#18 - Things You Should Check Out

1. I hope that you have, and if not soon will, check out my posting for this past Sunday on the Manhattan Declaration. Even if you can't read the entire document at "ManhattanDeclaration.com, its very much worth your printing out the 7 or so pages and reading it later, and I hope, signing it. I find it hard to understand how any Christian, and especially every pastor (YOUR pastor?), does not agree with and adds their signature to this important document.

2. On my other blog for this past Monday - posting #47 - and the ones tomorrow and next week will deal with the subject of climate change in view of the huge conference going on in Copenhagen this week and next. Each days posting will include several articles that give the "other side" of the subject, information that you are not hearing from most of the things you are reading and probably being taught in school. More than 30,000 scientists - including past Nobel Prize winners in science, have signed a petition disputing the claims of people like Al Bore. I provide these articles as a way to keep you informed on this very important subject. Please check out these postings!

3. When you shop for a gift for your parents, friends, or yourself, please consider
getting a copy of the book "Saving Freedom," which you can get at a great price at
Amazon.com. I know, it's not a real "fun" gift but it is, I believe, the most important book any American should be reading right now. It's THAT good. Please check it out. I promise you, if you only buy yourself a copy this Christmas, you will be thankful for the investment.

#17 - An Alternative to Christmas Shopping

[From Stan: You might consider using the present growing troubles of Tiger Woods as a conversation starter with non-Christian friends. First, ask them what would they consider the marks of a great life they would like to have. Then share with them how “Tiger Woods basically has (had?) it all: he’s a billionaire AND at a young age (financial security for life); he’s married to a beautiful model and has 3 healthy and beautiful children; he has world-wide fame and popularity; he gets to do for a living what he is gifted and obviously enjoys doing and is probably the best in the world at what he does. AND YET, with all that, he was dissatisfied enough to (it appears) commit adultery. He is just one of many stories of famous people (and Hollywood is full of them) who “had it all” and yet were not satisfied. Why do you think this is so?” To paraphrase C.S.Lewis, [if we are not satisfied with the things of this world, it probably means that we were meant to be fulfilled by life rooted in another world (Heaven or things of God).]… Of course, it goes without saying that we should all be praying of Tiger and his wife, that their marriage would be saved, but more importantly, that, as I suspect he and she are not believers in Christ, that they would come to know Him who ALONE fulfills any life as it was meant to be.]

Also, be sure to check out my special “Letter to the Christian Church posting this Sunday, Dec. 6.

[From Stan: You might consider using the present growing troubles of Tiger Woods as a conversation starter with non-Christian friends. First, ask them what would they consider the marks of a great life they would like to have. Then share with them how “Tiger Woods basically has (had?) it all: he’s a billionaire AND at a young age (financial security for life); he’s married to a beautiful model and has 3 healthy and beautiful children; he has world-wide fame and popularity; he gets to do for a living what he is gifted and obviously enjoys doing and is probably the best in the world at what he does. AND YET, with all that, he was dissatisfied enough to (it appears) commit adultery. He is just one of many stories of famous people (and Hollywood is full of them) who “had it all” and yet were not satisfied. Why do you think this is so?” To paraphrase C.S.Lewis, [if we are not satisfied with the things of this world, it probably means that we were meant to be fulfilled by life rooted in another world (Heaven or things of God).]… Of course, it goes without saying that we should all be praying of Tiger and his wife, that their marriage would be saved, but more importantly, that, as I suspect he and she are not believers in Christ, that they would come to know Him who ALONE fulfills any life as it was meant to be.]

Can Christmas Still Change the World? By Mark Earley, December 01, 2009 (from Breakpoint.com)

Five pastors. Five congregations. And one radically different approach to Christmas. What can we learn from it?

In 2006, pastors Rick McKinley, Chris Seay, and Greg Holder had a vision to revitalize the celebration of Christmas in their churches. They found two other like-minded pastors, and, together with their congregations, conspired to restore the meaning of Christmas. As Rick, Chris, and Greg explain in their book Advent Conspiracy, they all recognized and detested the rampant consumerism that turns the remembrance of Jesus’ birth into a cult of materialism. “Our story is consumption and consumerism...We worship less. We spend more. We give less. We struggle more.” That was their perspective. To address the problem, they challenged their congregations to spend less on themselves that Christmas so that they could spend more on others. As a result, this coalition of churches was able to raise around half a million dollars—enough to fund the digging of a high-capacity well in Nicaragua, and 13 deep wells in Liberia.

But these “Advent Conspirators” don’t simply tell us what they’ve accomplished. They challenge us to go and do likewise.At RethinkingChristmas.com, people who have joined the Advent Conspiracy share some practical suggestions on how to spend less money, yet give more love. One mother commented that she planned to make personalized cookbooks for her kids this Christmas. She scanned family recipes written in her handwriting and that of her mother’s, and placed them in a binder. That’s a gift that her children will treasure for years, and hopefully pass on to their children. While this may not have cost much, it involved a wealth of time—something far more meaningful.

But our giving should not be limited to family and friends. This is the challenge of the Advent Conspiracy: “As poor people who have met with the righteous wealth of God, it is now our turn to model his generosity by sharing our wealth with those in need.” So far, many participants in the Advent Conspiracy movement have opted to give the money they raise each year to Living Water International, a Christian ministry dedicated to providing access to clean water to people around the world.But whoever we give to, the point is to get beyond ourselves and love the unloved in the name of Christ. Rick, Greg, and Chris remind us of the blessings that result. As they write, “When we show up and love in the name of God, God shows up. That’s part of the mystery of partnering with Jesus in the work he is still doing.” During this past year of recession, it may be encouraging to remember that God doesn’t expect us to give what we don’t have. Those who have lost jobs may not be able to do much more than the poor widow in Luke 21. Though she only put in two small copper coins, Jesus commended her. While others gave out of their wealth, she gave out of her poverty and from her heart. So this year, as you remember how, long ago, God’s people longed for the coming of the Messiah, and as you look forward to Christ’s coming again, make a change in how you spend. Perhaps this Christmas can be the advent of a deeper faith for you and your family.

For more, visit BreakPoint.org, and we’ll show you how can become an Advent conspirator as well.

Further Reading and Information
Rethinking ChristmasAdvent Conspiracy
Advent Conspiracy (Sample Chapter)Rick McKinley, Chris Seay, and Greg Holder,BreakPoint BookTrends
Advent Conspiracy Rick McKinley, Chris Seay, and Greg Holder

P.S. from Stan: Besides checking out the website “Rethinking Christmas.com, consider doing away with Christmas shopping for the most part (except for children).Instead, may I encourage you to consider giving each person on your “list” a Christmas card telling them that in lieu of a gift, you are giving what you would have spent to a ministry that reaches out to people who are in need – one that gives gifts to children of those in prison, to a Christian pregnancy resource center, to World Vision or some other ministry that helps needy overseas, the Salvation Army, or Open Doors, that helps Christians in third world countries, especially former Muslims, who are persecuted for their faith. (If you need any other ideas or contact info, please let me know.
The reason for doing this is that many times during this time of year, we give with the expectation that we will receive something of possibly equal value in return. Most of us in this country have so much that, in lieu of this season celebrating the birth of Jesus, THE Gift that can never be returned in kind by the recipient, we should celebrate it by giving to those who we have no expectation of ever returning our gift in kind, those who are truly in need. Rather than going into debt (nuts!) and wearing ourselves out trying to find the perfect gift for someone who probably has the means anyway to get that item for themselves, we should think of those who cannot. I just think that doing this will make this season a whole lot less focused on buying stuff and just giving to those who really have needs for basic things.

#16 - 'New Moon,' New Opportunity

[Just to let you know: I haven't been posting on this blog for several months because my health has become such that it's become difficult to be at the computer for very long. I'd appreciate your prayers that at least by the beginning of the new year, my health will return to where I can be well enough to keep this blog updated more regularly. Thank you.]

A Twilight Discussion Guide
By Molly Wyer|Published Date: November 17, 2009 (found at the Breakpoint.com website)

It’s opening night for New Moon, the second installment of the Twilight series. A line outside the theater is fairly buzzing with eager anticipation. In front, a young girl holds her mother’s hand and two Barbie dolls—Bella and Edward, of course. The mother seems almost more excited about the movie than her daughter is. Far more striking, though, is the sea of teenage faces: guys in heavy white face make-up and dark eye-liner, and girls with a bit of blood where they’ve been “bitten.” And this is just the local theater—not the premiere!

Stephenie Meyer’s young adult series tells the story of Bella Swan (a girl in her late teens) and Edward Cullen (a vampire who has been 17 for almost a century). Bella is klutzy and introverted. Edward is unbelievably handsome—but also strangely attracted to the smell of Bella’s blood. The forbidden romance between this unlikely pair develops over four lengthy novels: Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn. New Moon, the second of the books to be made into a major motion picture, has already sold out in over 60 theaters nationwide. It’s safe to say Twilight is popular. So if your son or daughter wants to go see the movie, you won’t be surprised. But what do you say?

