Crazy Theological Thoughts

Beauty surrounds us. People plant Gardens. People love Flowers. I know that people can go gaga over Flowers. I have weeds which I try to grow. I tell you it is easier to grow weeds, than flowers. But God has given us thorns and thistles to show his glory. Wait I think it was to show our sinfulness. Flowers on the other hand are very great. Roses are my favorite. I have enjoyed many different flower arrangements at Church but Roses are the only true flower I enjoy. People love to plant their flowers. These simple plants can bring Joy to the People's lives. Flowers can bring us delight but the truth is they fade. Flowers have great Joy but when they fade it can be said. Plant life also points out our sin. These are the battle of growing plants where we desire them. Flowers called wild growing in your yard. Grass growing in your garden. Beauty or Sin is what becomes of these plants. They still show God's activity in creation.

Most people tell me that they believe in God. They do not often tell me exactly who this God is. But those people who believe in Christ and his Sacrifice will often thank God for food. Some thank God for the Sacrifice he has made for each of us. How many of you thank God for creating you? I love the Butterfly Song where it says, "I thank God for making me, me." But this song only thanks God for us being human. We need to thank God for creating us new. God has created faith in our hearts. This is what I thank God for more and more. God has given me a lot of things, but I know that I can not believe in God by my own reason or strength. Most Christians today say that they have made a decision for Christ. Many people say you have to make a choice. But I tell people I never gave my heart to Jesus. He claimed it to be his own. I never handed my life over to Christ, but the Holy Spirit came into me and created faith in my Heart. Thank you Lord for making me yours. Thank you all for ...

I found in a commentary that the knowledge of God is very important. We need to know God. I think this is great for us to have that relationship with God. But the reference given for to know God intimately was Genesis 4:1. Maybe you know this and it strikes you as a great idea. But I don't know how I feel about making the connection between Adam and Eve sexual relationship and God with us. Christ and his bride the church have that marriage connection. God and is people have this close relationship. The prophets tell the people in the Old Testament that they are whoring after other gods. Many Pastors or Preachers today tell people they need to have a personal relationship with God. They need to have an intimate relationship with God. But should this really be connected to "to know" in the sexual way. God has touched us all in a very personal way. God has touched our hearts. We have touched his "heart." He loves us so much that he dies for us. There ...

There is no place to hide from God. The scripture tells us that God can be our hiding place. But from God there is no hiding place. It is very interesting in Psalm 139. "You alone know when I sit down and when I get up. You read my thoughts from far away. You wtch me when I travel and when I rest." "If I go up to heaven, you are there. If I make my bed in hell, you are there. If I climb upward on the rays of the morning sun or land on the most distant shore of the sea where the sun sets." There is no place to hide from God. God is always present. God is there in the good times and the bad times. This can bring some great comfort. This can also bring some great fear. God is there when you are going to prison. God is there when you are getting married. God is there to bring you shame but also to bring salvation. He takes care of us even to follow us to Hell. Christ does go down to hell and proclaim victory. Christ also ascends into heaven to reign ov...

The watchmen for the people of God must not be a recent convert. St Paul is very clear here, well he is very clear everywhere. St Paul tells us that a watchmen has to be able to know what he is watching out for. Many people believe in Jesus Christ. Not everyone knows everything that threatens a Christian. Some people know things better than others. What are the threats in your life? I was recently told about a Man that confronted people who truly did not protect their fellow Christians. These youth leaders sent their children on their own into the demons lair. These leaders thought they were helping to expand their kids understanding. But the truth is these children walked into a spiritual warfare. Most people in our western Culture think playing around with the spirits is games. When you welcome the spirits into your life they will take hold. I had to ask someone whether or not they believed in Angels. If you believe in Angels then you should believe in Demons. Demons are bad Angels. ...

There are three reasons why a Pastor should be removed from office. I would like to focus on just one in this particular point in time. A lot of people go to work with a clear job description. Some Pastors go to work with a very lax job description. Some Pastors do not know all the people they are supposed to visit in the first year. Not all pastors know the delinquent members they should see. But these are still part of a Pastor's responsibility. The Church needs to help instruct a Pastor about what they expect from their preacher. There are some preachers who believe that is their entire job. They focus so much on their sermon for Sunday morning, and what they are teaching they forget about learning. Pastors need to spend time studying their congregation. But even Overseers who lack in these areas have not reached the point of neglect. A Pastor who no longer is going to perform the functions of ministry takes himself out of the ministry. There are many staples to ones ...

