I'm a driven self-starter and innovator who loves being a change agent for a wide scope of projects. I rely mostly on intuition and sheer will to accomplish tasks, figuring the facts speak for themselves. Only within the past few years (2007) have I worked to include emotions in my assessments. As a result, I've been nicknamed “Spock” (Star Trek) on more than one occasion. In a way, I was bred for the business world, but called to the ministry.
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![]() Philip Jenkins' Lost History of Christianity tells the story of great Christian movements that happened east of Jerusalem. What was great about these movements? Why did they not survive? So what? What difference should this make for us today? It is encouraging to learn that as the gospel spread with Christ's disciples and was widely accepted far beyond Europe. The fact that Christianity once flourished under the Western Church, the Orthodox Church, and the Eastern Church of Africa and Asia dispels the common myth that Christianity is strictly “western” when in reality it is universal. Also to know that Christ is actually returning to Asia and Africa and not arriving can act as a bridge for evangelism. Never judge God to vindicate yourself. Job was a righteous man and God richly blessed him for his faithfulness (Job 1:1-3). However, Job had everything taken from him in a test of his loyalty (Job 1&2). After Job's friends comforted him, they tried persuading hm to repent of his sin so that God's punishment might be removed, because they believe the popular thought that pain is a direct result of wrongdoing. Job testifies repeatedly of his innocence, calling their literal theology of retribution bunk; however, out of ignorance Job questions God's goodness to defend his own. Today when science rules, truth is relative, and morality is seasonal, we blame God when things don't go our way. When natural disasters devastate nations, people call God evil for allowing it to happen. When God's holy standards infringe upon people's desires, they condemn them. When Jesus taught on hell and eternal suffering, they call him unloving. Each time we indirectly state that we define good, that we know whats holy and pure, and that we are more loving than God. When facing pain, we need to look inward instead of judging God.
Never stop reading God's Word. After Cyrus the King of Persia decreed that the Jews could return to Jerusalem, they began to journey home, including the priest and scholar Ezra. (Ezra 1&7). Once the material city was rebuilt, Ezra saw the necessity to rebuild the city spiritually by reading the Law to the people (Nehemiah 8:1). Ezra then publicly read the holy scriptures while priests explained it from daybreak until noon, and the people listened intently (8:3-8). The people were convicted and had Ezra read God's Word “day after day,” leading to a revival in the land. Too often we either neglect God's Word or take it for granted. Pastors and priests should not be relied upon as the sole source for spiritual nourishment. Christ followers need to commit to reading God's Word regularly, if not daily, to nourish themselves with God's word. We need to recognize that truth and morality only become relative when people forget or ignore the absolutes revealed in God's Word. We need to respond to the world's cry of “where is God?,” with God's self-revelation through scripture, by being immersed in it ourselves.
![]() How could the Crusades have actually taken place? How could all the violence, pillaging, rape, oppression, & conquest have been committed over hundreds of years, including Christians killing Christians (4th Crusade), all in the name of Christ? What relevance or lessons can we learn for today? Other wars have been a series of unfortunate events led by one warmongering fool after another, but the crusades are especially renowned as one of the darkest moments in Christian history due to the abuse of and particularly by the Church. Overt plundering, sexual violence, and genocidal bloodbaths against the innocent was the rotten fruit from the cross-pollination of Church and State centuries earlier. Sometimes coincidences are divine. The actions of Persia's queen set off a chain of events that led to the Jewish girl Esther becoming queen (Esther 1&2). Coincidence allowed Esther's uncle Mordecai to overhear and prevent a plot on the king's life (2:19-23). Coincidence allowed the Persian king's wife to be a Jew who would intervene when Haman sought revenge on the Jews (3:8-9). Coincidence allowed the king to reward Mordecai (6:10) and hang Haman on the gallows he had built for Mordecai (7:10). Coincidence after coincidence spared the Jewish people from genocide during their exile, and revealed the hidden hand of God. Often times we are too slow to recognize God's divine works behind humble circumstances in our life. Pastors may find that a surprise financial gift coincidentally match a church expense. A Christ follower may find that a plane delay coincidentally leads them to a spiritually hungry seat mate. We may find that God uses our simple actions to coincidentally answer the prayers of another. In the end, we should learn to thank God for his sovereignty regardless of a coincidence's nature.
God's call requires our undivided attention. During the exile, Nehemiah received permission to return to Jerusalem from the Persian King Artaxerxes (Neh. 2). Upon his return he led the people in rebuilding the city's walls which lay in ruins. Despite constant interruptions due to social concerns (Neh. 5), political bullying (Neh. 4), and even attempted sabotage (Neh. 6), Nehemiah refused to turn from God's call. In response he gave a curt reply to reveal his priorities, that he was doing a great work and could not come down (Neh 6:3). Whether caused by the devil or the common tasks of the world, distractions too often force us to leave God's work. The pastor can come down from sermon preparation and vision casting to attend to the tyranny of the urgent. The Christ follower can come down from sharing the gospel to avoid upsetting family and friends. The parent can come down from raising Godly children to seek after a promotion at work. We need to recognize, as Nehemiah did, that the work God has called us to is our number one priority, and trust God to handle the distractions of the world.
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