There are several reasons why you may not want to see this movie, or allow your kids to see it. Despite the so-called abstinence message of these books, while Edward and Bella remain virgins before their marriage, they continually push the envelope on physical intimacy. Additionally, the positive portrayal of the main vampires in the saga (the Cullens, for example) could tend to glamorize vampirism in the real world. Vampirism can be practiced as a cult (followers have been known to drink each others’ blood and commit other horrific acts).

Further, Meyer’s Mormon beliefs certainly influence the story—this can be seen, for instance, in the emphasis on secret knowledge. Only the privileged few are allowed to see reality as it “truly” is—in this story of course, vampires and werewolves are the secret, instead of principles of the Mormon faith.

But if you decide to let your kids watch the movies (or read the books)—or, if your reading club wants to do either—here are some thoughts on how to turn the experience into a jumping off point for discussing deeper issues with your teens or your friends, rather than a cultural dead-end.

The Appeal of Edward

In the Twilight books and in the movies, Edward Cullen is depicted as godlike in his physical beauty. But beyond his flawless physique, what qualities does he possess that would make him a good mate? Does he have traits that would make him undesirable as a spouse? One of Edward’s positive qualities is his faithfulness to Bella. Even in New Moon, when he breaks up with her so that she will (he hopes) be able to lead a normal life again, Edward does not forget Bella and move on to “the next girl”—his love for her is far deeper than that. Another admirable quality is his self-control. Edward never allows himself to put Bella’s life in danger; he never permits his physical desires to overcome his reason (at least, not completely).

On the other hand, Edward is highly controlling. In one instance, he bribes his sister Alice (with a yellow Porsche, no less) to kidnap Bella in order to keep her from hanging out with her werewolf friend Jacob, whom Edward considers dangerous. Usually, what Edward forces Bella into is for her own safety, but such tyrannous behavior is hardly conducive to a functional relationship between two equals. Another downside to Edward’s character is the fact that he is perfectly willing to go along with Bella as she deceives her father about the depth and intimacy of their relationship.

What qualities should someone look for in a spouse? Use Edward’s strengths and flaws to help your kids think about seeing beyond the superficial in relationships to qualities that are really lasting. Or, if you see the movie with a group of friends who are married, take time for each of you to talk about what attracted you to your spouse.

The Allure of Evil

In Romans 12:9, Paul instructs the Roman Christians to “hate what is evil; cling to what is good.” Why is it then that, even as we are repelled by evil, we also feel secretly fascinated by it? This tension is often apparent in the Twilight books. The answer is two-fold. Perhaps most obviously, man’s view of reality is distorted by the fall. Ever since Eve reached for the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, humans (even believers) have struggled with the lure of what is forbidden. We are intrigued by what we are told we should not do or know—we want to be like God, knowing good and evil.

Even though Bella knows that Edward is (especially at the beginning) constantly tempted to drink her blood, she does not pull back from the danger. Instead, this terrifying possibility seems almost to add an edge of excitement and danger to their relationship. While Edward himself is not “evil,” his vampiric attraction to blood is clearly wrong—yet Bella wants to become a vampire (albeit a “vegetarian” vampire) as well. She longs for what is forbidden.

A second reason that humans are sometimes drawn toward evil is that, oftentimes, it doesn’t appear to be evil on the surface. For example, almost all of the vampires in these books are creatures of unearthly beauty. Yet this very beauty can sometimes be used to attract humans—or “prey.” We are told in the Bible that the devil himself “masquerades as an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14). If we are not careful, we can be taken in by things that appear to be perfectly harmless (or even very good), yet are actually harmful to our Christian walk.

Discuss with your friends or your teens how Bella’s fascination with vampires and her desire to become one mirrors the way we are often tempted to reach for “forbidden fruit” in our own lives. Also, talk about the ways that evil can disguise itself so that it appears to be a good thing. How do we, as Christians, avoid being duped by the wiles of Satan? Consider the example of the Bereans in Acts 17:11, who compared what Paul taught them with the Scriptures, to see if what he said was actually true.

The Inadequacy of Abstinence

In Psalm 119:9, David asks, “How can a young man keep his way pure?” He answers himself: “By living according to Your Word.” Since neither Bella nor Edward has God’s Word to guide their actions, it is surprising that they manage to remain abstinent until their marriage. Actually, all the abstinence is Edward’s idea, thanks in part to his fear of physically hurting Bella. Despite his reservations, Edward has no problem becoming physically involved, as long as it is contained with in certain defined limits.

God calls us to chastity, not just abstinence. Abstinence says, “I will remain a virgin until I get married.” Chastity says, “I will keep not just my actions, but my thoughts and emotions above reproach, whether I am married or single.” As Paul reminds his audience in Philippians 4:8, we are to think on “whatever is pure, whatever is lovely.” We need to get our thoughts focused on what God calls us to, as opposed to what we not allowed to do.

Think about this with your kids or friends: Was David just talking about saving sexual intimacy for marriage when he was reflecting on “keeping his way pure”? What happens after someone is married if he or she feels an attraction to someone other than his or her spouse? If that person has only developed minimal self-control before marriage, how is he going to restrain himself physically, much less emotionally and mentally, after marriage?

The Importance of Community

Edward and Bella’s romance is undeniably compelling. But how should we view the way they go about it? Bella’s dad, Charlie, has no idea how intense his daughter’s relationship with Edward is. If Charlie knew that Edward spent almost every night in her room, he would ground Bella for life (not that he could really keep a vampire out, but Charlie knows nothing about the whole vampire thing, either). Even though Bella and Edward are not being promiscuous, the level of intimacy that they develop fairly rapidly in their relationship is troubling, especially given that they reach this point without the knowledge of Bella’s parents or non-vampire friends.

While God did create man and woman to be together, He did not plan for this to happen in a vacuum of other relationships. As humans, we are part of an intricate web of interpersonal ties: our relationship with God, our relationships with our parents, siblings, friends, fellow-believers, etc. All of these connections should serve as safeguards when we are heading into a romantic relationship.

Bella lacks a depth of relationship with anyone other than the Cullens and her werewolf friend, Jacob, who is too emotionally involved with her to be much help for advice or accountability. Her dad is there, but she has gotten too deeply involved in things she has decided she cannot tell him. She simply has not invested in many other relationships.

Discuss some ways you can hold one another accountable (even if romantic relationships are not the issue) while still showing love.

The Impact of Imagination

Ultimately, choosing whether to read or watch (or allow your child to read or watch) the Twilight saga is a personal decision based on personal convictions. If you do decide to take the plunge, make sure that you use this opportunity to engage your kids and/or friends in some discussions that might not otherwise come up. The Twilight series has the capability to awaken people’s imaginations—and that power can be either harmful or helpful. If we as Christians can use this story to help our friends and/or children understand God and His principles better, as well as to build relationships, then we have succeeded. In Psalm 139:12, the psalmist writes of God, “Darkness is as light to You.” The transforming power of God’s truth can lighten even the deep darkness of a world haunted by vampires and werewolves, and use this world too for good.

Molly Wyer is a BreakPoint editorial assistant and a senior at Patrick Henry College in Virgina.

#15 - "Letters to the Church - TWO

What Makes Faith Real – Part 2

No One Is "Fine" In A War! - “Be kind. Remember EVERYONE [caps mine] you meet is fighting a hard battle." - T.H. Thompson

Imagine: It’s a typical Sunday morning after the worship service. As usual, you are walking through the crowd of familiar faces. As you walk up to someone, shake their hand and say, “Hi, how’re you doing?” And the person replies, not unexpectedly, “Fine” and they walk away. After several encounters like this, you get in your car and head home. As you leave, you hear the Holy Spirit say to you, “So, what did you learn about the others in your church this week?” Immediately, the word “fine” pops in your head and you realize that you really didn’t learn anything at all about anyone else in your body of Christ. You realize that for all intents and purpose, you might have well met strangers after attending a music concert.

I don’t know about you, after any worship service –especially at a church I am a member – its come to where if I hear someone say they are “fine,” I am tempted to scream! In the August 31st entry in his devotional “Daily in Christ,” Neil and Joanne Anderson write: “Other than Himself, God’s primary resource for meeting your needs and keeping you pure is other believers. The problem is that many go to Sunday School, church, and Bible study wearing a sanctimonious mask. Wanting to appear strong and together, they rob themselves of the opportunity of having their needs met in the warmth and safety of the Christian community. In the process they rob the community of the opportunity to minister to their needs.” It’s as though to be recognized as a “good” Christian among other believers, the idea permeates the body that, while we ALL have struggles in our walk with God, it’s just not “socially correct” when with other Christians to be transparent. I’m not talking about unburdening yourself necessarily to everyone you meet at a Christian gathering. But certainly, we should feel comfortable to share how we’re really not “fine” when someone asks us how we are.

