole and our Confession of Faith. This second text is what we can change. I would urge you to use a Life Hermeneutic every once and a while. This means when you look at a text like Joseph in the Well, why do his brothers sell him into sla...

Today is Ash Wednesday. Many people may ask themselves why today is called Ash Wednesday. But Hopefully you will all remember that today many churches put ashes on people's foreheads. They recite the phrase, "Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return." They place the cross on the forehead to remind us we are sealed with the Holy Spirit. I really understand the connection between Ashes which people heap upon themselves in the OT. I also realize that it is a sign of repentance to put on sackcloth and ashes. Now you may ask me what then do you not understand. Why do we put ashes on someone and tell them they are dust? People do not heap Dust on themselves and wear sackcloth. You do not take dirt and put it on people's foreheads. You take ashes from people and put it on their foreheads. These ashes are generally made from Palms from previous Palm Sunday. (Now we generally do not have Palm Sunday but the Sunday of the Passion in our new Lectionary.) Adam was forme...

The Moon is called the Lessor light in Genesis Chapter One. The Moon is connected to the night. The Moon has many different phases as it goes from Bright to Dark. The Moon is surrounded by Darkness. The Moon is even overcome by Darkness. The Moon can not be Holy right? The Moon and Stars are signs of the time and seasons. The Moon is even worshiped in other Cultures. The Moon can not be Holy right? The Moon moves the tides of the Oceans. The Moon helps us watch the Months go by. The Moon even tells us when Easter is going to be whether you are Eastern or Western. The Moon was created good, but it must also be corrupted by Sin like the rest of the Creation. The Moon does what it is designed to Do. Do you do what you were designed to Do? I know that I do not do what I was designed to Do. But I know that I am made Holy by Christ. But the Moon does what it is supposed to Do. The Moon does remind us of seasons and times. The Moon does this by turning Dark. The Moon moves t...

Isaiah 55 tells us a great many things about God. One thing it also teaches us is to Seek the LORD. Jesus tells us to seek the LORD. Philosophers remind us to seek the truth. But Isaiah 55 says, "Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon." The last part of this text makes a lot of sense. You are to forsake all wickedness. You need to turn from your wicked ways. Think righteous thoughts and follow the LORD. Jesus Christ has died for the forgiveness of sins. The LORD sent his only son having compassion on us. God abundantly pardons all our sins. This is pretty basic. But when is the Lord near to us. Is the LORD really only going to be around for a short time? Is God only near to us for a short time? How long do we really have? Is God really going to leave us? Jesus tells the...

I have always wanted to respond to one ER episode from a while back. You may never have seen this episode but you know the story line. Titled Just As I Am the song plays over and over through the episode. One of the main characters has to come out of the closet. She lost her committed life partner. Now her long lost mother comes to Chicago. She looks up her daughter. The turn becomes she is in town for a Baptist Choir tour. When the character now has to tell her mother that she is a homosexual, she faces the reality of the Christian Life. Now to the point of this turn is the Mother can not accept the lifestyle her daughter has chosen. Now I do not care whether you believe people are born homosexual or chose to be homosexual it does not change it from being a sin. And of course you hear the choir singing Just As I Am. Because we are Christians we need to accept everyone. Thus, we need to accept this lifestyle before God. This is false. Christians follow their leader. We fo...

Before the opening ceremonies of the Olympics there was a tragic death. Nodar Kumaritashvili a Luger from the Republic of Georgia. This is pretty much all I know. I read the report off of Yahoo.com. I was not even able to watch the beginning of the opening ceremonies. I have actually just started to watch them. The report states that he died during a practice run in which he was going really fast. But I am not a news writer. I am simply reporting what I have read. This death comes just hours before the opening ceremonies began in Vancouver Canada. But yet the celebration must go on. The Disciples celebrating the Passover and the feast of Unleavened Bread. I did go there. A Death on the verge of the Passover. Or a Death of the Passover. The one who dies and brings sadness to the hearts of the Disciples. Jesus dies on the verge of the Celebration. But his death like all death is not to be mourned. Now if you want to cry at someones death. You should face your personal grief but it should...

