From each according to his ability, to each according to his lack thereof.

ood morning everyone! I just wanted to stop by and say hi to all of you. I pray that you all are doing well. There are still many of you that I don't hear from very often, and I would love to know what has been going on in your lives. I would also enjoy the opportunity to pray for a need that you have, or rejoice with you in light of an amazing blessing or achievement! So, please stay in touch. Have you ever done anything that has just blown you away? Seriously, I have had a few accomplishments in my life where I have even impressed myself. Just today I logged on to my online college and tried to register for an english composition and rhetoric class, but for some reason it wouldn't let me register.?.? So I called the University and was told that I needed to either take an english 100 class (that didn't count towards my major) or take a competency exam. I shrugged my shoulders and began the test, knowing that english as always been my lowest scoring proficiency. After I got through the Exam I was shocked that I had finished with over 35minutes left in the test, and that my score was high enough to CLEP the english 100 course, and place me into the composition and rhetoric class that I wanted to be in. Now, this was just the beginning. A little later i received an e-mail from the University saying that I had scored in the 95th percentile on the english exam and that i qualified to take the english 101 composition and rhetoric CLEP test and essay to be able to earn an additional 3 credit hours for my major, as well as place me into english 110! Needles to say I was floored! I am still trying to figure out when english, which was at one point my weakest general education requirement, to becoming one of my strongest? I'm sure if the University read through most of my e-mails they'd take everything back though > ) lol! I know it feels as if my e-mails get longer and longer, but there was one more thing I wanted to share with all of you. I have been a part of a very lengthy political debate recently with a friend of mine, and I'd thought I would share a little bit of that with you. I actually have been writing a lot in this context, but I am really not very interested in opening a heavy debated concerning politics. This response that I gave is more of a debate of a scriptural issue than a political issue and I thought it would be good food for thought. Not all will agree with my reasoning, but that is good. I want to hear what others think on this topic, and most of all I want to know if anyone knows of any scriptural evidences that would provide a good argument, or different insight into the topics provided in the discussion. I am assuming Sed will immediately take this bait ; ) but I want to hear from the rest of you as well. As always you can go to www.DavidRoediger.blogspot.org to read some of my current and past rants and writings if you wish. By friend who shall not be named, If I remember correctly didn't Jesus say give up all your money to the poor in order to follow me? To friend who shall not be named, You attempted to quote a verse from the bible that was rooted in the story of when Jesus asked a man to lay down everything he had in order to follow him. I wanted to really kind of open that up a little bit for some discussion, because I don’t think that was touched on well enough, and it really shed’s some light on why I believe what I believe politically. I understand where you were trying to come from, but the point Jesus was ultimately making was – “ no one can serve money and my father at the same time”. This man that wanted to serve Jesus was a man of wealth. There is nothing wrong with being wealthy, but you have to be willing to serve God with everything you have. If you are not willing to lay down everything then you can not serve Him. You can be wealthy, but you cannot make wealth a higher value than God. Now, as far as giving goes: The purpose of giving to others is an action (and practice) of Faith towards God and love towards others. When you instill government programs to force people to give to the needy in the view that God intends us to give, you effectively diminish the purpose of giving in the first place. The reason we have a free will to give in God’s name is so that we as believers can exercise the practice of diminishing oneself before the lord. It’s the exercise of humility and placing Faith in the Lord. You are saying “ I have Faith that you will meet my needs,” the prayer wasn’t - give us this day our weekly, quarterly, or yearly bread. It was give us this day our daily bread. When you force people to give you ruin the practice of giving and sacrifice as God intended it. So as you can see, you cannot force people into doing good works or charity while using God as your excuse for doing so. The Lord is our father who desires relationship with us. He could have made us as robots programmed to love and obey Him, but what good is it to have something that loves you because it has no other choice but to make the one decision, because it knows no other option or emotion. God wants a real relationship, He wants us to obey him knowing we have the choice not to. He wants us to love him knowing we have the choice not to. He wants us to jump in His lap and give Him a great big hug and say “I love you Lord, may my song of praise and worship be a sweet sound in your ear”. I imagine yourself with your child. This child doesn’t have to love you, doesn’t have to like you, doesn’t have to obey you, doesn’t have to follow you, doesn’t have to look up to you, doesn’t even have to look at you, or talk to you, or smile at you, or buy you things, celebrate or appreciate your existence at all, because God gave them freewill. Now imagine the feeling that swells within you when your child freely jumps on your lap and says, “Mommy I love you more than anything. Smiles, kisses you on the cheek, curls into a ball and falls asleep right there as if to say there is nowhere else I’d rather be in the entire world. That is the same feeling God wishes to have from us as His children. It is all about freewill. Everytime you strip away the ability to exercise sacrificial giving by commanding that it be mandatory, you effectively diminish the ability of God’s people to exercise humility, generosity, love, and Faith in the name of God as He intended it. No parent wants plastic preprogrammed children. Neither does God. Blessings, David Roediger