I will never forget visiting a church during a time of great turmoil in my life. After the service, I happened upon a friend I had not seen in awhile and began sharing with him the things I was struggling with. Not having had anyone else to share with in awhile, I suddenly became overwhelmed with emotions and before I knew it, I burst out crying so hard that my body not only began to shake, but I found myself falling at his feed crying. After awhile, I noticed that he had not said anything and frankly, might not have known what to say. That was “fine” with me (really!) because all I had needed was someone to just listen to me and allow me to unburden myself. But as helpful as that experience was for me, do you know what was the unexpected result? Someone in the church saw my outburst and reported it to the youth minister whom I had approached about helping with the youth group. Several days later, that youth minister called me, and he stunned me by saying that they could not have someone who had emotional issues as I working with the youth. When he said it, I was so stunned I couldn’t respond. But later, I was so incredulous, afraid I might “get emotional” and lose my temper over the phone, I emailed that youth minister. I simply told him that I was exactly the kind of person he needed to be helping him with the church youth. The youth – and adult Christians as well – need the example of someone who was real about their struggles. What the Church doesn’t need are people who wear the spiritual mask of “The Super Christian.” Sadly, he still saw me as a potential liability rather than an asset and refused to let me work with the youth. (I never returned to that church.)

The Andersons also say: “We all have basic human needs to feel loved, accepted, and worthwhile. When these needs go unmet, it’s very important that we express them to our family members and fellow Christians in a positive way and allow others to minister to those needs. [This is what I find especially insightful.] I believe that one basis for temptation is unmet legitimate needs…By denying the fellowship of believers the privilege of meeting your legitimate needs, you are acting independently of God. You are vulnerable to the temptation of thinking that you can have your needs met in the world, the flesh, and the devil.” I ran across this by chance when I attended a weekly neighborhood gathering while visiting another church. Sometime during the discussion on prayer, the elderly gentleman sitting next to me that I had met just minutes earlier suddenly burst out saying, “I’ve been mad at God since last year when He didn’t answer my prayers for my sick friend last year and he died.” As I reflect back on that statement in light of the Andersons’ teaching, I realize that that man had held in that pain until somehow the discussion that night awakened it and gave him an opportunity to express it. Because of his disappointment with God, that man had been led by Satan to believe the lie that God did not really care for his friend, allowed him to die, and so that man had a right to be mad at God. (Unfortunately, that’s not exactly what I shared with that man but at some future time I will share what I did about how God ALWAYS answers prayer.)

I believe every church sanctuary, every youth group meeting room should have the above quotation over their door: “Be kind. EVERYONE you meet is fighting hard battle.” I agree with John Eldridge. The Christian life is a continuous war – against our fleshly desires, the world’s values, and Satan’s lies. If a Christian is not struggling in some way, than he/she has surrendered in some way. Whenever we are among other believers, we need be feel free to be vulnerable, to not feel that somehow we need to “not bother others with our problems.” We need to ask ourselves if our hesitancy to be vulnerable with others does not reveal the problem of pride in our lives and that we just might have fallen for Satan’s lie – that others will reject us if we are honest with them.

SUGGESTIONS: So how do we create an environment of vulnerability? Well, I believe it might start with the leaders – beginning with the pastor – feeling free to be vulnerable in front of the rest of the church body. Individually, when someone asks us, “How are you doing?” we should begin to catch ourselves if we reply with a simple “Fine.” We could say something like, “You know, I have been struggling with this one thing. Do you have a few minutes I could share it with you?” Afterwards, you could just thank the person for listening to you share and then ask if that person could briefly pray for you. In this way, you’ve demonstrated that it’s okay to be vulnerable AND you’ve given the other person the chance to minister to your need in the best way possible – by lifting you up to God’s throne. Then afterwards, you might ask the person if THEY have something they would like to share and that you can join them in praying about. (If they happen to be in a rush, you can also offer to call that person later in the day to share over the phone.) In my mind, THIS is when real Christian community takes place, THIS is real Christianity. (I believe that tens of thousands are leaving evangelical churches each year in part because people do not sense a real community of caring in the midst of seeker-friendly services and flashy programs.)

An “I dare you to try this” suggestion. Many years ago, I became aware of how little I got to know people on Sunday mornings. And so one Sunday, after the service, I made a point of walking up and introducing myself to the brother of one of the members who was visiting that day. After he told me his name, he started to release his grip on my hand that he had been shaking and was turning to greet someone else. Well, I decided I just wasn’t going to let go of his hand and continued to engage him in conversation. I remember the stunned look on his face as I was not acting “socially correct.” But despite his being uncomfortable, I just asked him question after question trying to learn all I could. We must have been standing there for at least 5 minutes (way beyond the “acceptable” time of no more than 15 seconds) before I finally let go of his hand. Throughout that conversation, I had to fight to keep a straight face because I was so tempted to burst out laughing as I literally had that poor guy prisoner. I just wouldn’t settle for a quick “greet and release (the hand you’re shaking).” If I ever meet you at a Christian gathering, if you shake my hand, I am hereby warning you not to expect a quick “shake and release.” It’s not going to happen.

A Final Suggestion: During the typical church service, there is always the time when everyone is invited to stand and greet the people around them. Well, for a change, what if people were asked to introduce themselves to one person they have either never met or do not know very well. Then, they would each be required to learn two things about that person: 1) their favorite movie of all time (or some such icebreaker question, and 2) what was the one thing they prayed about the most. (If the person says they are not (yet) a believer, you could ask them what they would have most liked someone to pray for them during the past week.) Finally, each person, in turn, would pray no more than 30 seconds for the other person. Later, the pastor or worship leader might ask someone to share what he or she learned about the person they met and what they prayed for them about. That would give a whole new meaning to the usual time of greeting during a service. And, I might be wrong, but that just may be the part of the service that a visitor most remembers and might most incline him/her to return. After all, the one thing someone visiting (as well as any human being) wants to experience is a sense of feeling accepted and loved.

#14 - What Makes Faith Real - Part 1

“The Dark Night of the Soul” - By Chuck Colson, August 28, 2009, Breakpoint.com

"Be kind. Remember EVERYONE [caps mine] you meet is fighting a hard battle." T.H. Thompson

[Note: (1) Do you sometimes feel like others seem to be "more spiritual," to have it all "together" as a believer than you, so much so that you feel somewhat guilty, as though you don't measure up as a Christian? Well, I have, and I doubt there has ever been a Christian who many times feels that way. This article addresses the subject and while it is a bit of heavy reading, note the points I've put in bold type. I will address it further in another special "Letters to the Church" on another special posting this coming Sunday. You won't want to miss checking the posting for this Sunday!; (2) Don't miss my "Just for Laughs" joke at the end of this posting. It's something I'll try to add at the end of every posting. If YOU have one you'd like me to pass on, sent it to me as a comment.; and (3) ]Guess what? I've made some additions to my "Life Truths" posting (#`11)on the movie "Saint Ralph." (a) First of all there is now an intro to help you make this a truly family friendly movie that you can even show to those in grade school; and (b)postings # 16, 19, and 22 are new.]

Each month on BreakPoint we examine a great book that helped shape Western Christendom. This month, Dr. Ken Boa shines a light on a difficult subject. Perhaps you remember the media frenzy over Mother Teresa’s letters, which were published after her death. Because revealed depression, doubts, and spiritual darkness, many argued that Mother Teresa’s Christian faith could not possibly have been real. Atheist Christopher Hitchens, for instance, insisted that she must have realized that “religion is a human fabrication.” Well, nonsense. Hitchens had no way of understanding Mother Teresa and her faith, but there’s another author who would have understood perfectly. In fact, this man might have said that Mother Teresa’s struggles actually showed just how real her faith was.

John of the Cross, who lived in the 1500s, is the writer, friar, and priest featured in Ken Boa’s latest Great Books Audio CD Series. Ken tells us that this man’s “spiritual development was forged in a life of pain, conflict, and passion for God.” The title of John’s most famous work, The Dark Night of the Soul, is familiar to all of us because we’ve all experienced this, as Christians have through the centuries, the “seasons of darkness and dryness in the spiritual journey. Too frequently, our modern attitude about prayer is to make it all about ourselves instead of about Christ. We focus on a “technique or set of steps” that’s supposed to bring sure results. But this approach can leave us unprepared to deal with the doubts and darkness that can overwhelm even the most faithful Christian. John of the Cross contended that the dry seasons teach us about our own powerlessness and our own need for complete reliance on Christ. He talked about not one, but several different kinds of “nights” that we may go through.

There’s the night that we experience in our senses. But then there’s the far darker kind that we experience in our soul, which leads to terrible feelings of “desolation” and “abandonment.” We may experience these nights in “active” ways, when we must work to reach out to God, and “passive” ways, when we must be still and allow God to act upon us. Of the dark night of the senses, Ken says this: When “the senses are stripped of all pleasure and joy in prayer,” our attention can be drawn toward God, who purifies us and takes us “through dread to eventual joy, not despair.” But we can only experience this kind of growth if we willingly submit to God even when all our feelings seem to be pulling us away from Him. As for the dark night of the soul, John of the Cross explained that it may be used to teach the soul “renunciation and deprivation,” “faith,” and finally, “the ultimate rapture of union with Christ.” As you can imagine, this teaching has been tough for many to take. Even one translator acknowledged that it can be “repelling.” But, as Ken says, it nonetheless has something important to teach us about “the cost of discipleship”—even those of us who will never experience a night as dark as the one Mother Teresa knew. Inspired by The Dark Night of the Soul, we can respond to Christopher Hitchens and others like him that they’ve got it exactly backwards. It’s the shallow faith, the kind that focuses only on our own happiness, that can’t last. The times of darkness, the dark nights of the soul, ultimately serve to make our faith stronger and deeper.

