“Oh really, you go to church too? I just started taking my family back to church, I didn’t go much when I was a kid but I think it’s the right thing to do for my kids, so they will grow up to be good.”

“That’s good that you’re doing that.”

“Yes and I just started going to a Wednesday night meeting, they talk about practical stuff there, stories from the Bible and such.”

“Really, what are you reading right now?”

“Well, I haven’t bought a Bible yet but I plan on doing that as soon as I get a chance to, they use the Spanish Bible at church and I like that, it’s in my language.”

“How long have you been going to church?”

“A few years now…”

A few minutes later, a trip to the local franchise bookstore revealed something to me that I had never really taken note of. We have more Bibles than we know what to do with. Has the Word of God become a product? You can get your Bible in any kind of packaging you want; metal casings, leather-bound, bonded leather, duo-tone leather, sheepskin leather, hardcover, paperback, thin-line, extra-wide margins, cloth casing with a handle to carry it, engraved, and even covered with the latest Christian artist’s face or album artwork. And English translations? Well, let’s just say you can have it in a language a cat could read.

I took a count of the number of Bibles in Spanish. I accomplished this with one hand. Not the number of translations or the number of packaging options mind you, the number of Bibles total.

But, the point I actually wanted to make was not about the difference in English/Spanish translations or packaging, that was just a side note. God’s Word is more powerful than a translation, or a human author’s notes, or a particular color scheme on the cover.

Hebrews 4:12:

For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

and Jeremiah 23:39:

“Is not My word like fire?” declares the LORD, “and like a hammer which shatters a rock?”

My heart finds rest knowing that as this stranger reads through whatever translation (I don’t speak Spanish) was given to him, he will be hearing God’s Word, hopefully on the plane he was getting on a few hours later. The packaging wasn’t very slick, he probably won’t be very proud to show off his gift, but the Word is in his home now. He can read it, he can share it with his children, he can memorize it, he can live by it. Lives are changed by the Word through the Spirit, nothing more.

The local church my wife and I are involved with is beginning a campaign to construct a new building on land we own a few miles from our current location. Our reasoning for construction is simple; we are a growing church and we have out-grown our current building. The fact that we have groups meeting in 3 geographically separate locations on Sunday morning attests to this.

So, the elders are asking for support from our finances, skills, and prayers and I would like to focus on the financial aspect. This post will not discuss why we should be giving since our pastor has already preached on these reasons. This post assumes your desire is to cheerfully give and you want to hear of some different ways to carry that out.

It has to come from somewhere

People use their money. All of it. At the end of every month, some amount has gone to giving, housing, clothing, food, bills, savings, etc. None of it just goes unused. For a building campaign to work, money has to come from somewhere, it either has to be earned or has to be moved around from its current usage in our budgets. In either case though, something has to be given up. Sacrifice must be made.

Last week, a group of us met during our usual Bible study time and talked about some ways that we can be smarter with our giving. There is nothing like getting a bunch of Christian men in one room and bringing up the subject of finances, I would compare it to strapping an engine to a super-bounce ball and letting it go in a wooden closet, you can’t get it to stop. We came up with a list of unique ways that we can make better use of God’s money and help further this campaign. Please add to this list if you think of any other ideas, I would love to hear if you’ve come up with some interesting ways to squeeze a dollar here or there.

Strategies

• 401k donations - some 401k plans will allow you to move money out of a 401k as a donation without penalty. As an example, if you planned on giving $200 after tax then by taking this from a 401k the church could get roughly $285 (if you are taxed at 30%) just by pulling the money out of a 401k rather than after the income has been taxed.
• Cash-back credit cards - agree to give the money earned from credit cards that provide a cash-back bonus on purchases.
• Sell unused items - look around your home and take anything that hasn’t been touched in two years and put it up for sale on eBay.
• Refinancing - try to get your loans down to a lower interest rate and agree the money you save will be given every month.
• Sacrifice - think of the things you can live without and agree that anytime you normally would have spent that money you will put the money in a jar and donate it at the end of the week. As an example, if you normally buy lunch for $7 a day, then every day you put $7 in a jar to be given at the end of the week.
• Recurring Sacrifice - this is a little different from above in that you can try to cut out monthly bills (TV channels, cell phone extras, premium memberships, etc.) and agree that you will give that extra money every month.

A little help

A few ideas for help in this area might be useful.

• Men’s night - Have the church organize a night where a CPA is brought in to try and help us squeeze more out of our monthly expenses. Use this as a Q&A time for questions people might have about certain laws or what they can do to cut back on expenses.
• Accountability - Form accountability groups where people can keep each other accountable with their expenses. This would require some openness on everybody’s part, but having someone else look at where your money is going can be a great way to keep things in perspective.
• Sermons - Have a listen to some of these sermons by Tim Keller, the items we’ve listed above are great methods for restructuring your finances, but if the heart is not restructured then truly radical giving will never be achieved.
• Ask God - Spend some time during your devotions to ask God for financial wisdom, study the Scriptures to see what God says about our hearts and our money.
• More reading - Here are some more articles/sermons on finances, enjoy!