Times Are Good

Part of rebuilding New Orleans caused residents often to be
challenged with the task of tracing home titles back
potentially hundreds of years.
With a community rich with history stretching back over two
centuries, houses have been passed along through
generations of family, sometimes making it quite difficult
to establish ownership. Here's a great letter an attorney
wrote to the FHA on behalf of a client:



You have to love this lawyer........


A New Orleans lawyer sought an FHA loan for a client.

He was told the loan would be granted if he could prove
satisfactory title to a parcel of property being offered as
collateral. The title to the property dated back to 1803,
which took the lawyer three months to track down. After
sending the information to the FHA, he received the
following reply.



(Actual reply from FHA):
"Upon review of your letter adjoining your client's loan
application, we note that the request is supported by an
Abstract of Title. While we compliment the able manner in
which you have prepared and presented the application, we
must point out that you have only cleared title to the
proposed collateral property back to 1803. Before final
approval can be accorded, it will be necessary to clear the
title back to its origin."





Annoyed, the lawyer responded as follows:
(Actual response):

"Your letter regarding title in Case No.189156 has been received.
I note that you wish to have title extended further than the
206 years covered by the present application. I was unaware
that any educated person in this country, particularly those
working in the property area, would not know that Louisiana
was purchased by the United States from France in 1803, the
year of origin identified in our application. For the
edification of uninformed FHA bureaucrats, the title to the
land prior to U.S. ownership was obtained from France , which
had acquired it by Right of Conquest from Spain . The land
came into the possession of Spain by Right of Discovery made
in the year 1492 by a sea captain named Christopher
Columbus, who had been granted the privilege of seeking a
new route to India by the Spanish monarch, Queen Isabella. The good Queen Isabella, being a pious woman and almost as careful about
titles as the FHA, took the precaution of securing the
blessing of the Pope before she sold her jewels to finance
Columbus 's expedition.
Now the Pope, as I'm sure you may know, is the emissary of Jesus
Christ, the Son of God, and God, it is commonly accepted,
created this world. Therefore, I believe it is safe to
presume that God also made that part of the world called
Louisiana . God, therefore, would be the owner of origin and
His origins date back to before the beginning of time, the
world as we know it, and the FHA. I hope you find God's
original claim to be satisfactory.

Now, may we have our damn loan?"


The loan was immediately approved



Hi everyone!
Sorry that it has been so long since I last wrote, but frankly, I just haven't had that much to write about. Nothing has really greased my goose other than the typical stupid driver on the road with the out of state license plates. So, that would be the main reason that you haven't received a long letter from me. Now I hear that time makes the heart grow fonder, if not then tough, I'm back anyways - and with news! So, hear it goes. The first question on most peoples minds is how is the baby doing and the answer (dramatic pause) is great! He's probably around 3.5 to 4lbs and is very active, as far as we know he should be arriving somewhere around August 31st! Melissa and I have been busy getting things together for the baby as well as putting out any usual (or unusually weird) family and friend fires. For those of you who have had kids, I'm sure you understand. lucky for us there hasn't been to many, but according to the world he doesn't even have an age yet, so we've got a long ways to go. I've always wondered about that. If he isn't an age then is he like, less then zero years old? Should we sing him the mad hatters happy unbirthday song because he hasn't had one yet? Or should we just refer to him as T - Minus 2.5 months?

As far as my diet is concerned, last time I wrote about it think I was down 20 or more pounds and everything was going very well. Then the middle of March came. I just didn't take in to account a very formidable diet adversary named "Pregnant wife who has entered the second trimester". This monster (loving, loving wife who is going to be reading this e-mail who I love lovingly) loves food and loves it when her company (me) eats this food with her. So needles to say, I stopped loosing weight. Then, I met another very formidable diet adversary named " Pregnant wife who no longer wants to be pregnant or touched because her everything is sore or swollen who has entered the third trimester". This adversary also loves to eat food but can no longer finish the food she wants to eat because something(one) is sitting on her stomach. So, I am fed the remainder of the food - which shall not be named - but lets just say that ever since I started my most awesome diet and exercise plan 4 months ago I lost a grand total of +5lbs. Celebrate! Celebrate! Looks like this challenge will have to be revisited after Josiah is born.