Further Reading and Information
The Dark Night of the Soul - John of the Cross

[Just for laughs (from Reader's Digest, 5/09, pp. 29-30): Johnny's mother stops to watch her son read the Bible to her cat. "Isn't that sweet?" she says. But an hour later, she hears a terrible racket. Running out the door, she finds Johnny stuffing the cat into a bucket of water. "Johnny, what are you dong?" "I'm baptizing Muffin," he replies. "But cat's don't like to be in water." "Well then, he shouldn't have joined my church."]

#13 - Rebellion versus Rebelution

– by Alex and Joshua Harris, taken from their blog at The Rebelution.com

[Note: (1) As usual, check Worldmag.com for the great weekly editorial cartoons (that I'm not allowed to post here) as well as the link for the "Student" Edition; and (2) Please check my other blog: stanmyonashiro.blogspot.com on Sunday for a special "Letter to the Church." I do hope you will also try to check that blog on Tuesdays and Fridays usually for postings dealing with issues affecting our country.]

One of the most common expectations our society has for teenagers is that we are incurably rebellious. Indeed, it was the “storm and stress” model of young adulthood that served as the foundation for the modern concept of adolescence, sparking the cultural redefinition of the teen years in the first half of the 1900s. But like so many of the culture-shaping psychological studies of the twentieth century, the theory of teenage “storm and stress” was inherently flawed, based primarily on observation of teen psychological patients—hardly a representative sample. No wonder we are taught that the teen years are inevitably filled with emotional turmoil, rebellion, and angst.

Of course, this new way of looking at the teen years didn’t create teenage rebellion, but it normalized it. Suddenly young people had an excuse for indulging in the foolishness the Bible commanded them to flee (2 Timothy 2:22). And what’s more, they were backed by “science.” Rebellion was now an expected thing. These expectations played out primarily in the lives of previous generations (most evidently in the youth of the 60s and 70s) but their residual effects continue to haunt us today. The expectations have not changed, and many rebellious young people remain assured that their behavior is not only normal, it’s healthy. One result of this prevailing attitude, which has occupied my thoughts lately, is the seeming inability (the Bible calls it “pride” and “foolishness”) we teens have to learn from the mistakes or counsel of past generations, particularly our parents. We have to “get burned” before we learn, or so it goes.

As Christian young people, as rebelutionaries, we must wage war against that mindset. We do ourselves an incalculable disservice by ignoring the means of grace God has given us in the form of our parents, grandparents, and the other godly men and women in our lives. My reason for saying this stems from a paragraph in a recent Newsweek cover story on Billy Graham, where the 87-year-old evangelist shared his regrets:

'If he had his life to live over again, Graham says he would spend more time immersed in Scripture and theology. He never went to seminary, and his lack of a graduate education is something that still gives him a twinge. “The greatest regret that I have is that I didn’t study more and read more,” he says. “I regret it, because now I feel at times I am empty of what I would like to have been. I have friends that have memorized great portions of the Bible. They can quote [so much], and that would mean a lot to me now.”'

When I first read those words I was struck at the great privilege it is for me, as a young Christian man, to hear and learn from the regrets of an old Christian man, one who has lived such a long and full life. It inspired me to study, medidate and memorize the truths of Scripture with greater dedication. And yet, as I continued to think about this, I began to be keenly aware of many other older (i.e. less young than me) Christian men and women I know and respect, and of whom I had never even thought to ask the question, “What do you regret?” What godly wisdom we could gain if we would only make asking that question a habit. How many regrets could be avoided? How much joy could be attained? As we are told in Proverbs 16:16, “How much better to get wisdom than gold! To get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver.”

Here is what I would like you all to do: Over the next few weeks (really for the rest of your life, but the next few weeks particularly) look for opportunities to speak with your parents and grandparents, as well as other godly men and women you know and respect, and ask them to tell you what they regret, what they wish they had understood when they were your age, and how they would use their teen years if they were you. When you have done that, ... [share the answers you received at this blog site]. Finally, let us act. With God’s Word as our guide and foundation, let us put what we learn into practice and throw off the expectations our culture holds for us. As followers of Christ, as rebelutionaries, let us “rebel against rebellion.”

#12 – Back to School Challenges

[Note: I hope that you will eventually watch the movie “Saint Ralph” because, as posting #11 should tell you, it has a LOT to speak to you about as a Christian.]

I can just hear you – “Wow, 3 months of summer vacation is over – already!” I’m afraid so. Now, as you get yourself ready for the start of another school year, I’d like to ask you to consider again what I’ve said in previous postings. As a Christian, whether you acknowledge or not, YOU are a STUDENT-MISSIONARY. YOU have an opportunity during your years at school to make an eternal impact on many lives and leave a legacy that will stand in eternity. You can do this by (1) the example you are of one who seeks to do his/her school work with excellence (which may or may not be shown by the grades you earn) , (2) the kind of person you are – whether you are someone who shows he/she truly cares about others – not just those in your clique (this means not just hanging out with your Christian friends or just those you have a connection with and are comfortable being around, but the new kids, the ones who are trying to fit in, those struggling with their schoolwork, those who tend to look and act weird or just different from others; and whether you are a person of integrity, someone who stands up for what is right, even if its not popular and even in the face of hostile opposition, and (3) being available for any opportunity God gives you to share Christ with another student, teacher, or other school personnel. An important thing to keep in mind is that, as much as possible, the first time you discuss spiritual things with someone, be patient to LISTEN carefully to what and why the other person believes as they do. Not only will this earn you the right to share afterwards what and why you believe what you do (which you should be certain about and can clearly express) but it will also help you to understand if the beliefs held by the other person are heart-felt or are just those of the person’s family’s religion.

As you start the school year, I’d like to challenge you with 2 things:
(1) If you have not yet done so, I hope that you will give thought to what I shared in posting #10 about doing a PRAYERWALK at your school. If you are unable to do it at the school before the first day of school, consider doing it (with as many friends as you can gather) on the first day of school, either arriving just a half hour before classes start OR staying after school to do it. Again, don’t fail to underestimate just the powerful effect that “inviting God into your school” can do to see supernatural things happen.

(2) Make a commitment to pray for at least one other student (and the teacher) in each of your classes before every class begins. If you don’t know their name, make a point to introduce yourself as soon as possible.) You might pray something like this:


“Heavenly Father, I pray for _______. I pray that you will help him (or her) to be able to learn much and do excellent work in this class during the year ahead. But more importantly, I pray that if they do NOT know you as their Savior and Lord, that during the coming school year you will open their heart to hearing the message of the gospel, either from me or through someone else, such as at a Christian outreach event. If they ARE a believer, please help me to learn this as soon as possible so that we can encourage each other. I trust you to do this, in Jesus’ name, Amen.”


If you did this – praying for just one student (and the teacher) in each class every day, you should be able to pray for each student several times each year. If the student is not a believer – and there is a good chance the student is not – then YOU might be the only person who has ever prayed for him or her. By your prayers, you invite God into that person’s life to work to bring that person into the Kingdom of God in a way that might not be possible otherwise. In a future posting, I’ll share with you in detail how I miraculously ended up hearing the gospel but of how it was all proceeded, I believe, by a group of people I'd never met who prayed for me just months before. Trust me, YOUR prayers can prepare the way for someone’s life to be changed FOREVER.

I realize that praying for every student in all your classes regularly might seem overwhelming. But remember, I’m just asking you to pray for ONE student before every class period. And, if every Christian student did this, there is a good chance EVERY student at your school would be prayed for numerous times during the school year. Don’t you think God would honor those prayers and cause many to hear the gospel before the school year is over? Just like “Saint Ralph,” we just need to believe God for a miracle and put things in place to see it happen, and I believe we will see the supernatural happen in life after life at your school this coming school year.

#11 - Life Truths from the movie “Saint Ralph”

Haven’t seen a good movie lately? Then try watching “Saint Ralph,” which was released several years ago. This movie, while not a Christian movie as such, makes many life truths for Christians to embrace. What follows are just the ones I’ve discovered so far. I discover something new almost every time I see this movie, which has been more times than any other I can remember. As you reflect on this movie afterwards, I wouldn't be surprised if God reveals other life truths to you. I would appreciate your sharing them with me so that I can add them to this list.

[Warnings: (1) It is best NOT to read the following until AFTER you have seen the movie. Some statements refers to scenes in the movie AND the statements will make more sense if you’ve seen the movie first; (2) When you see the film, be sure to advance it when it gets to the swimming pool scene. It’s enough to know that Ralph sees a girl showering and experiences a “wet dream” that results in the entire pool being emptied and cleaned. Funny scene but a certain stumbling block.]; and (3) but if you truly want to make this a family friendly movie, just start the movie at the scene where Father Fitzgerald is speaking to Ralph after the swimming pool incident. You could just summarize the movie until then if you wanted to. Note though, that Ralph and Chester do swear several times and there are two brief sexual references which should hardly be noticed.)]

