Running is….fun.

Well, I started running a lot with a friend of mine. It’s weird how you can get so much satisfaction out of thirty minutes of suffering…There is something about being completely miserable for half an hour that is really fun and, well, addicting. I guess it’s because of the endorphines that get released in your brain or whatever. Plus I have a pretty sweet running partner, so that makes it a lot more fun too. Anyways, just thought I’d talk about my new pastime. Good bye.

This is frustrating

So lately I have been really really frustrated with a lot of stuff. Mainly it has to do with church and such. I’ve just noticed how corrupt everything is…like this whole thing with Oprah. She has a church of over two million and nothing she teaches lines up with scripture at all. It’s just scary. It seems as though a new thing pops up  everyday that fulfills another part of scripture. I don’t want to be one of those Christian idealists that runs through the streets screaming “the end of the world is here! Repent!!!” Though entertaining the thought of time as we know it coming to an end somewhere in the near future is becoming more and more necessary. The Bible says that towards the end there will be many false teachers, and people are going to lap up whatever they say as soon as it leaves their lips. “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths” (2 Timothy 4:3-4)

There is proof of this every time you turn on the tv. I was watching the tube one night and happened upon one of those “religious inspiration” channels that are doing everything they can to scrap a few pennies from the onlookers at home. I have seen a lot of ridiculous things on those channels, but the other night really made me mad. There was this pastor-can’t think of his name right off- but he was giving away manna, saying that “this is the same exact food that God dropped from the Heavens.” Not only that, but he said that when you eat this manna, you will immediately become prosperous…and people were buying into it! They had countless interviews with people saying that after they ate it, they became rich. One lady found a five thousand dollar check, another closed on her dream home, and so on. Since when did the Bible say that eating manna will make you rich? Since when does the Bible teach anything of that nature? It doesn’t!

That is one thing that really annoys me about Joel Osteen’s church. Me and a good friend of mine were talking about this recently. All of his messages are the exact same thing. He gives a success story of his life, says that God’s greatest desire is for us to have an “abundant life,” and then gives steps on how to become financially successful or land that job or make more friends or move into that big house. Sure it may sound comforting, but it is nothing but lies! Straight up lies! In fact, I was watching one sermon that Joel preached where he told his congregation that Jesus died on the cross for us to have an abundant life. He used a verse in Ephesians to “back up” his claims, and then completely altered it…and people are buying into this too! Millions and millions of them! If I could let one thing be known in all of this, it would be that Christ did not die for us to have an “abundant life.” In fact, 1 John 3 tells us not to be surprised if the world hates us. In other words, when you are in Christ, your reward is after this life. If you are a Christian, your soul purpose is to tell others of the love of Christ, not try to have as much fun here on earth while you can. The Bible doesn’t promise financial success, big houses, lots of friends, and a happy life. Being a Christian means sacrificing everything you have for the cause of Christ. Most of the important figures in the Bible suffered
for the cause of Christ. Look at Paul. He had a miserable life! But he was okay with it because he knew that he was sacrificing himself for God’s glory, and that was far better than anything worldly could ever provide. He knew his reward would come at the end.

I realize I am guilty of many things when it comes to this stuff…we all are. No matter how bold we are in our faith, there is always room to grow. Trust me, I should be a whole lot bolder when it comes to standing up for Christ. I just pray that God will strengthen me, strengthen all of us in the midst of all of this. I pray that He will provide wisdom so that we may understand what is right as opposed to what makes us feel good. There is a lot more I would like to get out, but it’s late and I’m tired of writing.
Good night, and thanks for listening to my complaining.

AHHH!!!!

     Okay, so I am going to write about something that has been bothering me for the last few days. Mind you, this is going to be a rant, so if you don’t like rants, I’m sorry. Recently, a good friend of mine showed me a video on Oprah Winfrey’s new church. I hadn’t the slightest idea that Oprah had a church. I soon found out that is is because her church is only one month old. Despite it’s age, it already has well over two million members, with over 300,000 joining just on the first service, which was held on March 3rd.