Another hot topic that we are excited about is that I am going back to school. I have been spending the last month or more getting all my ducks in a row and I will begin registering for classes at Liberty University and Berklee College of Music in two days. The way the semesters are broken up at Liberty will allow me to work on both Berklee courses and Liberty courses simultaneously without getting overwhelmed. So far,I have written out every class I need/want to take and If I am able to stick with my plan as scheduled, then by the time I am 32 and a half years old I should have attained:

- a B.S. in Religion w/ an emphasis in Counseling, and a Minor in Business Marketing from Liberty University online
- a Masters Certificate in Guitar Performance from Berklee College of Music online (36 credit hrs)
- a Masters Certificate in Audio Production from Berklee College of music online (36 credit hrs)
- a Specialist Certificate in Music Business Marketing from Berklee College of music online (12 credit hrs)

Also, since I will be taking classes year round, according to my schedule, I will be nearly halfway finished with a Masters of Arts Degree in Apologetics from Biola University online. It's going to be a lot of work, but I am looking forward to it. Melissa is excited about the masters degree because while I spend my mandatory 2 weeks in residence at Biola University, Josiah will be old enough to take to Disney Land. And, the next year that have to do my mandatory 2 weeks in residence at Biola maybe Josiah's little brother or sister can come too. This education will hopefully equip me to be more powerful for God, whether it be in Christian Ministry as a Pastor, Counselor, Audio Engineer, Church Production Director/Tech/Operator/ or Designer, Guitar Instructor, Worship Leader, Writer, Educator, Evangelist, or Entrepreneur, Who knows.?.?

So this is basically all the news. I don't have any real uplifting spiritual or theological thoughts to offer today, other then Calvinism is Weird and the 5 points of Calvinism would be a great sermon topic to hear Steve Holsinger talk about. For those of you that aren't familiar, in short, the 5 points of Calvinism represent the mandatory doctrinal beliefs one must believe in to be a Calvinist. This is often a topic/class in many - if not most - seminary schools. Now there are many Calvinists who don't fully believe in the full 5 five points, but in general it is my understanding that they believe that Jesus did not die for everyones sins, but rather a predestined few. Is it possible that when Jesus died on the cross he did so just to save a few souls? Is it possible that if you are not one of the predestined then you would have no way of entering Heaven? I don't believe so, but it sure would be interesting to hear about. Could it be possible that one of the leaders of the Christian Education system actually began educating and raising up pastors with a false doctrine? There's an interesting utensil to stir the pot with.

All in all, I pray that everyone is doing well. this may sound silly but I feel that I am overdue a good pruning. I feel as if I have been blessed, and my life has been going so well, and so smooth that I actually have become a bit nervous. I can't remember a time of my life that wasn't filled with some sort of adversity or strife. Then when things were good it never lasted to long before more adversity or strife came along. When I began following God, it felt as if I was constantly being pruned. Then when I felt blessed and life was smooth, the pruning soon came. It has been over a year and things are still going smooth, great in fact! But I feel as if I am Alaska, and that I am 15 years overdue for a giant earthquake. There will always be another pruning. I long for it only because it is necessary to continue growing in Christ and to bear good fruit, but I fear that since I am well overdue I will have too endure a royal trim with clippers twice the mass as ever used before. I pray not that I don't arrive at the receiving end of God's discipline, but rather when I do, there is mercy and gentleness.

Have great day

Love,

David

What's Your Excuse?