1. Even the “religious,” such as Catholic/Christian guys do struggle with “raging hormones.” It’s possible that even quiet, studious, and unathletic guys with glasses also struggle. (Remember why Chester wanted to go to the swimming pool?)Struggling with sin should not make you question whether you really are a Christian. Despite what you may think, there are NO Super Christians who always have their act together. The very fact that we struggle is proof that we are God’s forgiven child because only a believer would engage in struggle. It’s the unbeliever who easily surrenders to his/her fleshly self because he/she does not have a new nature that wants to conform him/her into the image of Christ.

2. (Relationships) If you’re attracted to a girl, it’s okay to be shy, even somewhat intimidated but be sure to stay bold. Better to make your self and your feelings known than to live to always wonder what would have happened if. (Remember Ralph not so much asking for but MAKING a date with Claire.)

3.(In the first scene with Father Fitzgerald, Ralph say, “I’m destined for greatness.” Father Fitzgerald replies, “You’re 14 years old, greatness is not an option.” This is one of the most outrageous statements in the movie.) I Timothy 4:6 says, “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity.” If you meet an adult who questions your ability or your faith because you are just a teen, either don’t have anything to do with them or just ignore them. Mary, Daniel, and David were among the many teens who achieved greatness in the Bible. Before the last 100 years in America, many achieved great things when they were very young. Today, too many adults expect too little from youth and insult them by failing to challenge them and to believe in them to do great things. Yes, even if you are in middle school , a preteen, or even younger, with God’s power especially, you can accomplish a whole lot more than you or most adults realize if you’ll just “attempt great things for God.” (C.T. Studd)

4. Difficult/impossible situations (such as Ralph’s Mom going into a coma) will often lead us to seek God in ways we might not otherwise (as Ralph did in trying to secure a miracle for his Mom).

5. You can sometimes discover just by accident what you are great at doing and enjoy doing, how God has gifted you – such as to do marathon running.

6. When you ask and believe God to do the miraculous, you need to put yourself in a place where He can make it happen. (Ralph not only became disciplined in running, but he studied the subject, adapted the suggested diet and training methods of past marathon winners, and even sought to practice spiritual disciplines he believed earned God’s favor.)

7. While practicing spiritual disciplines– such as praying and confessing sins – is a good thing to do, we need to avoid extreme, ascetic practices(such as touching and praying over dead bodies rubbing your knees with sandpaper).

8. Be discerning about what you are taught, as teachers will sometimes have an agenda that is not in line with truth but is biased. (Father Fitzgerald WAS correct in forbidding Father Hibbert’s promotion of the teachings of Nietzsche, an anti-God atheist who influenced the Nazis.)

9. When you step out in faith and attempt something that seems impossible, expect to face ridicule from some (Ralph’s classmates) and opposition,hostile at times, even from those from whom you would least expect it, such as spiritual elders and leaders (the elder priest, Father Fitzpatrick). (Matthew 23:31)

10. A person’s spiritual title or authority may not indicate spiritual maturity or greatness. Even those “closest to God” (as Ralph called Father Fitzpatrick) can be Pharisaic, or legalistic in wanting rules obeyed rather than the individual blessed. The gospels are filled with examples of when Jesus’ miracles met the condemnation of the Pharisees.

11. Be where you can exercise and develop your strengths and gifts, and not be in those places that discourage you from doing so. (The younger priest, Father Hibbert) wrongly submitted to those who asked him to disregard his giftedness – running. ) When God honors you with a talent or gift, honor Him by displaying it and bringing Him glory.

12. (Relationships) You may like someone and they may like you in return but it never mean they will always respond in ways that indicate that or that even make sense. (Consider the first time Ralph was swept away by Claire during a Mass.)

13. God is honored by our best efforts and our seeking to live right before Him. But doing none of these things REQUIRE God to answer our prayers the way we want Him to. (God was not obligated to heal Ralph’s Mom just because of all the things Ralph did. He acted according to His choosing and His timetable and not Ralph’s.)

14. In trusting God (say, for a miracle), you may face circumstances (such as your house burning, physical injury, etc.) as well as opposition and ridicule that make you want to give up. But those are the times especially that you must step out in even greater faith in pursuing your faith goal.

15. Don’t be bothered by those who don’t believe in you; its just not worth being bothered by their opinions. Choose to be with those who stand by you. Above all, remember that as a Christian, you have the Holy Spirit as your constant Helper, whose referred to as your “parekletos” or “one who comes along beside you.”

16. (In the scene where Father Hibbert tells Father Fitzgerald that he is going to Boston to support Ralph, he talks about how we all will be asked by God if we’ve ever just “put in on the line.”) God wants to do great things in us and through us if we are just willing to give Him the opportunity. Every day, we need to tell God, “Father, though I struggle to walk with and to become more like Jesus, I believe you still want to give me an opportunity to see you work in and through my life. I make myself available to see you do just that; use me however you choose to make an impact for the Kingdom of God in some way. I ask this in the name of your beloved Son and my Savior and Lord Jesus, Amen.”

17 . If you are blessed, you will have friends who will risk their own best interests to stand up for you (such as by hijacking a public address system (Chester) or risking their job to be there for you (Father Hibbert). But then again, this is what true friends and mentors do.

18. (Relationships) Men (and women) of character and faith are attractive people. (Remember Claire’s reaction when Ralph prays by his Mom’s bedside before the marathon.)

19. (After Father Fitzgerald tells him that he threatens him about the consequences of not going to Boston, and then Father Hibbert tells him that he cannot go and that he will no longer coach him, and then Chester expresses his lack of faith that he can win Boston, Ralph desperately tries to waken his mother and realizes he is unable to do so, he goes into despair and gets drunk while burning pictures of his family.) When we listen to those who either refuse to support us or friends who even abandon us, and we forget our originally calling from God (looking like Santa Claus to Ralph), we open ourselves up to questioning God and losing hope. Those are the times that test our faith and commitment but through which we can be made stronger if we realize more than ever that we can do great things for God only in His power and not simply through our own efforts.

20. Even though we will at times fail to reach our goals (whether it is winning a marathon or just getting the grade we want in a class), we are called to seek to do things with excellence, confident that whatever the results we have done our best. It is not our accomplishments/victories that bring God glory, but our doing things in a way that bring honor to Him.

21. You may fail to reach your faith goal, but your faithfulness will often win you the respect of others and may inspire them to believe God for their own faith goals. (Recall especially the respect Ralph received from his once ridiculing classmates when he entered the lunchroom after the marathon. Also, note how (1) Father Hibbert was inspired to not only revive his interest/gift for running but to even stand up against Father Fitzgerald; and (2) Chester was inspired to "lay it on the line" for Ralph.)

22. (As you recall what happened when Ralph walked into the school lunchroom after the marathon…) Remember that as a believer, one day you will walk into the Great Banquet Hall in Heaven for the Great Feast. On that day, do not be surprised if the people assembled do not stand up and applaud as you do. Be sure that their applause will not be because of your great accomplishments on earth but simply because you chose to live your life in a way to bring God the greatest glory and honor. And don’t be surprised that leading that ovation will be none other than the Savior Himself. (This will be in great contrast to Father Fitzgerald, the one Ralph called “closest to God,” failing to join in the ovation for Ralph.)

23. The theme of the movie is stated by Father Hibbert in the final scene of the movie: “If you’re not chasing after miracles, what’s the use?” We need to live our lives always looking for opportunities to step out in faith, to exercise our faith muscles and believe God to do the supernatural in and through our lives. To do anything less is to live a life that fails to honor God and one in which we will never fully realize all that God has for us to enjoy in this life. And, in so doing, we deprive those around us of seeing God work and deprive God of greater glory.

I hope that this movie motivates you to watch movies that not only entertain but which have great truths to teach. And I hope this movie illustrates how we can discover or be reminded of great truths not just in “Christian” movies. All well told stories, I believe, tell part of God’s story and things He wants to teach us. Sometimes, those truths may not be evident at first but will become clear as we take time to reflect on what we have viewed. Of course, reflecting on God’s Word has even more to teach us than reflecting on movies, if, as with movies, we’ll just take the time to do so.

* If you watch this with a group of people, here are some questions you might enjoy discussing afterwards:

Discussion Questions: (note specific incidents involving the individual)
1. What things can you learn from Ralph’s example?
2. What can you learn from the character of Father Fitzgerald?
3. What can you learn from the person of Father Hibbert?
4. What can you learn from the character of Chester?
5. What would you say is the theme of the movie?

[To a youth leader: In fact, you could take almost any of the 23 points above and lead a very good discussion for any youth group meeting.]