Many people have entered into the estate of Marriage over the Years. Most people know the first marriage was between Adam and Eve. Some might even say Adam and Eve lived together before marriage, but I would not count the rib as "together." Marriage was instituted by God. He brings his male and female creation together in the estate of Marriage. The way people become married has changed over the years. When you look back to Abraham marrying a close relative. You can even look to Cain and Abel marrying their sisters. But one of the things we look back to is Abraham and his relationship with his wife. He is willing to give up his wife to save his life. He even is willing to take on a second wife Hagar in order to have an heir. Abraham still shows his love for his wife when he sends Hagar away to starve. But a better example of how people were married in the Old Testament is reflected in the story of Jacob. Jacob works for seven years and then with out knowing it marries Leah wh...

42 Million Abortions per Year Worldwide and 115,000 Abortion per day. In the United States alone we have 1.37 million Abortions per year since 1996 which gives us approximately 3,700 abortions each day. Other Statistics include: 52% of women obtaining abortions in the US are younger than 25 years of age. Teenagers obtain 20% and girls under 15 years of age account for 1.2% of all abortions in the United States. I am not going to talk about which races or whether this takes place in the marital union. I will point out Religious statistics. Women identifying themselves as Protestant obtain 37.4% of all abortions in the US; Catholic women account for 31.3%, Jewish women account for 1.3%, and women with no religious affiliation obtain 23.7% of all abortions in the United States. 18% of all abortions are performed on women who identify themselves as “Born-again/Evangelical.” I will not claim that 100% of abortions are done by non-believing Christians. Now to continue with the numbers, these...

I think many people in the United States would agree with Isaiah. Snow comes down from heaven and it does not seem to go away very fast. Whether you are on the East Coast with 60" or in the Midwest with 50". Snow does not seem to Go away very fast. I think it is supposed to be sunny tomorrow, but they said it was supposed to be blowing snow today and it was not. I do not trust weathermen but I do trust the Word of the LORD. "For as the rain and the SNOW come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it." God gives precipitation upon the earth so that our crops may grow. This helps for your grass to be green. Hopefully your grass will not be under water. Remember all this snow will eventually ...

The Big Bang Theory on CBS Sheldon posses a game of the Traders. Judas, Benedict Arnold or Dr Leonard Hoffstedder second round Darth Vader, Rupport Merdoc. I thought about the complication of which betrayal by Darth Vader (against the Emperor or against the Jedi). Then Sheldon gives Leonard thirty pieces of Silverware. Which betrayal is greatest. Sheldon even says that Judas' betrayal is not as bad because he has the decency to hang himself. Now I was just watching the Television show and could not help but talk about it. But I am not sure which is more important to talk about the general connection with Thirty Pieces of Silver or the connection between these historical figures. I think the thirty pieces of silver may serve as a more interesting thought. What does thirty pieces of silver represent? Does silver show something worse than Gold? Is all money simply evil? The Bible says the Love of Money is evil. The Love of money shows a love for created things verses the love for the ...

Yes, the Saints won the super bowl. The one game a year where all the united States are gathered together to worship the great American Sport. Whether you come for the commercials or for the game you worship in front of the television. You wait for the Champion to lift up the Idol everyone has chased after all year. Now I am sure you have heard people talk about the Idolatry of the NFL or Football. But I do want to clarify my statement of the great American Sport. Football is the great American Sport because in every other country this is referenced as American Football. Other Countries call it American Football because real Football is played with a round ball and you are not allowed to use your hands. In the United States rather than Football this is called Soccer. But on to something more important. Saints Win! Now you may think I am talking about the Football team. But I am not. The Saints Win because Christ is dead. Jesus Christ pays the price for our sins. In his dea...

