Tag Archives: Jesus Christ

A Modern American Creed

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“Contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints…”
(Jude 3 ESV)

While laboring away on my roof this Labor Day weekend, my mind had freedom to wander, and wander it did.  I began to ask myself, “Does anyone today really take their faith seriously?  Do I?”  From there the thought progression evolved into, “If we were really honest about what we believe, what would our credo be?”  The following is the result of such unconstrained meanderings through my mind.

Disclaimer – – Please take what you are about to read with a grain of salt.  This is meant to be humorous hyperbole, an exaggeration of no one particular expression of faith.  That being said, it is intended to expose some of the unbiblical things that we just assume about our faith.  If this lands a little close to home (as it does for me, at times), may it drive you to God’s Word, that you may be established and strengthened in your faith.

A Modern American Creed

I believe in God –

  • That is, I know there is a higher power, someone out there watching me.  I get my ideas about God from what I saw on Highway to Heaven, and Touched by an Angel, though I’d never admit that in public.  I don’t always have to pray or go to church, because I know that God is always there if I need him.
  • I know that God supposedly made everything, but science says that everything started with a big bang and evolution, and since I don’t know which to believe, I think I’ll just not think about it too much – anyone for a rerun of Seventh Heaven?
  • God wants me to be nice, do good stuff, and go to church; but understands when I can’t because it’s opening day for deer season, or when I was at the big game on Saturday and just can’t get up in time for worship. 
  • God gave us instructions for how to live called the 10 Commandments (which by the way I watch every Easter), but since those commandments are impossible to keep we really don’t have to try.  Besides, God is a loving God and would never judge us or hold us accountable for the things we’ve done.  Right?

I believe in Jesus –

  • Jesus lived a really good life.  He was always loving, always forgiving, and would never upset anyone by saying something hard or judgmental. 
  • Jesus wanted us to all get along, to accept each other just as we are, and to keep our noses out of other people’s business.  If you think that Jesus tells you to live one way, that’s fine for you.  But don’t presume Jesus told anyone else to live that way.
  • When Jesus was alive, he talked about how to get to heaven, and never really spoke about what to do with money, sex, or other day-to-day things.  Even when he did, it was all an allegory, a metaphor for spiritual things.  Jesus wants us to be happy, prosperous, successful, and independent.  If I am struggling or suffering in this life, I must be doing something wrong.
  • Jesus called some people to follow him seriously, these were his disciples.  Others got to follow at a distance.  For me, that means that some people can get real serious – go into missions, share their faith with their friends, be a pastor or a leader in their church – but others don’t have to get so committed.

Salvation –

  • I am saved because I am a Christian.  I am a religious person.  I go to church.  I try to help out from time to time.  I can even say the Creed and sing the Hymns on Sunday.  Overall, I am a good person; I might make mistakes, but God loves me anyway.
  • Salvation means I will go to heaven when I die.  It doesn’t really affect me much now, but it’s nice to know I’ll get to see all my family and friends when I get there.

Free Will –

  • God made me with free will, so I get to choose what I will do and what I believe.  I choose to believe in God, and that is why I am a Christian.  I could never believe in a God who would impose his will on others.

The Bible –

  • The Bible is the sacred book of the Christian religion.  People read it to know what God has done in the past.  It is full of stories about people who have followed God and how God has had to fix their problems.
  • The Bible was written by men who wanted to establish their religion.  It has some mistakes in it, and some of the things that were written a long time ago don’t really apply to us today; but overall, it is a pretty good book.

Heaven –

  • Heaven is God’s kingdom, and it is where all good people will go when they die.  When I get to heaven there will be rest from all the hard work I’ve done in this life, and I will see all my friends and family.
  • Those loved ones who have already gone to heaven are angels who watch over me.  They enjoy watching me do well in life, and protect me from bad things that might happen.

Hell –

  • This is the place were bad people go to be punished forever.  Hell is Satan’s kingdom and he lives there with his demons.  It’s always hot there, full of fire and suffering.

The Church –

  • The Church is where I go to worship. 
  • We sit in pews, which thankfully are padded, since the pastor likes to talk for more than 15 minutes. 
  • I have a hard time not napping during the prayers (you try closing your eyes, bowing your head, and doing nothing for more than 3 minutes and see what happens).
  • We sing odd songs, some are really old and use words that I’ve never said outside of church, some try to sound new but are really cheesy. 
  • Usually I don’t get a lot out of church, but every now and then it seems like the pastor’s talking about me (weird, huh).

