To Know Yourself

Despite the fact that her past plastic surgery spree nearly killed her, Heidi Montag said she was open to having more.

I didn’t know who she was until I read the article.  But this 23-year-old reality TV star said that she almost didn't wake up after the 10 procedures she had in one day.

Montag's procedures included a mini brow lift, Botox, nose job, fat injections in her cheeks and lips, a chin reduction, liposuction to her neck, her ears pinned back, buttocks augmentation, liposuction to her waist and thighs and breast augmentation revision.

Why?  Why would anyone do that?  Montag reports, “I was made fun of when I was younger, and so I had insecurities, (she wants to be liked) especially after I moved to L.A. People said I had a "Jay Leno chin"; they'd circle it on blogs and say nasty things. It bothered me. And when I watched myself on The Hills, my ears would be sticking out like Dumbo! I just wanted to feel more confident and look in the mirror and be like, Whoa! That's me!"

What’s wrong with that picture?  Plastic surgery is a multi-billion dollar industry.  Now don’t get me wrong, it does have its place.  I am thinking birth defects and injuries.  But that’s not where the real money is being spent.

Sometime back I watched an expose on plastic surgery here in Dallas.  This young mom who had had several procedures done herself had brought in her 16 year old daughter to have her nose fixed.  This young lady was a doll.  I’m wondering fix what?  What are you doing, mom?

Do we know who we are?  Our relationship with God is intricately connected to our own self awareness.  The apostle Paul said, we are to put off our old self . . .  and put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

We are challenged in Scripture to shed our old false self and live authentically as our “new true” self.  What is that about?  What does that mean? 

In A.D. 400 Augustine wrote his great work, Confessions.  In it he writes, “How can you draw close to God when you are far from your own self?”  He prayed, “Grant, Lord, that I may know myself that I may know thee.”  What is he saying?  He is asking God to help him to know himself, who he was created to be, his true self, in order that he may know God.

Meister Eckhart, a Dominican writer from the thirteenth century, wrote, “No one can know God who does not first know himself.”

Teresa of Avila wrote in The Way of Perfection: “Almost all problems in the spiritual life stem from a lack of self-knowledge.”

In 1530 John Calvin wrote his great work Institutes of the Christian Religion.  In that work he writes, “Our wisdom . . . consists almost entirely of two parts: the knowledge of God and of ourselves.  But as these are connected together by many ties, it is not easy to determine which of the two precedes and gives birth to the other.”

The lack of self-knowledge stifles our understanding of God and therefore our spiritual growth.  May God grant us the eyes to see our true selves that we might then be able to see our true God more clearly.

Worship

When God looks down on our churches to take in our praise and worship what does He see?  What does He experience?  Does He see a body of thankful hearts united as one glorious choir singing praise and worshiping His Holy name?

Or, does He see half the congregation standing with their arms crossed, their mouths closed and their teeth clenched because they don’t like that song or that style?

Let’s not forget that when a church sings to the Lord they are not the audience, they are the choir.  The purpose of the praise and worship is not to bless the participants or make us feel good. There is nothing wrong with enjoying worship.

Yes, we feel good when we worship in the Spirit, but that is a side benefit.  It’s not why we worship.  The purpose of worship is to bless God’s heart, to put a smile on God’s face.  The only question that matters is how does our worship make God feel?  Do we bless His heart?

Psalm 103:1 (NASB-U)  Bless the Lord, O my soul, And all that is within me, bless His holy name.

If we come to worship only for what we can get out of it, then we have shifted the purpose of worship.  To some extent we are saying, “Worship me; pay attention to my needs; focus on me.”  But that’s not the point.

When the music is over and the benediction is given, if God doesn’t applaud, then we have failed.  Unless God says, “well done,” we haven’t worshiped and blessed His heart.

Have the Terrorists Won?

Have the terrorists won?  Okay, allow me to ask the question differently.  Have the Muslim extremists been successful in their quest to strike fear in the hearts of people worldwide?  Have they been able to suppress freedom with the threat of violence?  I think we would have to answer yes.

They have the leaders of the most powerful nation on earth (U.S.A.) cowering to their demands.  Think about it.  Some nut threatens to burn the koran and the muslim world threatens violence.  How does the free world respond?  We have everyone from a high profile general to the Secretary of Defense running scared.  "Please don't burn the koran.  We don't want to upset the muslim world."

What really chaps my hide is that CNN published a story in May of 2009 where the U.S. Military burned Bibles in Afghanistan.  The general intercepted them.  We can't have Bibles in Afghanistan.  Now he could have returned the Bibles to the churches that sent them.  But no, he feared that they might find their way back into Afghanistan.  We can't have that.  Bibles in Afghanistan might upset the peace-loving muslim community and provoke them to violence--not that they are violent people.  So, he burned them.   Don't you dare burn the koran.  But the Bible?  That's not a problem.

I am embarrassed by the cowardly actions of our leaders.  How about you?

Burning the Koran?