     Why does this frustrate me? Not only does this church stray from the teachings of the Bible, it completely contradicts everything in it. First off, Oprah teaches that Christ has nothing to do with salvation. She says that there are millions of ways to get to God, and it doesn’t matter how, just as long as you get there. She teaches that since man was made in the image of God, we must be as holy as him, and our holiness is our salvation. But it doesn’t stop there. Oprah also teaches that when Christ died on the cross, it wasn’t actually him, but an image of us. In other words, Christ never died on the cross. The cross is just a picture of us…This is completely absurd. It aggravates me more than anything that somebody can take the precious teachings of the Lord and completely turn them around. Not only that, but she is decieving millions and millions of people. This has become the largest and fastest growing church in the world, and to tell you the truth, it scares the crap out me. I can’t even explain what was going through my mind when I was watching that video… Millions of people are being led astray, and with the rate that this church is growing, millions more are going to join them. This isn’t a church, it’s a cult. I just pray that God will do something to end it.

 

Concerning Atheism

One of the most controversial and heated issues in the history of mankind is the existence of God. Atheists say it’s not possible, agnostics argue there is no way of knowing, and Christians insist there is no possibility of creation without a God. It is written in Psalm 14:1, “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’” Many ask the questions of why we are here, how we got here, and if there is a greater intelligence that did in fact design the vast and unending universe we know today. All of the answers are in the Bible, but there is one problem. Many refuse to trust in a book written thousands of years ago. People of our over-materialized society want hard evidence before believing in something. In my opinion, this is due to a lack of faith.

One of the biggest arguments of atheists is that they don’t want to put faith in something that cannot

be proven through scientific experimentation. The only problem is they contradict themselves when saying this. Why? Because atheism requires just as much, if not more faith. Many atheists believe the universe is everlasting. It always was, always has been, and always will be. The ones that do not believe this theory generally lean toward the evolution view of things. This is the theory that at first there was nothing. The universe was just a big empty space, and all of a sudden there was an explosion out of absolutely nothing and everything sort of fell into place from there. I don’t mean any disrespect to those that believe in the Big Bang Theory, but the thought of something as vast and complicated as a universe exploding out of something smaller than a pin prick, smaller than an atom, smaller than an electron, literally nothing, without some form of creator is completely absurd! First off, it requires a lot more faith, in my opinion, to believe that something exploded out of nothing and all of a sudden there is an earth filled with life. I personally am neutral as to the Big Bang Theory. I believe that if there was in fact a large explosion out of nothing, it would all point to a creator. It simply is not possible to create something out of nothing without a higher intelligence behind the scene. You want logic? Well there you have it. I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist, a book written by two former Atheists, Norman Geisler and Frank Turek, explains how the difficulty is not in finding the truth, but accepting it. You can believe all you want that gravity doesn’t exist, but you are still going to fall to the ground when you step off that building. You can think all you like that not drinking water for two weeks won’t kill you, but that doesn’t stop the reality of it happening. It is the same with God. One can believe with all of his heart that God doesn’t exist, but that doesn’t make it true by any means. And just the opposite is true, one can believe with all of his heart the there is a God, but it can’t be proven through scientific study. So how do we come to a conclusion? How do we know who is right and who is wrong?

The answer is simple…we don’t. I can explain away using textual evidence from the Bible. I can use logic. I can use examples of people who were once atheists and now are not, but the truth is I can’t physically prove that God exists. The Bible says that no one, no matter how persuasive, can force anyone to believe anything they don’t want to. No matter what evidence you provide, no matter how hard you argue the issue, no matter how much proof you provide, people will still believe what they want to believe.

