On my way to work I pass by 2 things which I seem to take for granted.

• Old Hickory Lake – Even though this is a manmade lake, sometimes it provides some spectacular views….such as those cold mornings where fog creeps off the surface of its waters. There are those times when I’m driving home and see the sun setting on the horizon on the waters. The unfortunate thing is that I never visit the lake. There are some people living in ordinary corn fields of Kansas who have no lake in sight, who would love to have a lake like this in their backyard.
• Andrew Jackson’s Home – The Hermitage. Bordered by encroaching commericalism – a Kroger on the east side; a Sonic and Retirement Home on the west side – this estate provides a brief route of beauty in a concrete jungle of capitalism on my way to work….Untouched fields of scenery…Tall trees which were damaged but not destroyed by a 1998 tornado. Regardless of what you think of Andrew Jackson himself, one cannot argue with the beauty of his estate.

Both of these places started out as something ordinary. God turned them into something extraordinary.
God took a group of fishermen, a tax collector, a doctor, among many others and turned them into great leaders of the faith. If Jesus had not come into the lives of these people, no doubt they would have continued to be ordinary people.
He turned ordinary water to wine at the wedding of a friend (John 2:1-11). No doubt many wedding guests were too drunk to realize the unique taste of the wine, nor the miracle that had just occurred. They were too busy with their own lives.
Many times we fail to see the beauty in life. We fail to allow God to use us to make our lives extraordinary.

I had been told all my life that you should always wear your Sunday best to church. I’ve been doing some research on this, and as it turns out, dress might not be that important to God.
It is very possible that Jesus did not have fine apparel. Jesus did not have a permanent place of residence (Matthew 8:20). It is likely he carried around all his possessions with him on his journeys. I feel fairly certain that Jesus probably only had one outer garment. Who knows – it might not have been white as the movies and tv shows would have us to believe.
John the Baptist was even more poorly dressed according to our standards. He wore the skins of camel’s hair (Matthew 3:4). If someone showed up church with the equivalent of John’s wardrobe…perhaps with a shirt and pants that he or she made, would they be acceptable for worship?
Guess what? God doesn’t care how you’re dressed. In fact He condemned showing partiality in James 2:2-4. Don’t judge someone according to how they are dressed. Don’t wear fine apparel to be showy (1 Timothy 2:9).
I am not sure why we choose to dress up for Sunday morning, and then dress down for Sunday night and Wednesday night worship services. Anytime we worship God is equally important, no matter where we are. Could it be that sometimes we get caught up in tradition with wearing ties for Sunday morning. Are our hearts right when we worship God? Are we too concerned with the latest fashion and who’s wearing what, rather that our own personal worship with God? Are we becoming too dressy on occassion and discouraging people who don’t have the lastest fine apparel from worshipping with us?
Our heart HAS to be right with God. If it isn’t, then all of our showy apparell and worship is in vain. Your “Sunday Best” might be your heart.

One thing that’s been notably absent from the late night monologues is the death of the pope. Sinead O’Connor taught us that lesson. Don’t offend Catholics and you’ll keep your audience.
VH1’s Best Week Ever didn’t mention the death at all, only making a passing reference to the audience campaigning to be the next pope. The answer to their arbitrary question of “Who is having the best week ever?” It’s certainly not the pope.
Yet this situation has provided for some good banter around the workplace.
Most notably:

• They didn’t embalm the body. Somehow the verse John 11:39 comes to mind: “..By this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days…”
• The pope’s ruby red “there’s no place like home” slippers. I suspect it was the house that killed him.
• Could the Vatican afford a casket for viewing purposes? Did we need to show the pope…including ALL of the pope just laying out there for the whole world to see? No thank you. I’d rather not see a corpse early in the morning as I eat my breakfast.
• An ongoing questions I’d ask my coworkers each day is “Is the pope still dead?” Yes, he’s still dead. I just checked CNN. I’ll let you know if the situation changes. I guess some people might expect him to rise after 3 days.

Catholicism seems to be a religion frozen in time. Just watching Pope John Paul II’s funeral reminds me of how life was like during the Middle Ages of Europe. This is all strange to me. The dress of the clergy, which probably hasn’t changed since the Middle Ages; Using Latin as the language of choice for much of the service… It all ads up to a religion who’s prime was during the Middle Ages, and has refused to change to adapt to society.
Certainly all the Pomp and Circumstance is always very interesting. But I think they’ve lost the fact that God is love. God doesn’t neccessarily care for empty rituals. He cares about your heart. Catholics have been caught up in empty rituals and forgotten that God is love.
It makes me glad to be a part of a fellowship which is so simple. Adhering to the Bible and without much rituals.
Interesting piece: John Paul II, a popular pope, but not a great one

The death of the Pope has become a lesson in the history of Catholicism for many people including myself. My exposure to Catholicism comes from watching Mass on TV (usually on Christmas Eve) and in events like this. I’ve never been to mass, been inside a Catholic church only a handful of times in my life. I fail to understand Catholicism. For many people who grew up Catholic, it is a way of life. Not just a religion, but a subculture.
Catholics have alot of stuff they’d like to forget. Including….

• The selling of indulgences…which caused Martin Luther to start the Protestant movement.
• Collaboration with the Nazis. In many ways the Catholics were neutral toward the Nazi’s during World War II, not showing rejection of their dogma, and even supporting anti-semitism.

All religions have checkered pasts. Some more than others. Since the Catholic church has been around alot longer than most other major religions, it’s going to have a much more jaded past than newer religions.
Still there are stuff that the Catholic church clings to, that I feel is not what God intended.

• Veneration of Mary (and the rest of the saints). This takes away from our first and foremost target of worship…God Himself. Admiring past Christians for their roles in Christentom is fine, but when too much emphasis is put on them, then we loose sight of our true adoration.
• The infallibility of the Pope – This is contrary to 1 John 1:8-10. Certainly any religious man can make mistakes. Even if one is acting as official capacity of the church doesn’t make one immune from sin. It is our obligation to continue to study the scripture to determine if what our religious leaders is speaking the truth.
• Elevation of the Pope as being God’s sole representative on Earth. – No one man should have that much authority. Sure, Pope John Paul II was a good man, but the church hiarchy wasn’t what God intended. Kissing the Pope’s ring? Asking the Pope to bless your child? This is all foreign to me….and Biblical examples.
• Birth Control and allowing priests to be married (as discussed previously)

What I’m seeing now is an outpouring of ridiculous sadness for a mere man who many people don’t know personally. They regard him as almost a king. I don’t get it. And I still don’t get similar fabricated grief for Terri Schiavo. People, get a grip. This type of emotion should only be reserved for immediate family or close friends.

Something tells me the Pope is going to go soon.
This guy can’t even sit up straight. (He hasn’t been able to for years) What make you think he can lead the world’s largest Christian denomination?
Once there is a new pope installed, I hope they do a couple of things.
1. Allow the priests to marry. I’m guessing this would be earth shattering for some Catholics. I grew up in a fellowship where having a married preacher is not only very desireable, it would be virtually the only option. Why does this denomination require those who lead congregations to be celebrate? How can he minister to married couples with sexual problems? How can he speak from experience?
2. Allow birth control. It still leaves me bewildered why Catholics find birth control unscriptual. Their position on the matter is that sex is for pleasure and procreation. They think if you’re using sex strictly for pleasure, then it is against God’s will.
The above two items show that Catholic church leaders apparently have alot of hangups about sex.