Friends, I hope this has prompted you to really think about your faith, and what your faith means for your life today.  If you have questions, turn to God’s Word.  Feel free to call or email me, but whatever you do, “contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.”

SDG

Saved from the Flood

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“Save me, O God!  For the waters have come up to my neck…”
(Psalm 69:1 ESV)

 Yesterday I had the opportunity to go to Sioux City to join with the hundreds of volunteers filling sandbags in preparation for the coming flood on the Missouri River.  The enormity of this flooding is beyond belief, and the photos don’t do it justice.  Water is pouring into all the low lying areas along the banks, and slowly creeping up through the ground as well.  Business along the riverbank, and some well away from the river, are quickly building makeshift levees and dikes around their property, hoping to hold back the oncoming flood.

Conversations over the bagging were varied; some volunteers were light hearted, joking while they worked, making the best of the time.  Others were pensive and quiet; I wondered if they had already had to leave their homes because of the flood.  Still, the conversations always drifted back to the flood; whether this all could have been avoided had the water been released earlier in the year, or incredulity over those who would build such enormous homes right on the river front.

For me the day was a blessing.  I got to meet some interesting and wonderful new people, share with them in work and prayer, and, having avoided the intense heat of the first two days of the week, I spent a glorious day outside doing physical labor, a nice change from the office routine.  The drive home was time for quiet reflection on what I had seen and heard – not a bad way to spend the day.

There is continued debate as to whether the flood of 2011 is a natural disaster or man made.  An article by the Associated Press noted how one resident of Fort Pierre, SD thinks the “U.S. Army Corps of Engineers blew it, waiting until too late to begin releasing water through the Missouri’s six dams to give itself a cushion against potential flooding.  Corps officials insist otherwise. They say they were in good shape to handle spring rain and melt from a massive Rocky Mountain snowpack until unexpectedly heavy rains of 8 inches or more fell last month in eastern Montana and Wyoming and western North Dakota and South Dakota. ‘This is just a massive rain that fell in the exact wrong place at the exact wrong time,’ said Eric Stasch, operations manager at Oahe Dam, the huge structure that controls the Missouri’s flow just above Fort Pierre and nearby Pierre, South Dakota’s capital.”

But seriously, when you home is destroyed by the 150,000 cubic feet of water released per second into the river, it is empty pandering to try to place blame.  Whether natural or man made, the flood has come, lives are turned upside down, and it will take months, if not years, to completely recover.  Driving home I couldn’t help but think of Psalm 69 and offer it as a prayer for those in the path of the rising water, “Save me, O God!  For the waters have come up to my neck.  I sink in deep mire, where there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters, and the flood sweeps over me.”

Still, I also know that the flood waters mentioned in Psalm 69 are a metaphor, a word picture, for the enemies that had encircled David.  Betrayed, abandoned, beset by enemies, David called out to the Lord, “Deliver me from sinking in the mire, let me be delivered from my enemies and from the deep waters.  Let not the flood sweep over me, or the deep swallow me up, or the pit close its mouth over me” (Psalm 69:14-15).

I think we all know how David felt.  Maybe we’ve been in the flood waters before.  I know Cherokee has, and I grew up with flooding in Augusta, KS, too.  Perhaps you feel betrayed and abandoned like David, for no good reason those you thought were your friends have stabbed you in the back.  Or maybe, you are your own worst enemy, struggling with the same sins, over and over, and you feel that your sins have overwhelmed you, you are “weary with crying out; [your] throat is parched.  [Your] eyes grow dim with waiting for [your] God” (Psalm 69:3).

As with the flooding, there are those who will split hairs about where these sins originated(those that you are struggling to overcome, and those that are committed against you).  Do they come from the corrupted heart of man, or are they more of a cultural tradition that is learned and passed along from generation to generation.  I think that Scripture’s teaching on Original Sin and Total Depravity would say both are true – and regardless of its origin, we are in terrible need of salvation.  Like those in Dakota Dunes and Sioux City, the deluge is coming and nothing short of a miracle will save them now.

Isn’t it good to know that at least one flood in our lives has been permanently diverted.  God in His great love for us, gave us His Son as the propitiation for our sins, that we might be cleansed from our guilt.  As the Psalmist says in Psalm 40, “Psalm 40:2 “He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure.”  “The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold” (Psalm 18:2). 

There is a lot of talk today about flood insurance, and I can’t imagine going through this crisis without it.  But even more unimaginable would be to go through life without the salvation assurance that we have in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Today, pray for those whose lives have been, or will be, affected by this recent flooding along the Missouri.  But remember also to give thanks and praise for the deliverance we have been given through Christ our Lord.

SDG