1 Kings records many great stories. But the real thing is that lots of people ask the question "Where is God?" God is no where to be found. Jesus says seek yea first the Kingdom of Heaven/God. He does not say seek God. This may be interesting to you. But in 1 Kings 19 we find God is not in the powerful wind or the earthquake, or the fire but in a still small voice. God is constantly whispering to us. If you ever get a chance to listen to the world around you. Listen to the rocks. Listen to the trees. Listen to the birds. Listen to the water. They are all singing the praises of God. They are telling the good old story. They are telling of what God has done for them. They are still small voices revealing our Creator. Where is God? He is not in these trees or rocks, but they point us to him. He is all around his people. He has promised to hear our prayers. He has promised to give us help in our time of need. He is the one who tells Elijah, "Yet I will leave seven thousand i...

There are three reasons why a Pastor should be removed from office. I would like to focus on just one in this particular point in time. This is something that not only Pastors struggle with but all Christians. This is leading a truly godly life. I have always questioned this one. Because part of our Doctrine is that all people are sinners. All people fall short of the glory of God. All people are ungodly outside of Christ. But Christians live in Christ. They live in Christ and do good things. Pastors are required to be an example of a Godly life to others. Does this mean if a Pastor swears he should be removed? If a Pastor gambles is that enough to remove him from office? Well really it matters to what extent is ungodly mean ungodly? Here your Pastor should live up to the standards that St Paul sets before us. St Paul reminds us of the deeds of darkness. St Paul also reminds us that we must put aside our old way of living and live to Christ. Here is the real point. God ...

I have told you about other things related to the Overseer. But here is the one I really question. St Paul starts off saying, "Therefore an overseer must be above reproach." What does this mean? St Paul was a persecutor of the church and become an Apostle. St Matthew was a Tax Collector. But I have a friend that reminds me that Pastors are not equated to Apostles. There are no Apostles any more and St Paul does not say anything about desiring to be Apostles. These people are desiring to be overseers. But do all Pastors desire to be Pastors. Some people desire to go into the ministry to teach or help others become Pastors. DO not ask me about these crazy people! But either way they need to be above reproach. They need to lead a godly life. These people have to be above reproach. They have to lead lives that others respect. This means their actions have implications. These actions relate to the ministry of God. This is a very important element, but does this reflect what a pers...

I might be on a kick here but the truth is I am just thinking more about who can become Pastors. I have always been in favor of the understanding of the order of Creation. God has laid out a plan. While I can talk openly with Feminists, they still tend to call me names. I clearly respect the capability of women. They are good enough and smart enough, but this is not what God desires. God says that an overseer should be the husband of one wife. St Paul clearly says that women cannot be Pastors. If you study the various offices in the early church, it is interesting how many offices they had for women. St Paul does not say women can not tell others about Christ. St Paul just follows the word of God. God has a desire for people to remember the order of Creation. He also has a desired connection between Marriage and the Church. There are many different ways for Marriage and the Church to relate. But the point here is still simple. The rules we have to follow are not laid out b...

There are three reasons why a Pastor should be removed from office. I would like to focus on just one in this particular point in time. Many people look up to their Pastors and desire them to always speak the truth. I do not know about every word that came out of St Paul's or St Peter's mouth. But I do know that not every word that comes out of my Pastor's mouth is truth. These pastors need to be questioned. People in the pew need to ask questions and clarify points of misunderstanding. If your Pastor is teaching Falsely, he makes himself a False Prophet or False teacher. This is one reason for a Pastor to be removed from his position. This false teaching must be proved. This false teaching must be admonished. This false teaching needs to be confronted. And the Pastor must reject your admonishment or confrontation. Thus, it is not just stating false things, but teaching and persistently remaining false. I would hope that people would investigate the words their ...

St Paul writes to Timothy about those who desire to be overseers. The problem is most people who desire to be overseers desire to be masters. Much is talked about Pastoral leadership. Christ directs his people, by suffering. Christ directs his people by serving them. He does not lord it over them plan things out for them. He waits for them to ask the questions. He waits patiently to hear what their person struggles are. St Paul reminds us it is a noble thing to desire to be an overseer. But here St Paul is not talking about someone who rules over others. This is a watchman who looks after the people of God. St Peter is told to feed his sheep. St Paul is talking not about the ruler of the church, but the servant of the church. This servant reveals the truth. This servant warns them of coming danger. This is truly a noble office. Thanks be to God that he places these people in our presence to help his sheep. The sheep are easily pushed around by wolves. The Pastor is supposed to fend off...

