Godly wisdom from a tough guy
I have never met him in person, but in my high school was a tough guy who knew how to use his fists. He had long black hair, dark brown eyes. Even when he smiled, his intense features made me wonder how many indigenous Mayans and Aztec warriors were in his ancestral pool. Some people can still clearly say “Don’t mess with me!” even with a warm smile.
One day, I saw his Facebook profile and a quote he posted about himself.
“I’m not trying to be better than anyone else, I’m just trying to be better than I was yesterday.”
I took a screenshot of his profile page and keep it with me so I can re-read the quote whenever I need.
The quote reminds me of a video I recently saw, where the pastor calls out various parishioners regarding their short comings. One guy committed the evil act of sleeping in church, and another man “needed” a reminder of how grateful he should be that the pastor officiated his wedding.
Sometimes you can spend years attending a church where the pastor wears tailored suits, doesn’t have a hair out of place, and all you’ll get is theology that doesn’t even qualify as condensed milk. The truth from God’s word frequently comes from the least expected places.
Here’s to you, AG. I don’t know if we’ll ever meet, but you definitely have my respect.
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What did she say…?
Once, while on a missions trip to Victoria Ciudad, Mexico, in 1990, I remember giving a gospel tract to an old lady. She wore a hat—it was the same that Gus’ mother wore in My Big Fat Greek Wedding—and wore a black, nondescript outfit that made her look like she worked in a monastery. She spoke to me in Spanish for five minutes. I remember one Spanish word: limpia (the feminine version of “clean”). When I get to eternity, I’ll ask God for a full translation of what she said. Thirty-four years later, I’m still curious.
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Can you see the big picture? Neither can I
One of my favorite songs, and Exhibit A in the court argument that Contemporary Christian Music can be just as much a blessing as Classical, is the song “I Am” by Ginny Owens. Miss Owens, who is blind, sings about how God called ordinary people in the Bible to do extraordinary things. Their collective reluctance stemmed from them feeling grossly underqualified and not understanding His plan. That, of course, is because they couldn’t see the big picture.
God, for instance, never told Job he was suffering because God had bragged about him to Satan and knew Job would bend but never break. God wanted to show that Job served God out of love and obedience, not because of the rewards and benefits. Job never knew in his lifetime how highly God thought of him.
Today, we serve the Lord to reach a dying world and to encourage fellow Christians. We do so frequently while dealing with heartache and other problems. God, Elohim, I Am Who I Am, can see the big picture. We can’t.
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Checking back in…
Next month I’ll turn 51. I’ve been a Christian for 42 years. I’ve had many valleys. Years of not reading the Bible, not being regularly in church. Plenty of reasons to call it quits and do my own thing. Injustices? Seen them countless times: wonderful things happen to the biggest frauds I’ve ever seen while the leftover scraps are swept up and dumped into an impenetrable plastic bag. I could you tell you stories that need to remain in my private journal. They are stories you’d never believe.
So often, people walk away from God because either they never really gave Him their heart, or they can’t deal with hypocrites. Never mind they deal with hypocrites elsewhere. In the Christian realm, here’s how you deal with hypocrites: you realize they’re imperfect, just like the rest of us. You then learn from them how not to do things and use that to become the type of Christian the world desperately needs.
As one Christian observed: people die and go to hell every day. Our time on earth is short, and as Christians, so is our opportunity to make a difference.
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Gay pride isn’t about gay arrogance
Many Christians and conservatives wonder why the LGBTQ community seems to want to “constantly rub it in our face” that they are out and proud.
You don’t have to be a gay rights supporter to understand.
For years, homosexuals, lesbians, etc., kept their true selves a secret for fear of ostracism and loss of livelihood. Some were disowned by their families, physically assaulted, and some decided they couldn’t take the stress or shame anymore and committed suicide.
We had friends in Florida, and that family had a son they didn’t talk about. Why? He came out one day and the father, who was an unscrupulous bigot and what some would describe as a “good ol’ boy,” disowned the son and kicked him out. Years later when the father died, the son’s reaction was, “Who cares?”