A priest and a rabbi are in a car crash and it's a bad one. Both of their cars are demolished but amazingly neither one of them is hurt. After they crawl out of their cars, the rabbi says, "So you're a priest. That's interesting; I'm a rabbi. Wow, just look at our cars! There's nothing left, but we're unhurt. This must be a sign from God that we should meet and be friends and live together in peace." The priest replies, "Oh, yes, I agree. It's a miracle that we survived and are here together." "And here's another miracle," says the rabbi. "My car is destroyed but this bottle of wine didn't break. Surely God wants us to drink the wine and celebrate our good fortune," he says, handing the bottle to the priest. The priest nods in agreement, opens the wine, drinks half of it, and hands it back to the rabbi. The rabbi takes it and puts the cap back on. "Aren't you going to have any? asks the priest. "Not right now," says the rabbi. "I think I'll wait until after the police make their report." Good morning! I just wanted to take this time and remind all of you that today is "National Day Of Prayer" day. So pray! : ) On this day of national prayer recognition what should we pray for? Most people in the United State would probably say " we need to pray for our country and government". While this is valid, what are some other things that you can think of? There are many things that are going on in our world that need prayer: The oppressed people of Burma, the sick and poor of Africa, the newly homeless in Haiti, the blinded sheep of north Korea, The continued aggression in the middle east. All these topics need our prayers, but most of all the people effected by these situations need leaders from the church to bring them the gospel of Christ. Prayer is powerful, but it is the fruit that comes from the changes in peoples lives that were led to Christ by another believer who chose to be a catalyst for God to do His work through them - not because they were able, but because they chose to be available. I'm not delivering this message as someone who is leading by example, but as someone who is just as lazy as you, stuck in the small insignificant world of me. We all have our excuses for why we don't make ourselves available to do God's work. We are too busy, too tired, not rich enough, not strong enough, not smart enough, not good looking enough, not popular enough, not perfect enough, and guess what...... We never will be. When I was growing up I used to think that maturity just happened when you got older. I had a mindset that was rooted in the idea that someday I would wake up and just happen to be good enough and smart enough, then someone would notice and propel me in the direction I needed to go to do the things I wanted to do. Never did I think that if I wanted to do something I just had to do it. I thought that i had to be given the information first, not that all I had to do was go get the information and knowledge for myself. For example: I used to be angry at my Dad ( a long time ago) for not showing me how to do the things he was good at ( fixing cars, building things, remodeling a house). I had expected him to take time and show me how to do the things that he loved to do, that I had expressed no interest or patience in. I later learned that he never had anyone sit him down to teach him these things, he had no formal call to action. He simply wanted to learn how to do something and did it. We as believers suffer from this mentality when comes to serving God. We want to serve God, but either don't know how or we are waiting for a formal invitation to do so even though God has already commissioned us to do so. We all have our excuses for not responding to God's call to action, but there is one individual who really has a good excuse. His name is Nick Vujicic. This man is living proof that we have everything we need to impart the love of Christ to the world. Nick Vujicic has no limbs, but has impacted millions of people around the world! He is so inspiring you may just become jealous of a man who has no arms and no legs. With his disability he has overcome obstacles that most of us couldn't imagine overcoming. With his disability he has delivered the Gospel of Christ to people all over the world. With his disability he is able to do many of the same things that we can - better. With his disability he is thankful of what he has - not bitter of what he doesn't. With his disability he has brought hundreds of thousands of people to the kingdom of God! With is disability he has inspired and helped millions. With his disability he has accomplished more than most of us could imagine! Nick Vujicic has no arms and no legs. What's your excuse? There are so many people that live their lives trying to get ahead, trying to be successful, and all for the wrong reasons. Nick reminds us that we are richly and abundantly blessed with everything that we need from God - and he has been a testimony to that! These videos ( listed below in link form) not only remind us of the things we take for granted, but is also a tool to help us realize our own insecure selfishness and see the value in what really matters in this world. It's not money, pride, success, sex, style, outer beauty, knowledge, politics, popularity, status, etc. It's people, focusing on others is what is really important in this world. God desires a relationship with EVERYONE ! The murderer, homosexual, the thief, the liar, and you. As Christians we are not to go around showcasing God through our morality. We aren't good enough! We need to demonstrate God to others by showing them His love. The best part is that - again - Nick reminds us that we are abundantly blessed with everything we need to do so. We don't even need limbs! Many of us try to deliver the gifts we have received from God to others as a way to bless them. I write a lot of e-mails in hopes to inspire and be a blessing - to exhort others as well as inspire though music, or the use of my technical skills. While using our talents and gifts for God's glory is essential, sometimes the best thing we can do is to provide someone else's testimony as a way to bless others. I am definitely not the first person to pass these videos around. In fact I know many of you have already heard about Nick and his testimony. Even if you have, take time to watch and listen again. Then, pass this along. I pray this inspires you today! Blessings, David Roediger Watch all these videos! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOmSM3eLEC8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8Cwx2UbTJA&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjzOwRAKfA0&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DkBRuWIa_o&feature=related