#10 - Inviting God to Your School

[Note #1: Praise God, after almost 3 weeks, I’m back at maintaining this blog. Three weeks ago this Thursday, lightning here in Orlando blew out several fuses to my phone connection. It not only took out my phones but also my computer modem. It wasn’t until last Wed. that a modem was finally delivered and it wasn’t until last night, thanks to the help of my good friend, Dan Lum, I was able to get the modem to work correctly. (Thanks again, Dan. I’m blessed to have friends like you to be there when I need them.)]

[Note #2: Please be sure to check my other blog. Tuesday and tomorrow will have articles about the health care reform being proposed by the President. Also, be sure to check the latest editorial cartoons on the right side of the title page for Worldmag.com]

PrayerWalk

Please forgive me for not sharing with you about this earlier this summer. I know that there are only several weeks left before the school year restarts (vacations really go by quickly, don’t they?) but I think its really important that you make some attempt to do this, even if it is just you and a few friends going down to your school. OR, if your church body happens to meet at a middle school or high school, you could see if some adults would want to join you and other youth at your church to do this (EVEN IF it is not at YOUR school).

The Larger VISION. You might recall my sharing in an earlier posting that YOU are NOT a student at the school you are attending Before time began, our sovereign God planned for YOU to attend THAT school at this time in history. Your assignment –whether you choose to accept it or not - is not just to be a student who seeks to do excellent work and always does his or her best. As a Christian student, YOU are sent as an ambassador (2 Cor. 17-20, esp. verse 20) to a mission field that is your school. YOU are one of a select group (Christian students) who will be at your school to be a witness for Christ by your life, and as opportunity permits, by your words. YOU have been given the unique calling to make a difference in the lives of those at your school, not just for NOW, but for ETERNITY. One day, all else that others gain from being at your school – including the teachers, administrators, and other school workers – will mean little compared to whether they leave having heard and made a decision to place their trust in Christ. Yes, YOU can leave a legacy of changed lives at your school when you leave. NOTHING is as important.

The MODEL and the IDEA. When you look at going to school in this way, you can appreciate how every time you are at school you can go with the anticipation of seeing what God might do through YOU to touch the lives of others. Realize also that your efforts will face opposition FOR SURE in the spiritual world. But realize, too, that you have EVERY spiritual blessing God has to offer in Christ (Eph. 1:3) and that a key blessing is that of intercessory prayer. Recall that God commanded Joshua to walk around the city of Jericho (Joshua 5:13-6:21) every day for seven days in order to conquer it. In a similar way, we need to “exercise” our faith by walking around our school campuses and committing it – with prayer- to God and asking Him to bring about a great moving of His Spirit there in the year ahead.

My Suggestion. (1) Determine the layout of the school campus. Note as many key locations as you can: such as the bus loop, the athletic field, the administration offices, the teacher’s lounge, the classrooms, and others. (2) Think of something to pray about related to each key location. For instance, (a) The bus loop: Prayer could be said for the driver, for the behavior of the student-passengers, safe travel, and opportunities for Christian students to meet non-Christian and non-Christian students they would build a relationship with, (b) The athletic field: Prayer could be said for the safety of the athletes, the athletes to be competitive with excellent play without unnecessary swagger, and the testimony of the Christian athletes on and off the field. (c) The administration offices: prayer for the wisdom of the principal and his/her staff in giving direction and making decisions for the betterment of the school; for the school counselors; for the school nurses, etc. (d) The teacher’s lounge: Pray for the teachers to have wisdom and patience in helping and challenging each student to do their very best, to teach truths and not a particular worldview, for non-Christians to be open to consider the claims of Christ and Christians to be protected from doubt and fear to be salt and light to their students, to other teachers, and to all others at the school; and (e) The classrooms: Pray that the students will have discernment as they get information from the internet, textbooks, other materials, and yes, even their teachers, that they will each seek to do their best and seek not just to past tests or to do assignments but to truly learn and to develop a thirst for learning as a lifestyle.

(3) Send at least two people to each of these locations to pray the suggested prayers. Then, those at each location could go on to pray for other things such as the school board and critical issues being considered; other support staff (such as custodians, aides, and cafeteria workers); special education programs and their students; students who experience rejection; students who are suicidal; students who are chronically failing; students who are suffering from abuse, neglect, bullying or are from homes of divorce, violence; students with emotional problems; new students trying to fit in; that the influence of those who mean to harm others would be broken; that all practices of witchcraft, divination, and the occult would be stopped; and finally, that there would always be an open door to Christian based programs and groups being made available to make the gospel available to as many at the school as possible. And (4) Re-gather everyone after a time for closing prayer. [Of course, in all the prayers, anytime the specific names of people can be mentioned the better.]

Will this all make a difference? A great writer on prayer, O. Hallesby taught that prayer was inviting God into our need. I’ve always liked that. Can you imagine what an all-powerful God could do in any situation or do to change any hardened heart? We may never know this side of Heaven what a prayer walk did to see good things happen in any circumstance. But, oh, the fun it will be to find out when we get there.

P.S. – For those of you heading for college, you will probably have to adapt these suggestions to the unique nature of the college campus. But with the especially hostile anti-Christian views that await you, is there any reason you would not want to do something, anything, to bring God into the spiritual battles that are bound to take place in and out of the classrooms of your campus in the year ahead? Go ahead, invite God to your university and see if He doesn’t do something supernatural.

# 9- This and That, and My Final Word (?) on Michael Jackson

(1) I hope that you've had a chance to visit the site - www.The Rebulution.com. Note on the blog site on the right that there are those many articles I told you about in the last posting. There are also other postings every few days. I hope that you've taken the time to read some of them. They are things that I believe will speak to you.
(2) Whether it is commenting on this posting, something else from The Rebulution blog, or something else on your mind, I would REALLY appreciate YOU posting a COMMENT of some kind. I continue to be discouraged that, while there seems to have been many visiting this site, I have gotten NO registered comments thus far after 8 postings. If what I am posting just doesn't connect with you, then please don't hesitate to tell me (and others). But at the same time, whether you like what you read or not, please be sure to make your comment SPECIFIC. Remember, I want this blog to be something that offers you things you want to return again and again to read (or I have no interest in posting things here). If I knew better what those things are that "scratch you where you itch," then I can post things even more often. Have you read any of the books I have listed? (I hope that you will take time read one of them or at least some other helpful Christian book this summer.)Have you visited any of the sites I have listed? Are there other books and sites you want to recommend - why? Have you checked out the editorial cartoons at Worldmag.com every two weeks? Have you visited my other blog?
(3) If you don't want to tell me exactly who you are, could you please tell me something about yourself any way? PLEASE, DEAR READER, LET ME HEAR BACK FROM YOU. IT WOULD ENCOURAGE ME AS YOU CAN ONLY IMAGINE. THANKS!
(4) Be sure to visit my other blog (sign up for it). You may not want to read every posting but I hope you'll take the time. And please comment there as well on what you read, and be specific.
(5) I hope that you enjoy the NEW JOKES I've posted. I'll try to post new ones more often. And of course, send me ones you'd like me to post.
(6) And finally, in case my next blog doesn't concern it, I want to say one last thing about MICHAEL JACKSON that I am quite sure you might not have heard (though it's hard to imagine you haven't read or heard something yet about him in the past 2 weeks since he died). Michael was a life long Jehovah Witness when he died, as have been the members of his family, as best as I can tell. He asked that his children be taught the teachings of Jehovah Witness shortly before he died. I won't go into it here, but the Jehovah Witnesses are a dangerous cult and have been said to be responsible for more deaths and harm than any other cult in our nation's history. (Many members of my family were messed up by them.) The bottom line is, no matter how good a person he was, Michael Jackson was not a Christian if he died a Jehovah Witness. Though he may have done much for charities and was even said by someone to have done "God's work," he will not be in heaven. We can do nothing for Michael now but WE MUST BE FAITHFUL IN PRAYING FOR HIS FAMILY AND ESPECIALLY HIS CHILDREN, THAT THEY WILL EACH MEET SOMEONE IN THEIR CIRCLE OF INFLUENCE WHO WILL SHARE WITH THEM THE TRUTH ABOUT JESUS CHRIST AND HELP THEM TO TURN FROM THE LIES THEY HAVE COME TO BELIEVE AND TO PLACE THEIR TRUST IN HIM. And while we are at it, may we be sure to also pray the same for every celebrity every time we hear their name. For only God knows the difference our prayer will play in that person coming to a saving faith in Jesus Christ. Thank you.