Flamboyant pianist Liberace sued a British tabloid after it all but tried to out him in 1959. Had he confirmed then he was gay, it would’ve been the end of everything for him. In court, he denied being gay, saying “[Homosexuality] offends society.” He won and received a settlement, but when he died of AIDS in 1987 and it was revealed he was indeed gay (he never publicly came out), the magazine expressed its condolences by asking for the settlement money back.
And now, it’s a big relief for LGBTQ that we don’t live in that type of society anymore. Perhaps it’s the type of relief people feel in a totalitarian society when the dictator is not only killed, but opponents unceremoniously drag the late leader’s corpse through the streets as people urinate and spit on the remains in contempt.
Where am I on this issue, as a Christian? I was ultra conservative 20 years ago but am mostly libertarian now. If you want a job, I’m more concerned with your ability to do your job rather than whether you like men, women, or both. Adoption? The focus should be on whether a person is responsible and can take care of a child. I’ve seen plenty of heterosexuals who couldn’t take care of a goldfish, let alone a child. Gay marriage? If the two of you are happy, it’s none of my business. I’m far more interested in your ability to be a responsible citizen. And if I were a landlord and two gays or two lesbians wanted to rent, I’d only care about two things: rent paid on time and the house being kept in good condition.
I still haven’t drawn a final overall conclusion on the overall issue of alternative forms of sexuality, but there’s a part of me that thinks the New Testament condemnation of homosexuality is more about condemning sexual immorality within homosexuality (such as sleeping with a different person every day) rather than two men who love each other and are monogamous. You know, the same with heterosexuals who view sex as an “all you can sleep with” buffet where the goal is endless notches on your bedpost.
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Remembering Pat Robertson
Years ago, I read some of Pat Robertson’s book Shout it From the Housetops. He came from a well-to-do background but, in a reverse story of Jesus and the rich, young ruler, he left it to start a radio ministry. The book detailed the many times where money came in to pay for things right when needed. In broadcasting, things can definitely be expensive. Equipment, licenses, salaries…
Robertson died June 8 at 93.
Robertson eventually started Regent University. In 2000, following military service, I applied to Regent University for grad school. My plan was to obtain a master’s degree in journalism. I was accepted and made plans to move me and my family to Virginia Beach to be closer to the college. Those plans went nowhere; in retrospect, it probably wasn’t God’s path for me. Had I gone, I may have bumped into Pat.
Robertson led The 700 Club for many years. An acquaintance who once dealt with Christian Broadcasting Network didn’t have the best of things to say. I knew a girl at college who worked there, but I’m not close enough to her to feel comfortable asking her opinion. Robertson seemed to at least understand that evangelism inside a box won’t have good results. He noted in his book that when reaching out to teenagers, they realized quickly they’d never be successful offering “a diet of milk and crackers.”
I used to cringe when I’d hear Robertson preface some type of pseudo-prophesy by saying “God told me.” Wow, how humble, I’d often think. As for his attributing natural disasters and even terrorism to God’s judgment, the Book of Job is clear that things often happen for reasons we won’t understand in this lifetime.
Many remember Robertson as an influential figure that helped ignite the Conservative Christian movement in politics. Others viewed him as an extremist whose views helped set back the LGBTQ movement for decades.
It’s anyone’s guess now whether Robertson has rewards in heaven or if his actions are mostly wood, hay, and stubble. Pat Robertson had more faults than a cheap diamond, but he seemed intent on trying to make the world a better place. Granted, many have a differing definition of “a better place.”
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Getting new Bibles
I am currently reading through the Bible using the ESV. Several months ago I purchased a copy of the NASB. I may also purchase the Holman Study Bible. I recently acquired The Tree of Life Version and the Passion Version (a translation of the New Testament, Psalms, Proverbs, and Song of Songs).
Yes, I was KJBO for a long time. At one time I firmly believed that the AV 1611 was the superior translation of the English Bible. And now, 30 years later, you can buy a copy of the KJV’s predecessor, the Geneva Bible (endorsed by Kirk Cameron). And to think that 35 years ago, the KJO crowd pointed out the Geneva seemed lost to history, something you’d find only in some old, dusty library. I can remember the late Al Lacy pushing the KJV to the forefront, saying that the Geneva Bible had faded away.