Boy Oh Boy

Hi everyone! I am sure most of you know by now, but for those of you who don't - Melissa and I are having a boy! His name is Josiah Alan Roediger. Josiah means - "Fire of the Lord". It truly is amazing how having a child changes your perspective on everything! Melissa has been pregnant for 6 months, but it didn't really click until we knew what it was or who he was. Now we know it's a he and his name is Josiah. I can't seem to go anywhere or do anything now without thinking "is what I'm doing right now something I would want my child to see or do?" or "What are other things I can do or change to better lead by example?". I've been inspired by some great people that have been great fathers, Brian Gray for example. He used to be a drug dealing musician in Anchorage before He and Paula (his wife) became saved. He became a mechanical engineer, and had 3(?) kids. He, Paula, his kids and some of their kids friends started the church "New Direction" which I would argue - launched - the local Christian music scene here in Anchorage. They ministered to street kids all over the city, and supported local christian musicians for many years before merging with Anchorage City Church. Brian's two sons - Aaron and Andrew Gray have been two of the most inspirational people to me. I got a chance to attend a couple of groups lead by Brian and he had mentioned that the reason his children have been as successful as they have been is primarily due to his purposeful attempts at raising his children in a house dedicated to the Lord! These kinds of things have been racing through my mind for the last 6 months and now as we get closer to the due date they just seem to accelerate.

We all as Christians ultimately strive to be like Jesus. He is the ultimate bar that we try to reach. It isn't uncommon for us to set bars that we try to reach that are not " the Jesus Bar" as long as we ensure those bars are in line to help climb closer to that ultimate goal. They are representative of people who inspire us, people we want to emulate. Jesus is and always will be the ultimate bar, but that bar is set so high that it is literally impossible to reach. God's grace ultimately guides us, but God also places people in our lives that we have relationships with (or just relate to from a far) that help keep us accountable and inspire us to be more like Christ. They are people that we perceive as wiser than ourselves, people who inspire us. I have been thinking a lot about these people who inspire me. Men who I perceive as being great role models and fathers for their children, and how can I be more like them. I am equally excited as I am terrified to have a Son. I get to play with cool toys again! I am also responsible for a life that I have no idea how to take care of. I pray to God that I don't screw it up.

As I have been reflecting lately on some of the men that have really inspired me: Brian Gray, Aaron Gray, Andrew Gray, Steve Holsinger, Josh Maddox, Joe and James Marchetti, Tim Sensibaugh, Mark Edington, Mark Burcell, Levi Johnson, Ron Barfeild, Robbie Gunther and more. I realize that if it weren't for Brian Gray and the church that he started, I may have never come to know 2/3 of this list. I remember being inspired as a musician watching bands like Arsis and Makeshift as they played at New Direction. I remembered being spiritually motivated by listening and watching Aaron, Brian, James, Josh, and Joe speak and/or lead Worship in a room full of street kids. I have been influenced as an audio engineer by working with and watching Aaron in the recording studio. Now that I am older, they have influenced me as an expectant father, I've gotten to watch (from a distance) them raising their kids and thinking to myself how much I'd like to be like them when I became a dad.

As we reflect on the people who inspire us pray and Thank God for the people who have inspired them. Where would FCC be if it weren't for the mentors that inspired Steve Holsinger to enter into ministry? Who would have been there for me (or all the other kids) when I was a punk kid going through stupid teenage dramas if it weren't for Brian Gray who was the father/mentor of all the guys at New Direction that influenced me through their Thursday night services. What would I be doing at this moment if it weren't for Tim Sensibaugh who mentored Ryan Thibault who was the primary reason for me changing my life to live for Christ and coming back to the church where I fell in love with my wife, who I am now having a child with? Thank God for the people who inspired our inspirers!I thank God that (as a soon to be father) he has placed good God fearing men in my life that I can look towards as solid examples when I have questions - In my walk, in my Marriage, and as a future father.

I pray that when I get older I can be like Brian Gray. I pray that my children have as large of an impact on others as his sons have had on me. I pray I can grow to be as wise as Steve Holsinger, not being held back by fear as he travels into hostile countries delivering the word of God to many nations, and leading a large and diverse multi-cultural church here in Anchorage Alaska. I pray that I can become more like Aaron Gray and develop the ability to accomplish the amount of things he does with the same skill and precision while still being a focused father, husband, Worship leader, band leader, recording engineer and audio mixer, and devoted pastor.but lets face it - that dude scares coffee away!

Who do you look up to? Who was their inspiration and mentor? Thank God for them.