#8 - The Rebelution – A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations

[The following is written by Alex and Brett Harris and taken from their website: The Rebulution.com The ideas in this article are expanded in their book, “Do Hard Things.” I invite you to check out the page on their website listed at the end of this article that has articles you can download which are based on their book. (These are a great read; and since its been a month since school has let out and you were required to do any reading, I hope that you’ll take the time NOW to check out these articles. I hope that you will find the things they share challenging but at the same time hope that you do not let them not make you FEEL more spiritual or less spiritual depending on how you choose to follow through on them. – Stan]

[NOTE: (1) If you haven’t already, I hope you’ll check out the latest posting on my other blog. Posting #25 talks about how Christians can let their passions control them, doing what is pleasurable rather than what is right. (2) Also, check out Friday’s posting (#26) that shares something we should keep in mind this (and every) 4th of July. (3) Check out Friday’s bi-weekly editorial cartoons at Worldmag.com … I know that this all adds up to a lot of reading but I don’t hesitate to ask it of you, even if you may be just “two sticks” (age 11). Ever since I’ve worked with youth 10 years ago, I’ve felt like Alex and Brett that the Church sins against its youth when it believes they are only able to be entertained and too young to be challenged. I will always have high expectations for YOU, no matter what your age is. (I Tim. 4:12)]

The official definition of the 'rebelution' is "a teenage rebellion against the low expectations of an ungodly culture." When you look around today, in terms of godly character and practical competence, our culture does not expect much of us young people. We are not only expected to do very little that is wise or good, but we're expected to do the opposite. Our media-saturated youth culture is constantly reinforcing lower and lower standards and expectations. The word 'rebelution' is a combination of the words "rebellion" and "revolution." So it carries a sense of an uprising against social norms. But in this case, it's not a rebellion against God-established authority, but against the low expectations of our society. It's a refusal to be defined by our ungodly, rebellious culture. Actually, we like to think of it as rebelling against rebellion.

And it's exciting, because the Rebelution has really become a type of counter-cultural youth movement among Christian young people from around the country, and even around the world, who are not only rejecting the lies and the corruption of media-saturated youth culture, but they're returning to biblical and historical levels of character and competence. In 1 Timothy 4:12, the Apostle Paul tells Timothy, "Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity." In other words, as young people we are called to be exemplary in all areas of life. Our generation is falling incredibly short of that calling. Instead of serving as the launching pad of life, the teen years are seen as a vacation from responsibility. We call it the "myth of adolescence." And the Rebelution is all about busting that myth.

The battle cry of The Rebelution is just three words, but it's an explosive concept: Do Hard Things. That's it. And "do hard things" is a mentality. It's a mentality that flies right in the face of our culture's low expectations. The world says, "You're young, have fun!" It tells us to "obey your thirst" and "just do it." Or it tells us, "You're great! You don't need to exert yourself." But those kinds of mindsets sabotage biblical character and competence. "Do Hard Things" is just the opposite. It's how we build character and competence. It won't drop to meet the low expectations, it won't just do what comes easily, and it won't become complacent. It applies no matter who you are or what level you're on, because there's always something harder to do, something that will take you outside your comfort zone and cause you to grow.

The Rebelution is made up of three fundamental parts. We've talked about two of them: character and competence. The third one is collaboration. It's not enough for us to be individual exceptions. It's not enough for us to try to ignore the culture. We have to create a counter-culture. The way we do that is by networking, exhorting, and encouraging one another in the fight. By God's grace, that's what The Rebelution has become. And when you have a community of young people mutually committed to doing hard things in their teen years for the glory of God, that's an incredibly powerful thing.

Be sure to check out related articles from the book, “Do Hard Things” at the following page on their website: www.therebelution.com/blog/2007/04/hsba-2006-winning-and-reminiscing/

#7 - Incentives vs. Virtue

What Money Can't Buy -- By Chuck Colson, BreakPoint Commentaries, 6/22/2009

QUESTION: What does it take for you to do the right thing? Do you have to get some reward you can enjoy now – like money, special privileges from your parents, etc.- before you will do what you KNOW you should do? Do you find that you are more interested in getting your wants met or getting your character built up? Why and How so? Please read the following and let me know what you think.

[P.S. - Did you know there are people who will scold you for swatting a fly? Serious. Be sure to check the posting tomorrow (FRIDAY)on my other blogsite:stan
myonashiro.blogspot.com ; Also there you will find a link to a commentary on the late Michael Jackson you might find insghtful. ]

“Across the country, school systems are paying children to do better in school. In New York, fourth and seventh graders can get up to $500 for improving their scores on the city’s math and English tests. Schools in Georgia pay eighth and 11th graders $8 an hour to attend an after-school learning program. You would think that, given what’s at stake, doing well at school would be its own reward. But, increasingly, both inside and outside the classroom, striving for virtue is being replaced by monetary incentives.”

“As one principal told USA Today, he is “trying lots of different incentives for doing the right thing.” “Incentives” include iPods for attending Saturday study sessions and a flat-screen television for making the all “A” honor roll. Many critics prefer the word “bribe” to “incentive.” One compared the practice to giving athletes steroids: “Short-term performance might improve but the long-term effects can be very damaging.” Damaging or not, paying people to do what they should already be doing isn’t going away. Greensboro, North Carolina, is paying teenage mothers $1 for every day they are not pregnant. Like paying students to improve their grades and test scores, paying teen mothers to not get pregnant appears to be having the desired affect.”

“The core ideas in these kinds of programs come from a new field known as behavioral economics.” Classical economics assumes that people are rational and act in accordance with their best interests. Behavioral economics knows that, in the real world, people make bad and even self-destructive choices all the time. The goal of behavioral economics is to identify the “dizzying array of human foibles” and help policy makers take them into account when shaping policy. In the case of incentive programs like the ones I have described, it means “nudging” people to act in their own best interests. It’s an approach, by the way, that is favored by a “number of high-level appointees” in the Obama administration.”

“While basing policy on human beings as they actually are is certainly preferable to basing them on rational “economic men” that exist only in economists’ imaginations (you can count me among the critics on that one). It doesn’t surprise me that these “nudges” can have a short-term positive effect. But it’s difficult to imagine these programs making a long-term difference. On the contrary, the “long term damage” mentioned earlier may very well include creating a generation of people for whom incentives will become a necessity, not a nudge.”

“To put it in Christian terms, incentives will replace virtue. Instead of doing the right or prudent thing because it’s what a moral person does, people will do what they do because they get something out of it. This doesn’t build character—it builds calculators. What’s more, in the real world, people don’t always reward you for doing the right thing. But there are still consequences for behaving foolishly. How will people raised on a steady diet of nudges avoid these pitfalls? The answer is that many won’t avoid them because they never learned that, for the virtuous person, doing the right thing is incentive enough.” [emphasis in italics and bold mine].

For Further Reading and Information
Greg Toppo, “Good Grades Pay Off Literally,” USA Today, 1 August 2008.
John Stonestreet, “Helping Students 'Get It',” BreakPoint Online, 15 May 2009.

#6 - Remembering My Father and THE Father on This Father’s Day

[Be sure to check my other blog: (The Squirt Gun Brigade):stanmyonashiro.blogspot.com (every Tuesday and Thursday for an article about what you are not usually hearing from listening to the news; there's always something there to think about. Also, check the Editorial Cartoons on the Worldmag.com site for this past Friday; REALLY great stuff!]

My father was a man who worked hard to provide for his family. He demonstrated what it is to give it your all, sometimes even abandoning common sense. I remember once, during a busy lunch hour at our family restaurant, my father, like me just over 5 feet but muscularly thin, once tried to lift a hundred pound bag of rice by himself rather than stop to ask for help and nearly broke his back. Another time, he (THE cook in our family restaurant) was busy chopping some vegetables and cut his hand with the thick-bladed knife. But rather than stop and get medical help, rather than interrupt a very busy lunch hour, he just wrapped a washcloth around the bleeding hand and proceeded to finish out the lunch hour using just his other hand! It was only afterwards that we discovered the extent of his injury and had to rush to take him to the doctor (though I think even then he complained).

Yes, my father was a good example of hard work and was a good provider. And though he had only had a 4th grade education (was sent back to Japan while still in grade school to help on the family farm until past his teen years), he was considered even scholarly among his friends for his extensive reading of material written in Japanese. He also self-taught himself in reading English, as I remember seeing him up early every morning, without fail, reading the English newspaper and writing down in a notepad words he didn’t understand that he later would look up in a dictionary and be found reading over those words in his bedroom. Unfortunately, he was so uncomfortable with his English SPEAKING ability that I never heard him even attempt a conversation in English, not even with my brother and me. It is a sad fact that throughout my entire life, I never had a conversation with my Dad and he never even made any attempt to have one. By doing this, he did teach me how our pride can keep us from stepping out and enjoying some relationships even more fully.

Because of this, my Father was never someone who was available to me or my younger brother to share things with or one from whom we could get insights or direct encouragement. Maybe it was because his father was the same way and that, in fact, the Japanese culture taught all fathers to be aloof from their sons and didn’t teach that they had any responsibility to do more than be good providers and disciplinarians. (Though I always deserved the punishment, my father WAS never shy about being involved in any spankings I received.) I do remember that he used to take me and my younger brother to see a movie each week when I was still in grade school (those times didn’t require him to get into any conversations with us) but for some reason he suddenly stopped spending any time with my brother and I. I wish he had realized that for us, spending time with him would have still been meaningful, even without any conversation.

When my mother died on the last day of January in 2003, my father went into depression and six weeks later, while recovering from surgery, he suddenly decided he was not going to eat. (At his funeral, a family friend shared with me that he told her that he didn’t want to go on living without my Mom. They had been married over 50 years.)Because he had left instructions not to be force fed, my brother and I were not sure what to do but the very next day, my father died. I had tried to have him read the gospel message and have others try to share it with him in Japanese. But to the best of my knowledge, my father did not place his trust in Christ before he died, and so I have no expectation of seeing him in Heaven. He was basically one of those “good” people that we all have to entrust will spend a Christ-less eternity however our Just God decides they deserve to spend it.