Spending time studying foreign languages (Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, Russian) has made me rethink things I “knew” about translation work when I was a naïve 18-year-old Christian. There have been advancements in the availability of manuscripts, and you also have to examine the motivations behind translating the King James Version.
This is 2023. I’d say in 250 years, as the English language inevitably evolves, the King James Version will be as intelligible to 2273 readers as Old English is today.
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Back in church!
I have joined the local First Baptist Church after a few years of going off and on and another few years of not attending at all due to working retail. When you work more than one job in retail because you live in an expensive city, there is practically no such thing as having Sundays off. Not even if you don’t work Sunday morning and have that time open. If you get done Saturday at midnight, by the time you wake up for church, you haven’t had enough sleep. That’s how it works for me at 49. If I try to get up after sleeping five hours, my body normally will overrule me.
Time to get back into serving, learning, praying, Bible study, singing (I like to sing but apparently am not good at it), learning, serving, socializing, encouraging.
If you think being a Christian is about attending church during Sunday school, Sunday morning service, Sunday evening, and Wednesday evening, you’re barely scratching the service. God wants us to be busy “preaching the Gospel” by serving Him.
As I left church, I saw a playpen two-thirds full with diapers, clothing, bottles, nursing supplies. No doubt, the playpen will become even more full. As I looked at the playpen, I saw what the donations are for: an organization that acts as an abortion alternative by serving needy mothers and pregnant women. THIS, ladies and gentlemen, is how you demonstrate how you are pro-life. You certainly don’t do it by shaming knocked-up women or single mothers.
Am I a better person because I attend a Baptist church? Absolutely not. I identify as a Baptist in the sense that I believe baptism should be done after you’ve come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and have repented of your sins. However, I reject the legalism that is rampant in Baptist circles. There are Christians in many denominations. I identify as half Baptist and half Non-denominational. I prefer the Christian flag over the Baptist flag. And as I joke with dear friends who are Calvinists, the only two forms of Calvinism I believe in are my late uncle, Calvin Goade (born and died in 1930), and the cartoon Calvin and Hobbes.
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Getting back into church
I keep telling myself it’s time to head back to church.
Alas, I didn’t make it this past weekend. Too cold in the morning. Bad excuse, given I spent nine years living in Michigan, and 31 degrees is balmy. It gets too easy to make excuses.
So, at home I listened to Dr. Charles Swindoll.
So now, I shoot for mid-week services and go to a Bible study. My goal is to get into a church and to get involved. Now that I no longer work in retail, working on Sundays is no longer an excuse.
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Battling depression, for starters
Christians and depression. For some, the cure is Prozac or some type of antidepressant. I am often reminded of James 4:2-3, where James writes that we have not, because we ask not, or because you ask wrongly.
A starter that can work wonders: Walk with God. Daily. Read the Bible. Pray. Do it with the fervency a recovering alcoholic has for telling themselves daily, “I’m NOT going to drink today.”
How does that Sunday School song go? Read your Bible, pray every day, and you will grow. Neglect your Bible, forget to pray, and you will shrink.
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An actor on the right track
A comedic actor who is no longer with us once described himself as a “bad Catholic”. Why not? Though raised Catholic, many described him as loving a good time in wine, women, and song. You’d know who he was instantly if I said his name. He made observations on spirituality that suggested a venture into atheism during his life. One observation, although not questioning God’s existence, was fairly astute: why do television ministers ask their audiences for money when they tell their audiences to ask God for money or other needs?
When asked what would be the first thing he’d say to God in the afterlife, the actor replied, “I didn’t think You were for real!” He indicated an eagerness to meet God and ask questions.
The actor, known for his love of a good time, did say that he felt that he didn’t deserve to get into heaven on his own merits, and that he didn’t think he could con his way into heaven. This despite film rolls where he played people who hustled others.