Blessings,

David Roediger

Reasons

Good morning all! I just wanted to stop by and share something that I have been looking at for a few weeks now. As most of you know, I have been intrigued with apologetics for some time. There is just something so interesting to me about being able to answer questions that arise that questions the validity of a Creator with sound scientific answers. I am in the belief that we are to love the Lord our God with all of our heart and all of our mind. I believe when God said that within His Creation He reveals Himself to us, meant that we are intended to seek Him out in it. It makes sense to me that wherever God says He will reveal Himself to us, we should go and find Him there. If there is a God (which there is), then why would people often think that it would be wrong to seek out evidence that supports a living God within the creation that he created - using a scientific method. I don't believe God would be offended, He has no reason to worry. If God exists (which He does) there will be no evidence in Creation that anyone will be able to find that proves otherwise! God is not worried about us disproving His existence so why should we? I think that is very evident in the amount of scientists that end up coming to Christ because of the abundance of scientific evidence that points towards a Creator, not an accident or chance happening.

I find it hilarious that people try to explain away God through recent scientific discoveries such as the big bang theory. Or that this world could not have possibly been created in six days. If God exists (which He does) i'm sure He could have created this universe in six days if He wanted to. On the other hand, time didn't exist before God created it. So why couldn't we suppose that when God said six days, he was in fact saying six days as relevant to himself, not to us. He explains later in the Bible that a minute to Him is like a million years to us. if we add that up as if it were a literal statement (which i don't believe it was) we find that the world was created in (if my math is correct, which it probably isn't) 8 billion-640 million-years. According to sciences current dating methods this seems a lot closer to matching up with that than 6 days. Anyways, I don't believe this is something that God really intends for us to know, otherwise He would have spelled it out to us. We will never have the answer to this question, but we do not have to be defensive if/when scientists say they have proof that the universe is billions of years old. Time is not relative to God, it's only relative to us because we live in a creation that was created to exist under an umbrella of time.

If we look at what the big bang theory proved, we find that the evidence points more towards a Creator than an accident. Before the theory, scientists thought space was infinite, it always existed (thus disproving that there was once a beginning and thus an end). After the big bang theory and other evidence of an expanding universe we now have to conclude that the universe as we know it had a beginning, and because it is expanding at the rate that it is - it will inevitably have an end. So the question arises, who or what began the universe? Our Faith provides a theory beyond what science currently does, which stops at the atom that inevitably exploded into the big bang. Where did this atomic particle come from? No one knows (except God of course) Our Faith explains that there was a creator behind that atom. When you think of a massive explosion the fist thing that comes to mind is light. The 3rd verse in Genesis 1 claims that God said "let there be light" as the first statement when describing the creation of our world. Why do people think that it is not possible that God could be justified by using a scientific method. Many scientists say " Well since there is a big bang, that disproves God, because we can look back in time within the the light of a star and we do not see Gods physical hands creating anything", blah blah blah. Or scientists explain away miracles that God performed in the Old Testament as natural chance occurrences. I say this very boldly - If we believe that the God of the universe could speak it into existence, then why could we not believe that He could use his creation to perform a miracle in a naturalist way? If the sea parted just in time for Mosses to lead his people safely across while moments later the army after him was swept away with incoming water - is there a reason why God couldn't have created an earthquake hundreds of miles away that caused a tsunami at that precise moment in time for Moses to free his people. Is God really not good enough to use his creation (in a naturalistic way) to glorify himself? Why do people try to explain away God through naturalistic occurrences as if God who created the universe couldn't possibly have control over it. These arguments do not phase the kingdom of Christ and therefore shouldn't phase us. I can't think of a single scientific FACT that disproves or challenges the existence of God. On that note, I can't think of a single scientific FACT that doesn't reveal at it's core, an Intelligent Designer.

Anyways, believe me or not - I didn't intend to write a long e-mail, especially since I am confident that everyone I am sending this to already knows this information for themselves. I just wanted to stop by and pray that you all have a fruitful day and that God will use everyone of you for His Glory this week! I will be praying for everyone of you. In the meantime, check out this really cool website. It could potentially answer some questions you may have concerning the validity of the Bible and/or God. If anything this site is an interesting read, that you could learn from and maybe use the knowledge as an evangelistic tool.

http://www.reasons.org/

God Bless,

David Roediger

Get that Hippie Jesus away from me!

Lets face it, I am not known for being a passive person. I've gone through parts of my life as a Christian trying to be this affectionate cuddly person, which was my thought of how Christians should be. I've come to the realization (not recently) that I am not cuddly, and I am not very affectionate. I am brash, I have a history of saying things before I think, and as much as I have always wanted to be the person that people came to with their problems - seeking a friend, I have just not been that good at it. My aggressiveness has gotten me in trouble a handful of times in churches as well, I always have this pessimist mindset that is always questioning the things I hear, read, and see, and I am not slow to stand up to people that I disagree with. Not all of this is good, it's just how I am.