I don’t have much time share with you everything on my heart or go as deep as I would like, but I will use the time I have wisely and hit on as many points as possible. Recent statistics show an increasing number of people becoming atheists. Up to ten percent of people around the world declare themselves adherents of atheism. So why are there more and more people becoming atheists today? In my opinion, it is due to a combination of a technological and scientifically advanced society, a stereotypical view of the Christian lifestyle, a lack of insight, and hypocritical Christians.

Our society today is advancing faster than ever before. Before we know it we will be flying cars to work and parking in our pockets via shrink rays. The advancement of science, technology, and philosophy is a major factor contributing largely to the increasing number of atheists around the world. It seems like every day science comes out with a new explanation as to how we got here, and of course this seems more logical than what Genesis 1 says. Why is it more logical? Because science discovered it, and if science discovered it, it must be true. But the truth is, science is never, I repeat, never set in stone. First the earth is four-billion years old, then three, then five. The point I am getting at is that our society today is advancing too fast for us to keep up. We keep searching for truth when it’s right under our noses, and we look to science and what our society has to say about the issue before anything else. As the human population gets smarter, we ask more questions and demand proof before putting faith into something not seen. This, as I see it, is the root of atheism.

The next point is a stereotypical view of the Christian lifestyle. Many look at a Christian and think rules. We aren’t aloud to party, we aren’t aloud to cuss, we aren’t aloud to steal, and so on. But it is so much more than that. Personally, I don’t agree with religion at all. People are too busy trying to live their lives by a moral standard that copes with their religious beliefs, and that is not what was intended at all. Being a Christian means having a relationship with Christ, following in his footsteps, doing what He tells you, and out of that grows a hunger for Him and a desire to stay away from the partying, the cussing, and so on. The Bible says that God created us to commune with Him and enjoy life, not be miserable and live by a bunch of rules! So this, in my eyes, is yet another reason why atheists refuse to believe in the existence of a God. They see Christians as just living by a bunch of moral standards and rules that are written in a book. But until you experience the grace and the glory of Christ, you only see the outside view.

Another contribution to atheist beliefs comes from a lack of insight. Someone doesn’t know what to believe, so they just decide to believe in nothing. Now don’t get me wrong, I am not saying this for all atheists. In almost all of the articles, essays, and interviews I’ve read, and discussions I’ve had with atheists, they always seem to have a good understanding of what they are talking about. They have done their research and prepared a good argument, but it still goes back to the faith thing. Without faith, you can’t believe in the existence of God. This is proved in Hebrews 11:6. “And without faith, it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.”

Lastly are hypocritical Christians. You know, the ones that say they love God on Sunday but get trashed all the other days of the week. The ones that speak of the love of Christ, and with the same tongue curse Him. This leads non-believers to believe that all Christians are this way, and the greatness of this God can’t be true because it is obviously not changing any of us. Sadly, this is true for some people, but I assure you it is not the case for everyone. I have experienced many ups and downs in my lifetime that I won’t go into now, but I can honestly say calling upon the name of the Lord has never let me down. I may sound like a “Jesus freak” or whatever, and if that’s what you want to think about me it’s perfectly fine. When the apostle Paul was being ridiculed and punished for talking about God, he said they can do all they want to him. If he lives, he stays here on earth and tells more about Jesus. And if they kill him that’s cool too because he knows where he’s going when he dies.

Like I said, I can bore you to death with scripture for hours upon hours to try and get you to believe God, but it won’t happen unless you accept it. I could go on for hours about how He has changed my life and the lives of others around me, but that will do nothing. I can stand here and explain to you how it is simply not possible for the universe just to explode into existence, or never start and never end. I can disprove all of these scientific theories of ours existence with just a few verses from the Bible, but if you are not accepting it can’t happen. I have done all I can in this short amount of time. I have shared my heart with you, I have given logical explanations as to the existence of God, and I have used scripture to back it up. But the rest is up to you. No matter what I say, I can’t change your mind. No matter how much I would love to, I can’t make you experience this God of mine. You must have faith and accept it yourself.