Eternity will tell, but I hope that someone with the truth spoke to the actor and that the actor listened with an open mind. His honesty about his faults make me think, to paraphrase what Jesus said to one seeker in Mark 12:34, he wasn’t far from the kingdom of God.
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More about churches and buildings
When I see churches that seem overly concerned with ornate buildings and memberships as big as small towns (such as my hometown of Beeville, Texas, which has about 13,000 residents), I am reminded of a stanza from Harriet E. Buell’s Gospel song “A Child of the King”: “A tent or a cottage, why should I care? They’re building a palace for me over there.”
Work and the COVID scare have kept me out of church for a while, but when it comes time to join a church again, I know what to look for. The type of building isn’t a huge concern. What are concerns are, how are they at teaching the Bible and preaching the Gospel?
Preaching the Gospel isn’t just about telling a crowd of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross and giving an invitation. That just scratches the surface of, say, an iceberg with 75 percent of its mass lurking underwater. Preaching the Gospel is also about showing Jesus’ love to the public: in ministries serving homeless, alcoholics, drug addicts, unemployed, orphans, elderly, widowed.
One church in Corpus Christi had a program called Operation Paint Brush, where they’d paint or refurbish the home of a needy person. To me, this helps out more than just giving them a pamphlet and encouraging them to go to church.
And, yes, instead of simply thundering away at the pulpit that God hates extramarital or premarital sex and hates abortion, I’d like to see a church get involved in helping out single or unwed mothers. No, that doesn’t mean picket abortion clinics. It means go out and show the mothers you care about them and their unborn and then-born child.
This is the type of approach we need if we want to turn the world upside down.
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The church, almost 2,000 years later
If 4 B.C. is indeed the actual year Jesus was born, then we could say that 2,000 years ago, He was about five years from beginning His earthly ministry. He’d gather 12 disciples, preach, minister, heal, get frustrated with how slow His disciples were at grasping His teachings, make enemies and die for our sins, rise from the dead. After 40 days with the disciples, He then ascended up into heaven.
The church has had almost 2,000 years to develop, learn, progress, cultivate. Are we even close to the True Christianity that mirrors Jesus’ teachings?
Due to my crazy work schedule and this current COVID crisis, I haven’t been in church in a while. When it comes time to return to church, where will I go?
When many think of church, they think of a place where they attend Sunday morning, evening, Wednesday nights, revivals, whenever the doors are open. That’s fine, as long as the Bible is being taught.
Church isn’t just about attending, singing, listening to the message. It’s also about serving there as needed and being involved in the church’s community outreach programs. Church is also about regularly preaching the Gospel through your actions, rather than just your words. That’s what James referred to in his New Testament book.
One friend tells me he went from a church that spent hundreds of thousands of dollars renovating its building to a church that meets in a modest, converted (no pun intended) warehouse and instead prefers to use most of those financial resources in the community. I prefer that approach. Jesus doesn’t judge churches on how ornate their buildings are or how immaculate their lawns are, but how they do in the community and where their hearts are in relation to Him.
As for me, I have a long way to go. I love everybody, but there are definitely some whom I can’t stand. Some have been fellow Christians. But that’s ok: the line of people who can’t stand me would make the line of moviegoers waiting to see Titanic* in 1997 seem stubby by comparison.
* As of March 7, 2021, Titanic has grossed more than $2.1 billion as a movie.
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A Christian works in retail
Currently working two jobs in retail. In Army lingo, I’m hoping it’s TDY. What have I learned so far? This October will mark my 40th anniversary of becoming a Christian, and I still have lots to learn when it comes to patience. Previous retail work has included a certain large department store and as a gas clerk for a certain large grocery store. My conclusion: working retail is the protestant equivalent of purgatory. You really have to have a servant’s heart.
I hope someday to be able to love everybody unequivocally. The late MLB manager Alvin Dark once said: “As a Christian, I’ve learned to love everybody, but the last ones I learned to love were the sportswriters.”
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A church that’s getting it right
A friend in Michigan tells me of a church he attends, and it’s different. They meet in a converted warehouse. Nothing fancy. No plans to build a church campus so big it’ll need its own zip code, and no plans for a building so beautiful or ornate that cleaning and maintenance personnel work 24 hours per day.