This movie really gave me a weird feeling. The basic story is the Arch Angel Michael defies God for God's sake to save humanity. God loves his creation more than anything. You recognize that God does love his creation. He loves humans more than any other part of his creation. But he is fed up with all their Bull *&$%. It tends to also blur the line between Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. Because of the use of Characters like Michael and Gabriel. They also have to save a promised Child. This could parallel with Jesus being rescued from Herod, Moses rescued from Pharaoh's men, or Muhammad (of whom I do not know his childhood story). This one child that would change God's mind. But the real struggle is that it blurs line between God as Good and God as Vengeful. God is a God of Justice. Therefore, we do suffer on account of our sins. God will come to Judge his people one day. He will separate the good from the bad. But there seems to be no distinction. God is made to be t...

I was intrigued by the idea that God would destroy his people again. Everyone knows the story of Noah. 8 souls were saved while the rest of the world destroyed. Most people for get that Noah was the first Man to eat meat. Noah was also given a sign of the covenant that God would never flood the earth again. But it does not say that God would not wipe out humanity and start over again. Most people enjoy watching movies of the Earth's Destruction. Deep Impact, Armageddon, The Day after Tomorrow, 2012, and many more. The History Channel even talks about mega Disasters. (I know who can believe what the History Channel says.) Could God destroy the earth in a different way? God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah through fire. Some people believe that is how he will do it on the last day as he burns and purifies the earth. Others may imagine a great light of transformation of the earth making it perfect once again. But would it be possible for God to just send Fire or earthquake and wipe out m...

I love the story of the man possessed by demons. He was forced to live in a grave yard. He is healed by Jesus and Jesus sends the Demons into pigs. But the question is what happens to the demons next. Some think the demons die with the pigs. Some think the demons escape to haunt someone else, because the pigs are dead. Some recognize that demons are evil angels and thus eternal beings thus they can not die. So while they ask not to be sent back to Hell, when the pigs die this is where they end up anyway. Now the focus of the text is on the man who has his demons removed. The other side of the text is the people's fear of Jesus because he killed all their pigs. But do demons die? There is not much people know about demons. I would be interested to hear from any demonologists out there, but I fear you might think you know more than you can actually know for sure. If demons are fallen Angels like I believe, then they can not die but they can live in hell. Legion is the name of this gr...

InVitro Fertilization is a process that has been developed to help families have children. Many parents desire to have children. I hear more and more about situations about couples desiring to have children. Some desire to have their own Children. But part of the scientific process is to implant the best possible chance. Thus, the grade the embryos for best chance of Implantation. One should really talk about Implantation in the Life Debate. But the grading of children is nothing new. Most families struggle with loving one child more than the others. Some say there are no ugly babies. But I am sorry to say that these are some children that are uglier than others. Everyone hopes for a healthy beautiful baby but we still need to cheerish all children. If I can grade them before Implantation, what stops me from grading them after they are born. These embryos are living and they are human. They should not be killed because they are not up to grade. Just like parents should not...

Also thinking about the differences in terms. Confession is good for the soul. Confession is used to talk about our Confession of Faith. This word is also used to talk about our confession of sins. Confession really has the main point of profession of a personal statement. This can be a profession of our faith in detailed points. This can also be a profession of our problems or sins. Confession is good for the Soul. Any time we are able to get things off our chest we can feel better. Any time we can tell people what we truly believe, this is still getting things off our chest. We are able to confess to people who we are. This means I could also confess my status in a community. I can profess all my vocations as well as what I believe about God, and my relationship to God both through my sins and my faith in forgiveness. Therefore, you can look at a Public Confession of our sins, generally includes the confession that God will have mercy upon us because of Christ Jesus. Jesus Christ is ...

I have been doing some reading this week and find it difficult when people use terms I do not understand. People like to use old German, Latin, or Greek phrases which I would prefer to have translated for me. But then I think about watching star trek and do not have any problem when they do not translate the Klingon phrases. Why do we want theological terms broken down, while other areas of life we enjoy the changes. This is the one phrase I think most people have a difficult time with, Confession and Absolution. Most people would desire for Absolution to be simplified to Forgiveness. I actually enjoy this idea because kids tend to understand Forgiveness as a word verses Absolution. This may be because we tend not to use the phrase Absolve, anymore. But Forgiveness is a word people hear all the time in scripture. Maybe it is just our different English translations. But most of the time we talk to people about Forgiveness they tend not to really understand what that word means either. A...