Again, please don’t let your giving become a meaningless event where you are only trying to give more. Our aim should be to glorify God by giving back the blessings He has given to us. If I left anything out, please comment below and add to the list.

Justin Taylor posted an article from Christianity Today magazine by Darrell Bock, research professor at Dallas Theological Seminary. Professor Bock gave some great guidelines for Christians responding to the media’s reporting of current events in Christendom. Lately, the media has been reporting on the many books and movies coming out with unorthodox views of the history of Christ and His church:

Topics like the James ossuary and the Gospel of Judas have hit Times Square, not only pricking the attention of seminary students, but also garnering coverage from journalists and culture-watchers, from CBS News’s traditional news team to 360 Degrees’s Anderson Cooper.

The typical response by Christians (and this includes myself) is to call out these articles as attacks on the faith and just dismiss them as being slanderous. In the article Bock addresses what he thinks the response from pastors, seminaries, and Christians in general should resemble. When he lays out some principles for individuals, I took this to heart because I often write about this type of reporting here. Bock says:

Rather than seeing new media reports as conspiracies to rail against, why not see them as opportunities to discuss faith with friends and neighbors who will find them intriguing? Only we mustn’t do so with an angry or dismissive tone. Rather, we ought to respectfully explain the historic Christian view. Becoming equipped for such discussions may require seminars organized by local churches. Imagine churches working together to help believers contend for the truth in their communities.

So I am asking you for your assistance in keeping me accountable when I post on these types of things. Call me out if I am dismissive or arrogant. I think a good test would be this: would you be ashamed to send these posts to those who don’t call themselves Christians? Thanks for your help!

Pyromaniacs has a posting on unbelief as a sin. As I read it today, I got to wondering if some may get the wrong impression of this blog’s title, “Help My Unbelief”.

The title comes from Mark 9:24, here is the entire passage from 9:14-24:

And when they came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd around them, and scribes arguing with them. And immediately all the crowd, when they saw him, were greatly amazed and ran up to him and greeted him. And he asked them, “What are you arguing about with them?” And someone from the crowd answered him, “Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a spirit that makes him mute. And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able.” And he answered them, “O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him to me.” And they brought the boy to him. And when the spirit saw him, immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth. And Jesus asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” And Jesus said to him, “‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.” Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!”

This statement is common in the life of every believer. We all believe, but yet unbelief still remains. Not unbelief in who Christ is because this is impossible for the Christian, but rather, unbelief in all satisfaction being found in God. Imagine what our lives would be like if we were completely satisfied in Him? Would we doubt? Would we worry? Would we sin? How would we treat others? What would our attitude be during struggles? What would our work look like? Where would we spend our time? Where would we spend our money?

Unbelief is not something to be taken lightly, as if it weren’t sin. So, this blog exists to help with our unbelief. This includes my own unbelief. I want every aspect of my life and my family’s life to be so saturated in a passion for God that unbelief falls away and is replaced with child-like trust in God and His goodness. All that we need is found in God. And our access to Him is made possible only by the work Christ has done for us on that glorious day when he bore the punishment we deserved.

I have one of those electric toothbrushes. It’s actually a very nice one. An odd wedding gift, but an expected one when you invite dentists to your wedding. The other day, I thought it would be a good idea to talk to my wife while using my odd wedding gift. After mumbling through what I thought was a very clear and concise sentence, I looked up to see my wife just staring at me, wondering whether to laugh at my ridiculous attempt at communication or to be annoyed that I didn’t think it necessary to stop brushing before talking to her.

I think this is a common attitude to have while we communicate with others; we tend to think we are being clear but it’s really coming across as gibberish. When we’re on the receiving side of things we take that gibberish and try to translate it into what we, again, think we heard. How many conflicts in relationships start this way?

What can we do?

1. Stop. Think. Don’t worry about a pause in the conversation, think about what you’re going to say. Try to put yourself in the other person’s position of hearing what you are going to say. Does it make sense in the context of the conversation?
   

   Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;
   James 1:19

2. Be short in speech. When conversing, typically the more words you use, the worse off you are. People tend not to process a lot of words when listening, they reserve this for their reading. So, try to cut out unnecessary words and be brief. Get to your point quickly.
   

   When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent.
   Proverbs 10:19

3. Don’t assume anything. This always leads to trouble on the receiving end. Don’t assume that someone really meant something other than what they really said. Take the time to really understand what someone has just said rather than jumping to conclusions, which brings up the next point.
   

   Who is like the wise?
   And who knows the interpretation of a thing?
   Ecclesiastes 8:1

4. Ask questions. This is key. If something doesn’t make sense, ask them about it, don’t assume (see point #3). Asking questions shows the other person that you are interested in what they have to say and that you need some help in clarifying things. I’ve never met a person who didn’t love being asked questions.
   

   It is the glory of God to conceal things,
   but the glory of kings is to search things out.
   Proverbs 25:2

5. Avoid controversy. Debate is fun and it occasionally has its place. But let’s be honest, most normal conversations don’t need to turn into a debate so avoid it. The easiest way to do this is to avoid statements that cause the other to put up their defenses. People hear certain strong statements and immediately tune-out and begin thinking how they can defend themselves. Instead of using strong statements, pose them in question form. This way you still learn what you wanted to learn from the other person and it doesn’t make them feel like they have to defend themselves. People would rather answer a question than defend their case.
   

   Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil
   2 Timothy 2:23-24

6. Be encouraging. This is key…also. What would a discussion look like if both sides were encouraging in what they said? What would an argument look like if both sides were encouraging in what they said? This should be our focus in our communication, to encourage one another. People can get enough discouragement from the world, they don’t need anymore from us.
   

   Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.
   1 Thessalonians 5:11

Now it’s your turn, what did I leave off this list? Or what are some lessons you’ve learned from bad conversations in the past?

After much pain on my part and patience on my wife’s part, I’m rolling out the new layout for the blog I’ve been working on.

I have to pass on a note of thanks to Tim Challies (www.challies.com) and his blog as it did inspire my design in a lot of ways and his CSS coding helped my ignorance.

Let me know what you think of the layout; criticism is ok…

The BBC News is reporting Richard Dawkins’ response to recent discussions in the UK about the political correctness of Christmas. Religious leaders are saying that pushes to make the Christmas holiday “safe” have taken a toll on the historical aspects surrounding Christmas and that Briton’s Christian culture will not survive if forced to appease everyone. Leaders claimed that the recent surge in anti-religious writings, conferences, and entertainment, if left unchecked, would leave the average Briton’s knowledge about their country’s history severely lacking.

One of the most vocal proponents of anti-religious materials has been Richard Dawkins. He responded in an unusual way given the typical tone of controversationalim (defined: using controversy for sensational purposes) he uses in his delivery. His response seemed to be a clarification of sorts:

This is historically a Christian country. I’m a cultural Christian in the same way many of my friends call themselves cultural Jews or cultural Muslims. So, yes, I like singing Carols along with everybody else. I’m not one of those who wants to purge our society of our Christian history.

Reading through any of his writings, you will find that his stated purpose is to purge society of all religious thought. I’m curious as to what would be left of Christian history when Christian thought is purged from the minds of a nation’s citizens. Why would we celebrate the miraculous birth of Jesus if there was no real miracle?

So, why do I bring this story up, it’s not really news-worthy if you think about it.

When you grow up in a Christian culture, you do certain things out of tradition, for instance, you sing Christmas carols repeatedly and you get fairly used to them. You don’t think about the words. And they are glorious! I sang these words hundreds of times as a child, but only now do I understand them:

O Holy Night
J.S.Dwight & A.C.Adam, 19th Century

O holy night, the stars are brightly shining;
It is the night of our dear Savior’s birth!
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees, O hear the angel voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born!
O night divine, O night,O night divine!

Led by the light of Faith serenely beaming,
With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.
So led by light of a star sweetly gleaming,
Here came the wise men from Orient land.
The King of Kings lay thus in lowly manger,
In all our trials born to be our Friend!
He knows our need, To our weakness no stranger;
Behold your King! Before the lowly bend!
Behold your King! your King! before Him bend.

Truly He taught us to love one another;
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother
And in His name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
Let all within us praise His holy name!
Christ is the Lord, Oh praise His name forever,
His pow’r and glory evermore proclaim His pow’r and glory
evermore proclaim.

What would Christmas be where Christ is replaced with culture? You would go about singing “Long lay the world in sin and error pining, Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth” and never feel your soul’s worth.

My wife Libby, who teaches math at a public school, received an email from one of her students this morning. The student gave a long list of excuses of why he couldn’t get his homework completed on time. Each one of the excuses were completely valid and easily verifiable if my wife wanted to. After reading through the email, Libby announced to me that she had accepted these excuses and had no problem giving the kid a few more days to complete the assignment. Then she added a further comment to explain how she came to her decision: “because he is such a good student and never gives me any problems.”

Now, I realize that it is quite a step to take this little story and dive into a discussion on God’s saving grace, but it was a quick reminder to me this morning that God’s grace is so absolutely amazing that it is so hard for us to truly grasp and even harder to show a lesser form of it in our own lives. People seem to hand out grace only when it is deserved or somehow merited. But is this really grace? Imagine if the only reason God chose to save us was “because we are so good and never give Him any problems”? Who could stand before Him?

This lesser form of grace comes up daily in our lives though. We drive down the road and someone cuts in front of us and we get upset. Maybe they didn’t see us in their blind-spot. We hand out gifts to our friends and loved ones at Christmas time and typically receive a gift right back from them. Would we still hand them out if we knew this equal exchange wouldn’t take place? We all in some way believe that grace is something that is earned but God says that He demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. How can we show others today what grace truly is?

I won’t go too long here, it seems like a good idea to state why this
blog exists though. Recently, Al Mohler, President of Southern Baptist
Theological Seminary, stated that more Christians should be involved in
blogging as a way of reaching out to the culture we live in. David
Kotter paraphrases:

“Believers should be known as people who have something to say
because language is a unique gift from God to humans and is essential
to the spread of the gospel message. We can use more than words, but
never less.”

I thought that since I seem to embrace the consuming of blogs on a
very periodic basis that I could also add to the discussion and
hopefully minister to those who would choose to consume this blog.