Given my natural (some would argue the natural part) tendencies, I have been frustrated for a while on one particular issue. A lot of people seem to have this picture of what Jesus was like, and thus they try to model their Christian lives to reflect that. My issue is that they view Jesus as this Richard Simmons, peace pipe smoking, touchy feely God that would rather dodge controversial situations with epic blocks of wisdom influenced prophesy, than to stand soundly with boldness. There has been a rise in Churches around the world that have fallen into a status quo where they no longer teach the Bible as it is, but Preach to people based on what they want to hear - not what they need to hear. A good example of this is the prosperity doctrine. Pastors around the world have become so concerned with keeping peoples butts in the seats that they have began to portray Jesus as this neutered and limp wristed popular sky fairy of pop culture that would never talk about sin or send anyone to hell! Jesus was caring and nurturing, but many have avoided teaching of His boldness. He was truly a controversial figure. He would not have been crucified if he was a peace loving, pipe smoker. He was crucified by the people who hated Him, and these people where not the non-religious, they where the people he loved dearest. The Jews.

I guess the meaning status quo is different from person to person, I consider it to be a lack of emphasis on "doing", which has been emphasized in the de-masculinization of Christ. it is the theology that teaches us to stay away from developing relationships with sinners, it's the emphasis of the cuddly Jesus. Now, there is importance and a place for the feminine side of God, but it seems as if many churches have they're scales tipped to this one side. They sing worship songs that are more touchy feely than onward Christian solders. They're needs to be a balance, one that equally portrays the love of God and the bold masculine side of God.

To be fair, People usually come in two groups. The contemplative and the doers. The contemplative usually seclude themselves, sing there songs and focus on prayer and learning. The Doers come from the mindset of "there's work to be done, people to be healed, fed, and saved! Just like most things the pendulum, swung too far the other way can be destructive. The people who do nothing, but use their heart and head don't' get anything done, but they seem to have this higher sense of understanding of God. The ones who focus on their hands and feet often times wear themselves out and forget to go to Jesus for a refill of the bucket so to speak, thus missing out in a close relationship with God, but man do they get stuff done for the kingdom of God! We need to focus our pendulum in the center, and slow the swing that often times affect our churches adversely. There are a lot of people who are better at doing than contemplating and vise versa, but many churches will teach the gospel over and over, they will even sometimes get deep into systematic theology, but they don't enforce the "doing" aspect of our Faith. These churches sit and contemplate. They focus to much on their heart and head, not their hands an feet. It is important to know the word of God and have a relationship with Him, but it's also equally important for pastors to give their congregation a lead boot in their tails and get their butts out of the pews so that they can put their Faith into practice. This is why I love speakers like Steve Holsinger, Aaron Gray, and Mark Driscoll.

After taking time and studying how Jesus was, I have become less apologetic of who I am. Jesus was not passive nor was He a girly man. I, of course need to focus more on the caring side of Jesus, but I no longer and ashamed of my sometimes aggressive and bold personality.

Jesus stood for the principle of take the Church out to the world. Not "lets bring the world into the Church". He casted out demons, raided a market held up in a temple, stood up to the Jews and challenged their beliefs, Held a cross on His shoulders and carried it up a large hill, then withstood the pain of crucifixion for you and I. He came to earth as a man and boy was he ever - a man. There is an issue here though. Just as there was a girly Jesus movement, there is a current movement that is swinging the pendulum in the very opposite direction. These groups are tired of their girly Jesus like I am, but they are over intensifying the masculine Jesus. We need to remember, God is both feminine and masculine. We need to embrace the full image of God and not just the image that makes us feel most comfortable. I will try to be more like Christ in the sense that I need to learn how to be more caring and and slower to react to situations before meditating on them, but I am no longer apologetic for being a man. I will no longer let the view of some churches de-masculanize me to be a sissy, conflict and work dodging wuss. I am a man in Christ and I believe I am to stand with boldness for the Kingdom of God.

David Roediger

Another View

Lately I have begun studying lectures of Apologetics online. While I sat in my office today getting some of my "busy work" accomplished, I listened to my newest lesson as something interesting that just seemed to click. You know, that tada moment when you just seem to get it! What the professor was talking about was rather simple, but it is something I (most of us actually) are guilty of. We as Christians have a critical heart, and miss some of the intrinsic value that a "non-believer's" artistic or philosophical works have. Yes, I just insinuated that there are works that have intrinsic and positive spiritual value that were never intended for the glory of God. Now before you jump on me let to explain. We should be critical of what non believers of Christ are creating, teaching, and changing in our world. I DO believe that everything we do should be for the glory of God, but is it possible for non-believers to also show the glory of Christ in their works, even if their works were never intended to be for God's glory? Many Christians are groomed to stand against works that have been created for anything other than the glory of God. We are taught - again- to do everything for the glory of God (as we should). We also have a tendency to instantly condemn the works or actions of others who are doing the opposite.