On this Father’s Day, I recognize how blessed I was to have even had a Dad as there are so many today who grow up without even the example of a good one. I do hope that YOUR Dad knows Jesus as his Savior and Lord and has been or was more than just a provider but one who chose to be involved in your life, one who was there for you when you needed counsel and encouragement. While I have been greatly blessed to be available to help teen guys over the years, I confess to being jealous of their Dads for the privilege (and I acknowledge also their great responsibility) of being able to speak into the lives of their sons in a way I never will in this life. I only hope that God is not finished using me to at least help other teen guys to better know their HEAVENLY Father as He is the One who is ultimately not only our Perfect Provider but also our Most Wise Counselor and Guide.

Let’s always remember that Jesus came not just to die for our sins but to give us the privilege to have a relationship with our Father in Heaven, One who created us, knows us fully, and still loves us unconditionally, who will meet our every need (though thankfully not all our wants) and never fail to be there to converse with us in the language of prayer. To Him be all glory, on this Father’s Day, and every day.

#5 - Think About It: What’s with Birthdays?

[Be sure to check this blog this Sunday, June 21st, for a special Father's Day posting.]

As I anticipated this Friday (6/19) being my birthday, I became curious of the origin of this annual milestone that people almost everywhere in the world celebrate. As I suspected, I discovered that birthday celebrations are actually of pagan origin. According to the Encyclopedia Americana (1991), “The ancient world of Egypt, Greece, Rome and Persia celebrated the birthdays of gods, kings, and nobles.... The keeping of birthday records was important … principally because a birth date was essential for the casting of a horoscope. So, there is a direct connection between the Pagan practice of birthday celebrations and astrology (horoscopes and fortune telling). Of course, the Bible condemned astrology and fortune telling as in Isaiah 47:13-15. Not surprisingly then, the ancient Jews did not celebrate birthdays, regarding them as Pagan.” Finally, The World Book Encyclopedia states: “The early Christians did not celebrate His [Christ’s] birth because they considered the celebration of anyone’s birth to be a pagan custom. (Volume 3, page 416.) ”

So then, what am I saying? That we shouldn’t celebrate our birthdays as well as Christmas? No. As far as birthdays are concerned, I think that as far as it gives us occasion to thank our mothers for giving us birth, considering that one in four mothers choose not to give birth to their unborn child but to abort him or her, I see nothing wrong with celebrating birthdays. But, as far as Christmas is concerned, it does help us to remember that Christmas is not technically a Christian celebration with Biblical support or even roots in the traditions of the early Church. Furthermore, we should recognize that our birthdays no more represent the day that our lives began anymore than December 25th represents the day that Jesus Christ entered our world.

The truth is that, like Jesus, we entered this world the day we were conceived in our mother’s wombs, not the day we exited her womb. And so, if Jesus was (though it’s only a guess) born on December 25th, he actually entered our world – technically- 9 months before on March 25h. Which means that if we are to celebrate the entrance of Christ into our world, we would be more accurate to celebrate it on March 25th of each year. Of course, that would be at about the same time we celebrate His death (Good Friday) and resurrection (Easter) and would be too many holidays to celebrated at one time. And besides, how can we ever picture Christmas without snow, right? No, though technically inaccurate on several points, Christmas should still be celebrated for what it represents to the world – that at one point in history God chose to enter our world in order to one day sacrifice Himself for the world. That Eternal and incomparable expression of love should forever be celebrated.

But for ourselves, here’s a thought. While it’s asking a lot to have us stop celebrating our birthdays (even though as Christians we now know it is a celebration with pagan roots), may I suggest that we consider making it a greater celebration each year to recognize the day we were conceived, the day we really were first given life and technically first entered the world. Of course, very few of us will ever know exactly the day we were conceived. But what if we just took our birthday and projected backwards 9 months to the day? In my case, for instance, though I was born on a June 19th, I can reasonably conclude that I was conceived around September 19th of the previous year. With that in mind, I am choosing this year to begin celebrating, not my birthday but my “First-day,” the term I’ve chosen to recognize the day I (anyone) was given life (by God)and first entered the world.

In closing, I do have to wonder if, by celebrating birthdays inaccurately as the day we made entrance into the world, we do not perpetuate the myth that our life does not begin, that we are not “officially” a person, until the day we are born. I can’t help but wonder if people, beginning with Christians, began to celebrate their “First-day” and not their “birth-day,” the unborn will begin to be understood as being persons with lives already begun long before their “official” entrance into the world by birth. Maybe then, women considering abortions will understand that they are already mothers because their unborn child is already alive in their womb and that having an abortion is killing a person who is just not yet born. Maybe then, the claim of the abortion promoters that the unborn is only a “potential” life will be exposed for the lie it is, and, by God’s grace, fewer women will see abortion as a "choice" that should ever be considered.

#4 - What Can God NOT Do?!!!

[Hey, all!!! First of all, you haven’t heard from me in a week partly because I haven’t been feeling well, not just lately but for a long time now. But also, I haven’t heard from any of you who’ve visited this site about what you think about what I’ve been writing, the resources I’ve alerted you to, and most important, what things you have a question about or personally struggle with or what you just are excited about as a Christian that you’d like me to share with others. I could just comment about things I THINK you might be interested in reading about, but I want this to be a blog discussing things YOU tell me you’re interested in. I’ve been told that, for some reason, it’s been hard to register a comment on this site. I don’t know how to correct that yet but until then, please just EMAIL ME your comments at: yonashiro@bellsouth.net I would REALLY appreciate hearing from you!

And please remember, again, that because of my health, you may not hear from me for a week or more. If that happens, DON’T ever assume I’ve abandoned this blog. If I do, I will clearly tell you that on what would then me my last posting. Until then, please continue to check this site. With your input, I continue to hope this will be a place you will look forward to visiting each time you do.]


I just read an email from a student friend in high school, Elizabeth. She talked about her desire to see revival take place at her high school next school year and of feeling alone in believing God to do that. As I shared with her, I felt that way a number of times in the 33 years I was involved in full-time ministry. Once was while I was serving in Japan and was the only of our ministry staff working on a certain college campus. I heard about a traveling ministry music group that was going to be in our city and I asked if we could have them put on an evangelistic concert on the campus. All of the Japanese staff members I worked with as well as most of the people at my church said that such a thing had never been done there and could not possibly happen. Fortunately, I had the support of my city director who basically said, “Go for it!” I worked with the several students I was meeting with to plan the details of the event and had the help of a member at my church to help us transport the music team’s equipment for set up on the campus.

On the day of the outdoor concert, it rained heavily all morning and the dirt ground they were going to perform on was obviously muddy. Because we were dealing with electrical equipment, we considered canceling the event for the safety of the performers. But the group was willing to go ahead with it, and so, at the noon lunch hour, with a heavily overcast sky up above, they assembled and soon began their concert. While it could have easily begun raining again, just as they began the first song, the clouds above parted and a shaft of light shot through and hit the performers right where they stood (I kid you not!). It was almost like a heavenly spotlight that shone on them the entire time they performed. The weather remained good throughout the concert and it was only an hour afterwards that the clouds covered that shaft of light and it began to rain! You talk about something that was God-ordained –wow! I still get goose bumps every time I recall that day.

I honestly don’t remember any particular students who were at the concert coming forward and speaking to us about the spiritual message. But I do remember the following Sunday at church and the excitement among the people about how God had done such a mighty work that day on campus. Because we were moved to another city a short time later, I don’t really know how that excitement translated into greater steps of faith by the people at that church. But I do know it was probably a long time afterwards before any one forgot what God could do if we just step out in faith and attempt something.

As I shared with Elizabeth, in I Kings 19, even after he saw the great work of God on Mount Carmel as he battled the Baal priest, Elijah had fled to the desert in fear of Queen Jezebel’s threats. There, in v. 14 he talked about how he felt like he was alone in standing up for God but in v. 18 God reminds Elijah that He still had 3,000 in Israel “whose knees have not bowed down to Baal. I share all of this to encourage you that, as you seek to believe God to do something supernatural (which is what you should ALWAYS expect of Him), you may feel alone and may even experience opposition. But I promise you that when God leads you to believe Him for something, He HAS raised up others to stand with you. Just start praying with one other friend, even if that friend doesn’t believe God will work as you do. Then watch and see what God does. I believe that God will use the united prayers of two or three (Mat. 18:19) to do something very special.

And so, why am I sharing this now. I know, it’s summer and all you can think about is doing fun things and hanging out with your friends and family. But as you’re doing that, I challenge you to think about the next school year and to begin asking God NOW to do something supernatural at your school through you and your friends. I believe with all my heart that He wants to do the supernatural a whole lot more than we’re seeing if we just invite Him into our circumstance and ask Him to do it (that’s what intercessory prayer is all about). And why wouldn’t He? That’s what He’s about, isn’t it?