I awoke this morning at 3:30AM from a troubling dream to the sound of dance music from the outside. This caused me a bit of stress when I thought to myself “My neighbor must be having a party at 3:30AM.” But by the time I got up it had stopped. I deduced it must have been a car stereo with a door opening for an occupant to get out or get in.
This brings to mind how people are up doing all manner of things during all times of the night. Yes, someone was out driving around my neighborhood at 3:30AM this morning. And yes, there were passengers flying in a jet airliner overhead at 11:00PM last night. These are unreasonable hours, but transport and entertainment (it seems) must go on. As for me, I’ll be asleep in my bed at those times.
This appeared in Facebook feed. This is a prime example of a witch hunt mentality. Don’t believe everything you read on the internet. Take everything with a grain of salt. Could it be that this whole story was fabricated as revenge against an old boyfriend? Chat windows can be easily faked. And what if this person had a boyfriend who said some offputting remark which he later apologized for? Would she go completely rouge and publish someone’s info on the internet for all 1320 people to share? Report it to the dating app and move on with your life.
And no, I’m not trying to justify rape or even the comment. It’s horrible. But I question the recipient’s actions.
Jon Crist is a Christian comedian who seems a bit fruity at times. He makes observations about Christian activities, which for the post part, are spot on. If you watch the video there is a point 42 seconds in the video where a confused passerby looks at him. Crist is obviously walking through an airport talking to his phone; probably taking multiple takes to get the joke “just right.”
And now a word about mission trips. The purpose of wearing matching t-shirts is so the mission leader can keep up with people while en-route….and yes, the t-shirts are usually of the color that I wouldn’t pick out.
Crist covers most of the bases on this video. Making photos during mission trips so you can share them on social media. Since social media came of age I haven’t been on a mission trip, but it does appear that young people are ready willing and able to share photos quite abundantly. Whether is to inspire or brag is anyone’s guess.
Mission trips can be great. You can either wear yourself out trying to do everything, or sit on the sidelines and be lazy. It’s up to you.
Mission trips (especially for teens) are a baptism of fire of sorts. Kids need to know that the other side of the world doesn’t have what they have, and that many people live in poverty.
Mission trips aren’t my thing. I don’t like going up to a stranger’s house and knocking doors asking “Have you met my Lord and Savior?” Rather I would build relationships with acquaintances and friends and convert them over a long period of time. I’m introverted and hate small talk and trying to meet know people and asking the deep dark questions of sin and salvation. I do better at church camp where the fruits are ripe, but somehow I do see church camp as a period of time with low hanging fruit.
I guess the question is, can you be a good Christian and not ever go on any formal mission trip? The answer is YES! We are given the Great Commission, but we should realize the world we are going into can mean our workplace or school or amongst our friends.
This past week I had the opportunity to visit the Alamo. I had been to it before, but it was during my late twenties. Now I feel in my midlife I’ve had an extra measure of solemn perspective.
You see, just across the street from the Alamo is a tourist trap….Ripley’s Believe It or Not Museum, Hall of Mirrors, Wax Museum….you know the usual Gatlinburg tourist fare. But somehow I think that this sacred ground which between 182 to 257 Texans lost their lives (and between 400 – 600 Mexican casualties). Except for women and children, those Texans who were captured, were executed and their bodies were burned by Santa Ana. Should we necessarily celebrate this with shrunken heads or mirror mazes?
And how far into the future should we make light of tragedies? Pee Wee Herman didn’t do the Alamo any justice, just like others making a joke about “Mrs. & Mrs. Lincoln, don’t go see that play.” Or Reagan making a joke “Honey, I forgot to duck,” when 3 others were wounded in the assassination attempt.
Who knows, 20 or 50 or 100 years from now we might be making fun of the Las Vegas massacre, the World Trade Center terrorist or the like. (And yes I know some people do still make fun of the 9/11 tragedy; but most still see that tragedy as a solemn tragedy).
Further on down the road is a cathedral which houses the remains of Travis, Crockett and Bowie, men who died fighting for freedom at the Alamo. This should be our perspective, not a mirror maze or a wax museum.
We had a guest speaker at church this morning. He is a former Muslim, now Christian convert originally from Baghdad. One thing that stood out in my mind is something he said:
“If you don’t want your Muslim neighbor to live in America, then don’t try to convert him to Christianity, as you’ll be living with him for an eternity.”
Too many times we completely discount an entire group of people based on preconceived prejudices. I’ve done it myself; we’ve all done it. What we need to remember that there are souls behind those signs, believes, and burkas. These are souls which need to hear and obey the Gospel of Jesus.
Also what was also touched on was spreading rumors or prejudices. Our speaker said that when we do that it hurts our message. And how many times do we see that Facebook rumor floating around which we share, share and share again without first checking to see if it is true?
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This post popped up on my Facebook feed. I cringed when I saw it.
I don’t need some band member from what amounts to a rock concert to lecture me on what worship is….especially with the background is photos of band members. Regardless of who he says the audience is in this context, the band gets the glory and credit and sings to the audience of congregants.
God is not a beggar when it comes to worship. He will not take any crumbs we offer Him. He authorizes what is designated as worship and what He does not accept as worship. If someone does not offer what is authorized then that person is not worshiping God.
The problem with these churches (including the one portrayed in the video) is that is just feel good religion. “You can feel God in the room.” These so called Pastors can try to justify their worship by trying to say they are playing to God, when in reality they are just having a rock concert. No worship is involved.