The church instead busies itself in the community. Programs for those struggling with drugs or alcohol. Help for those who need a new direction in life. Assistance for single mothers. A pro-life ministry started by a woman who, years ago, had an abortion.
In other words, a church that doesn’t just meet and socialize on Sundays and Wednesdays, but one that’s getting to work in the community, putting its faith into action.
More to come in a future podcast.
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God and Election 2020
(No, “Election” has nothing to do with Calvinism).
Contrary to what some think, Christians are on all sides of the political spectrum. Many are conservatives who identify as either Republicans, independents, or by some other party that not only considers the GOP too liberal, but that you’ve likely never heard of until you see the candidate list on a ballot. Others are centrists who identify as libertarians, some are moderates and some are liberal. In each presidential or gubernatorial election, there’s bound to be a Christian who disagrees with the results and cries out to God, “WHY? WHY? WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?!”
That was me in 1992 and 2008, and I’m trying not to go down that route again.
We often forget that God is in control, and He was in control in Old Testament-era Israel even when they had godless kings and when they were taken to Babylon in captivity. He was also in control when Jerusalem fell to Rome in A.D. 70. And He remains in control today.
Perhaps Christians tend to grow less during spiritual peacetime than they do when there are problems around them. American Christians have it easy compared to those in China, Vietnam, or Cuba.
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Is the rapture near?
Years ago while taking Church History and then, a few semesters later, Revelation, at Pensacola Christian College, our instructor, Dr. Joel Mullenix, spoke often about how he was convinced he was living in the last generation and that the rapture would surely occur in his lifetime.
Dr. Mullenix is retired. I don’t know his current age, 75, perhaps? A few times at PCC I met him. Even in the meeting in his office, his suit was perfect and not a single hair was out of place. If you were to ever look up “dignified” in the dictionary, you’d probably see his smiling picture in the entry. He was well-spoken and was sincere in his beliefs.
I’m now 47, and while the world certainly seems more evil now than a generation ago, I often wonder if the rapture will happen in this lifetime.
When will it happen? It could be tomorrow, or it could be in a few thousand years. God is merciful. A day is as a thousand years to Him, and He views a thousand years as a day.
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Remembering Blinded By Might
Years ago, I read Blinded By Might. Cal Thomas, a conservative columnist, co-wrote it with Ed Dobson, an Irish-born pastor (no relation to Dr. James Dobson) who has since gone home to be with the Lord.
Dr. Dobson, heavily involved in politics, disavowed the book because of its argument that Christians cannot expect the government to accomplish what the church should be doing by rolling up its sleeves and getting busy. My guess is the Focus on the Family founder misinterpreted that as “Christians should not be involved in politics at all.” I would respectfully say the good doctor did not visualize the big picture that Thomas and The Other Dobson were trying to convey.
Christians seem to forget that there’s far more to being a Christian than reading your Bible, putting on nice clothes, and attending church. There’s a lot of grunt work involved. God expects us to be busy. The just shall live by faith, but as James said, faith without works is dead. Works won’t make you a Christian, but works show the world that you are a Christian.
One church’s idea of outreach seemed to be door-to-door visitation. Fine. How about having your youths go to the houses of the elderly and ask them if they need yardwork or other chores done? How about befriending a single mother and asking her if your church nursery department can watch her kids for a few hours while she has alone time? While you’re at it, ask her if she needs any groceries or if she or her kids need any clothes.
By and large, I’m a conservative. I have a friend who’s more of a moderate to liberal Christian (yes, they do exist). One thing we agree on: the church seems content to let the government do things that the church should be doing.
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Talking to God
So often it’s tempting to cry out to God and wonder why He remains silent as we ask for help with heartaches and other problems.
One friend said this in response: if we’re not spending time with God in His Word, we cannot expect to hear from Him.
I am reminded of what one guy at Pensacola Christian College placed on his door, a simple sign that read: “Have you been with the Holy of Holies today?”
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Richard's Two Shekels 