How does offending the Muslim community by burning the Koran build up the Kingdom of God?  As Americans we may be entitled to our own opinions, but as Christians we do not express them.  It may be our opinion that our neighbor's baby is ugly, but we don't express it. 


Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear. Eph. 4:29 (NABS-U)

How does slamming the Muslim community and burning the Koran give grace to those who hear?

Romans 12:17-18 (NASB-U) says, "Never pay back evil for evil to anyone." That includes the Muslim community.  The passage goes on to say, "Respect what is right in the sight of all men. [18] If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men."

How does burning the Koran build peace?  I am very confused.  Burning the Koran seems to violate the loving, sacrificial teachings of Jesus Christ on so many different levels.

Christian Faith Is Not A Hobby

Many people throughout the world practice their religion at the level of a hobby.  Hobbies are activities or interests primarily pursued for pleasure.  They pass the time.  From  a hobby perspective a Muslim or Christian may be viewed no differently than a stamp collector.  So, why can't we all  just get along?  "We have more in common than we think."  For those who practice their religion at the level of a hobby, they do have a lot in common.  But for those who take their faith beyond that of a hobby, the differences are wide.   

However, as a hobby our faith is void of objective reality and is reduced to private feelings, attitudes and perspectives.  It's not about truth, just different ways to practice our hobbies.  Religion is tolerated in our culture as long as it does not rise above the level of a hobby.  As long as it doesn't influence our thinking it is acceptable.  Important aspects of life and death would certainly take precedent over one's hobbies.  You can serve on the Supreme Court, just don't let your hobby influence your judgments.  Throughout the Free World Christianity is tolerated as long as it is practiced at the level of a hobby in the service to the secular demoncracy.

That's one of the problem with Muslim extremists.  They have elevated Islam to more than a hobby.  According to public opinion the problem in the Middle East is not Islam, it is the commitment that some extremists have to Islam.  That's the problem and that's what needs to change.

It seems to me that our general game plan in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan is to create a liberal secular democracy to which commitment to those secular democracies is more important than commitment to Islam.

Such a game plan is not just happening in the Middle East.  I heard on the news this morning that all extremists--those who take their faith beyond the level of a hobby--are dangerous.  Both Christian and Muslim extremists are considered dangerous by some and must be controlled.  But, how do they define extremist?  What does the Christian extremist look like?  Self-sacrificing?  How dangerous is that?

Christianity In The 21st Century

Last week I asked the question, Is Barack Obama a Christian? The quick answer is, I have no idea. He claims to be. I pray that he is, and if he is not, I pray that he comes to be.

From this observers perspective, anyone who claims to be religious and believes in a God, falls into one of three categories: Jewish, Muslim or Christian. However, not all who call themselves Jewish follow the Jewish faith. Not all who call themselves Muslim follow the tenets of Islam. And, not all who call themselves Christian follow historical orthodoxy.

For example, Harry Emerson Fosdick, the apostle of American Christian liberalism, argues that the death of Christ did not involve any penal substitution but was for our benefit giving us an example of sacrifice that we are to follow.

To Paul Tillich who came to prominence at Union Theological Seminary after WWII God is not a being who possesses existence; He is a symbol of “our ultimate concern.” He wrote, “God participates in the suffering of existential estrangement, but his suffering is not a substitute for the suffering of the creature. Neither is the suffering of Christ a substitute for the suffering of man”

Believe it or not, to call Jesus ‘God’ or ‘deity’ is considered heresy to many in the “Christian” camp. Harry Emerson Fosdick wrote, “Have done with your theological Christ and give us back Jesus the ethical teacher.” For Fosdick, Christ was a mere man inspired by God who became an ethical ideal for all humanity. He writes, “The God who was in Jesus is the same God who is in us.”

What is my point? Not all those under the flag of Christian hold to historic orthodox beliefs. Sometimes I wish we had a different name.

Is Barack Obama a Christian

Is Barack Obama a Christian? The answer to the question regarding President Obama’s faith depends on how we define Christian. What does it mean to be a Christian?


I fear that in our politically correct world many have defined ‘Christian’ as anyone who professes to believe in God and Jesus Christ his son. Forget the apostle’s creed or Chalcedonian Christology, how we define God and Jesus his son seems to be up for grabs.

I hear quite often, ‘it is all about faith and what you believe.’ Let's take that to the extreme.  Consider the beliefs of our adversary the devil. He believes in God the father maker of heaven and earth. He believes that Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary and laid in a manger; he was an eye-witness. He believes Jesus walked on water and fed the 5000. He believes Jesus suffered under Pilate and was crucified. He was there. Satan was an eye witness to the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Satan knows that God the Father accepted Christ’s death as payment for our sins. So, does this knowledge and understanding place Satan into the category of Christian? I don’t think so. So, what does it mean for any of us to be called a Christian? Is there a difference between having a Christian belief system and being a Christian? Can you have a Christian belief system and not be a Christian? Can you be a Christian and not have a Christian belief system? Our world has become very complicated.