At a Basketball game tonight there were some College kids holding up a sign for Guido Fist Pump. Now I had heard of a fist Pump. But I have to say I do not watch MTV where the Jersey Shore has created this new dance called the Guido Fist Pump. Now at first sitting in the stands I thought these where just very unintelligent College students who did not know how to spell Ghetto. So I looked up the term Guido. It is a slang term for an Italian very common apparently in the North eastern United States. I thought they were called Dagos or Wops. But these are just more racist terms. Now you may be asking yourself what does this have to do with God. God is a racist. Maybe I should say God is a culturalist. I love all the old jokes. I am not a racist I own a Colored TV. I am not a racist I discriminate against all races equally. I am not a racist my best friend is (insert derogatory Racial term). These can be funny but how true are they. The more you look at the world around you the more preju...

I have been reading through Isaiah 55. Isaiah says, "Behold, I made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander for the peoples. Behold, you shall call a nation that you do not know, and a nation that did not know you shall run to you, because of the LORD your God, and of the Holy One of Israel, for he has glorified you." The LORD God made Jesus or David to be a witness to the Children of God. He was going to be their leader and commander in a Military Battle. Thus, all the hearers are lead to other nations. Foreign nations who the children do not know will come running to hear. The LORD God and Jesus the Holy One has been glorified in our lives. He has been glorified for our Forgiveness. One could say we glorify God by our Faith and the Forgiveness we receive. We also glorify God by living in our new creation. We also could take part in Christ being raised from the dead reflects our new life. There are a few different points that are made in the simple passage. The ...

This may be an interesting question for some of you. Especially if you spend a lot of time dinning out and spending money for food. Some people grow their own food. But here it is why do you spend all this money on simple food. Isaiah 55 says, "Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food." Isaiah begs the question where do you spend your money. If you do not spend your money on food what do you spend it on. This is a very important question. But some of you may look at this text in Isaiah a little differently. Not just where do you spend your money but where do you put your trust. When you hunger or thirst where do you go. First, God opens his arms to all the hungry and thirsty. Matthew 5...

There are many times in the Bible where we are told to Fear the LORD. Even the major figures of the Old Testament Confess that they Fear the LORD. Luther picks up on this by reminding us that we need to Fear Love and Trust in God above all things. I think most people understand Love and Trust, but they really question the thought of Fearing God. Why would we Fear the LORD? The LORD is a forgiving God. God is Love. Jesus Christ has died for the forgiveness of all our sins. God so Loved the world that he sent his Son not to Condemn the World but to Rescue it. God loves us. God is Merciful. Why should I Fear the LORD? Scripture tells us to FEAR the LORD so it must be true. And since we really do not want people to be afraid of God the meaning of the word must be different. "Fear" really means reverence or honor. "Fear" can not mean cower in Terror. Well what is the truth? "Fear" means to be afraid of the LORD. There is more to our reaction than simple God is ...

The Lutheran Confessions remind me that the AntiChrist is the Papal Authority. But How can I say that Good German in the Vatican is the AntiChrist? Could any German really be the AntiChrist. Watch it just because you were the Leader of Germany does not mean you are not Austrian. Is that really true? Well think about it who is the AntiChrist. I heard a great mind say that we will not know who the Last Day AntiChrist is until he has come and gone. You can not really label some one's career until they are done. Can I say that Kobe Bryant is better than Dwayne Wade? Not until their careers are all over and they are judged by History. In the movie the Patriot General Cornwallis (sp) says that History will Judge him not just by winning but also by the way they fight this war. All Characters in History are judged on their actions and the consequences of their actions. Some people think we should be judged by results not by the means. But Hitler's scientist made great advancements in...

I was relaxing today and watched a couple episodes of JAG season 9. There was a case that caught my attention. Bud was looking into a Conscientious objector. A doctor was claiming that he converted to a faith that objected to War. Therefore, he could not be deployed to war. Thus, he wanted to be removed from the military. Now Bud being the smart JAG lawyer said he could be removed from all Military connections including his military insurance plan. The Doctor would lose most of his patients and most likely his practice. The Doctor did have objections to the War. He did believe in his principles, but he was not willing to give up his life for these principles. What are you willing to give up your way of Life for? I say this because I think it is easier to die for something than to be removed from friends and family or even live in poverty. Now many Pastors may complain about living in Poverty but that is not real poverty. Most of us do not recognize what real poverty is unless you are u...