In the 1500's John Calvin; who was a French Roman Catholic and an innovator of intellectual religious studies through his many editions of "Institutes Of The Christian Religion". Was passionately committed to education, and during his times in Geneva he started a school system where he authored the rules for the teachers himself. One of these rules were (which I found fascinating) "The teachers were to have their students read the Greek and Roman pagan writers". He told the teachers to not criticize these writers, but to help their students see what they can learn from them, even though they weren't Believers. Calvin had also mentioned that it is blasphemy against the holy Spirit to deny pagan writers such as Plato, for they had many helpful things to say which can teach us as Believers.

When I heard this I instantly perked up. I have been alluding to this for as long as I have been a believer and have been shot down for it a number of times. I always thought that you could find good in the art and philosophy of non-believers that would ultimately benefit our understanding of the world. Thus, helping us to become more effective in speaking to others about Jesus Christ. If we do this, theoretically we should have a thorough understanding of the worldview of our future Brothers and Sisters, and therefore be more successful at efficiently assisting in a change their paradigm. For the last 5 months I have found myself drudging through the same road as many other Christians. Slowly cutting myself off to the art and philosophy of the "outside world" and focusing on just Christian art and Christian Philosophy. My reason was so that I could become more knowledgeable in my Faith. Guess what, it has worked! On the other hand, tuning out what non-believers are teaching and creating - which ultimately influences our world - is evangelical suicide. We need to understand what is going on in the world around us. What are the teachers teaching our kids, what is passing for "music" and "art" these days, why is the Government taking God out of our schools? We need to do more than "know" what is going on in the world around us. We need to try and understand it from the eyes of the non- believer.

I believe that what I stated above is true for us a Christians to be more effective in winning people to Christ. On the other hand, John Calvin gave me a different perspective through the lesson of this Apologetics lecture. Calvin passionately believed in the common Grace of God. That God is gracious to the whole human race. Not just to Christians. Just as He sends the sun and rain to shine or pour on the just and unjust - believer and non believer - , so does he give His gifts to all people. Whether it's gifts of the seasons, food, talent, or as Paul says in Acts chapter 14 "the gift of joy they experience in their hearts everyday of their lives". In chapter 8 of Proverbs it is said that God's wisdom speaks to the WHOLE human race, and by Him, His wisdom says that all nobles rule on earth and make rules that are just. If you look at governments around the world you will find that the majority of laws are just. Of course not all rules are just, nor are governments without flaws, but the majority of laws are intended to be just and good. These are not only places where Christians have impacted society, but everywhere, because of the common Grace of God who speaks wisdom in ALL humans. Believers or not.

I have only just begun to take the first few steps on climbing this mountainous giant, but one thing is for sure; this one lesson has not only reinforced my original way of thought, but it has also given me new insight on how to look at the ways of this world. We as Christians need to look at every philosophy, work of art, etc. with open eyes and ears. God has taken great care with everything he has made. Us! This holds true with non-believers as well as believers. We are to first search to see if we can see God (even if it's really small) in whatever we hear, see, or read, before we take the time to criticize. After all, it would make sense that if God is real (which He is), then we should be able to see the finger print of the Creator in everything he has created. Even the worst of people and their literature, music, paintings, sculptures, will often times possess a reflection of the Creator. I am in no way saying that as Christians we should succumb ourselves to artistic and philosophical filth, or that God accepts and encourages it. But rather that because God has had His hand in creating all of us, it would only make sense that we as "the created" would reflect some of the Grace of the Creator (a fingerprint)- even if we didn't intend to. If you take the time to look for God even in the worst of situations you will often times find a small reflection of him. We can't help it, we were created this way!

We need to learn that when we debate an issue with a non-believer, that we are slow to criticize. Try to learn from all that you read and all that you hear. Try to recognize that when we look at any aspect of human culture we need to be affirmative and say where first, does this reflect the fingerprint of God? Where do we see things here that can teach us as Believers, instead of having a knee jerk negative reaction? If this is how we view our world and the culture in it, I believe we will begin to receive wisdom from God in places we would least likely expect (such as pagan philosophers). This can only make us more knowledgeable and compassionate for the people we minister to, and does not require that we sacrifice our Christian beliefs.

Happy soul winning,

David Roediger