Rejection

Driving home from work and the Spirit hit me with the issue that I am dealing with lately. Rejection.. No one likes rejection so much so they really don’t talk about it. Is it because we are in a bad economy or is it that rejection is a part of life. Sometimes there will be no and other times yes. Yet for me I feel like it is always no or your not good enough. There have been many experiences in my life that I would call failures but to keep me moving forward and cover up the pain, I have been told to say that failures make you stronger. All of this is told in order to really on yourself, look I am not perfect so don’t expect me to be so. The one thing that I do know is what scripture tells me and that is found in Rom 8:1 For there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Rejection is sin telling you that you are condemned, but Jesus has done and has given me the authority to do and be otherwise.

Karma vs Sowing and Reaping

Karma is not as simple as Alica Keys puts it “what goes up must come down” or” what goes around comes around” it is a bit more complex according to Buddhists faith. Karma is foundational doctrine to the belief, meaning that what was done in a past life has dictated the outcome of your current circumstances but your current circumstances my not necessarily dictate your future. What is also believed in conjunction to previous and current life is that outside forces such as nature, pedigree and as well as mentality.

In short Karma is a Buddhist fundamental doctrinal belief in the good and bad that exists in your life, is based on a combination of past, present as well as forces outside of our control which will dictate our future Karma. When it is said that Karma is paying back for a issues that was commented against someone isn’t all necessarily true. Though it is easy in our society to absorb terms, ideas, as well as thought into our vocabulary and even to the way we process our rational understanding and even how we react and believe and worship our God.

Now sowing and reaping is an agrarian term used to illustrate a biblical truth. It is not a biblical doctrine that should, but an illustration used to convey a biblical truth. Basically a seed is planted and reaping would be the result of the growth of that seed. As Jesus used this illustration to describe seed being thrown about by a farmer who threw seed into varying kinds of soil, what was produced in three of the four cases was a poor harvest, but when this seed which represented the word got with the right soil it produced a tremendous stock pile. Many references to sowing and reaping is found in both Testaments of scripture. It doesn’t require much work to find these examples.

Ok, so what is the difference between sowing/reaping and Karma? Sin is the biggest difference. Today sin is not looked upon as a problem for humanity, but a biblical term in a line of other moral human failures. Sin is do against our friends, family member, co-workers and even that person in traffic on the way home, but even more still, sin is the act of disobeying a loving and Holy and sovereign God. The work of Jesus dying the death for the sins of humanity by His love we are able to repent and live and be redeemed for the penalty of all our sins before a Righteous and Holy God

So look, let us not get these things twisted. When we sin, we are going to reap a harvest of wrath against a holy and righteous judge. When we sin we have a righteous judge that is just who can and will cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Jesus is our advocate not just for those who believe but for the whole world with a condition that we believe in his atoning sacrifice of all our sins.

A thought provoking concession

I just had a wonderful conversation about God’s justice with one of my co workers who is a Muslim. His point is that I can not forgive and forget a wrong when in Islam I have the option from God to seek justice on my own. I said since you have the option why not allow God to take on the battle since Justice is always from God he is the only ONE who is Just. The only reason you would rather place justice into your own hands is that you are able. If you were a child or a older man who is incapable to fight you would allow your faith in God fight your battle, he said I never thought of it that way.

Death and Steve Jobs

"No one wants to die, Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be because death is very likely the single best invention of life. It is life's change agent." Steve Jobs
The quote above is from Steve Jobs the CEO of Apple during a speech at Stanford University in 2005, where Mr. Jobs disclosed his illness and also gave insight into not wanting to die. If you believe that there is only this life and nothing after then you might not want to die or life could be so hard that you might just be ready to die, but I would also ask you to are you ready to die. It isn’t about wanting to die but rather being ready to die. Are you ready to die? are you ready to face every sin that you have committed not to another human being but before a Holy God? How are you looking at death as a destination or a ending of this life into another? Has anyone ever escaped death?
Mr. Jobs understands death as being a destination, but a destination would be an ending to this life and leave all those who have gotten way with it to not see justice. That would be unfair wouldn’t it? That would mean that morality is nothing at all because it doesn’t account for fairness. Death is the inevitable reality which will not just be a destination but a gateway unto eternal life for all, either for eternal paradise or eternal punishment. An ending or a passage from life to eternal life for this is a held belief by many who have a professed faith in a Holy God. A Holy God who requires holy people to enter into his kingdom.
We will never be holy on our own that is why Jesus came down to die and over come death on the cross for the sins of sinful people like myself and Mr. Jobs. That if we believe on Jesus and his work on the cross we will enter eternal life and escape the punishment that we so deserve. God being a gracious and merciful has giving us another option. All we need to do is believe and make a change that we can believe in to the betterment of the lives of ourselves and those we love. Are you ready to die?

Are you ashamed!

I have to ask this question of myself from now on; and that is “Am I ashamed of the Gospel?” A discussion broke out which really has no bases in anything except to cause divisiveness between, which might seem like a bad joke an agnostic, Muslim and myself the Christian. Well the Muslim in the story brought up how Christian outside of America feel that they have a better brand of Christianity. Let me also be clear that I am paraphrasing his comment, but the intent was too invoke anger within me. So I began to explain the different denominations within the totality of Christianity from Roman Catholics to Orthodox and Protestants. Then we began to disagree on the etymology of Bethlehem in Arabic knows it as house of meat and I believed that it is House of God for bread, I say that because cause it is a compound word which get lost in the English translation. I eventually threw my hands up and said “NO MAS!” Some people you can not discuss truth with. So this bring me to my point of no being ashamed of the Gospel even though the Muslim didn’t want to hear or understand and even comprehend the term Bethlehem or the origins of Christianity we must still proclaim the Gospel to the lost and hard headed even when you might need to throw up your hands and so no more to this one because salvation from the gospel is to everyone who believes and sadly to say the wrath of God is on those who might not believe. If you get a chance check out Romans 1:16-20

Peace

NO OUTLET

I am currently living with my pregnant wife and son in my Mother’s basement. We still own a home in Waldorf, which is approximately 17 miles from where we are now. We moved in because we had to pay off some bills, which was causing us to sink deeper in debt. Our home is Waldorf is being rented for two years by a couple and their 2 kids. We really didn’t want to move down to Waldorf at the time, but in 2005 homes in our old neighborhood were just too expensive. We also felt disconnected from our friends and family and we didn’t build new roots in Waldorf. We attended a Church in Waldorf called Crosspoint which was a church plant that eventually closed just as we started to build friendships. It wasn’t the same. Our old church we lead the Singles Ministry, which was a blessing and I loved it, but we moved further away from the church. These are just some of the regrets I am feeling and just how I feel left out. It doesn’t mean that I am depressed or that I am losing faith. Have you ever wondered down a street and didn’t pay any attention to the yellow sign that says “NO OUTLET” and you have to turn around to get back on the road that leads to new destinations new scenery and the right course of action. That is were I am at this moment. How you ever felt like that?

Where is my mind these days?

Well now that I am back to class my head is spinning, trying to juggle family,work and seminary life. You know sometime I fail big time at the work stuff mostly because I am stuck doing the same old thing. It is only to my own detriment since I decided to come back to work here, all things work for there good. So I am not going to complain. Even if I do I am not condemned because of the work of Christ and what God has done by making him a sin offering for my deficiencies and those I have many of. So we have been set free from death to life in Christ. So I will put my priorities in place in and continue to hedge forward to the goal that is in the Gospel of God.

So when we fail at relating or not showing the love to those who may not be in Christ, know that we are not condemned.