Letters from Paul

One problem with writing a blog is determining the topic of the next blog.  I’m always looking at the news and observing life around me.  Of course, sometimes I’m not even looking and then it is dropped in my lap.  Many who visit this blog know (simply look at the comments) that a large number of readers are not believers.  Not only do they not believe in Christ, they don’t even believe in God’s existence.  Many of their comments are not posted for several reasons.

I do not post comments that contain foul language.
I do not post comments that promote atheistic videos and websites.
I do not post comments that are simply platitudes.

I don’t apologize for this.  When there is too much noise in the room, it is hard to have a conversation.  This blog is not an open forum for anyone to post anything they want.

For those of you who are unaware, one theme that many atheists both cling to and throw at believers is their belief that God is immoral.  If one were to look at YouTube, you would see a variety of accusations concerning the cruelty of God and his actions, especially in the Old Testament.  Recently, an atheist put on YouTube a stoning (one put to death by being struck rocks) in the Mideast and wanted to know, “How could Christians worship a God who told his people to do such a thing?”  Well, how could we?  If God would tell us to do such a thing, wouldn’t that make him a cruel God?  In a recent book I picked up, Is God a Moral Monster, the author Paul Copan looks at many of these assertions by atheists.  I have not finished the book, but it is certainly an interesting read. continue reading more…

What a week.  I am not sure that MORE could have happened in one week.  It was certainly a week of “ups” and “downs.”  On Sunday morning I headed out of town for a week of school.  Now at first glance you might think, “Was that the up or down part?”  Well, my children certainly see it different than I do.  In the middle of summer, no one better talk about school.  It is somewhat difficult for them to understand that an education is not a right, but a privilege.  Little did I know that God wanted to teach me more than what I could learn in a classroom.

Leading up to the week, I had been up many long nights with reading, writing papers, and doing a great deal of research, while at the same time, working full time as the pastor of Summer Creek Baptist Church.  But I gotta tell you, I love going to Kentucky and spending the week at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.  Firstly, I have developed a great friendship with godly men (Micah, Matt, Clif, and Jake) who are in class with me.  Secondly, I simply love interacting with these guys and the professors as we study and attempt to grasp the depths of scripture and our Lord.  Lastly, I just enjoy being in that environment.  I love going to the library, reading papers, listening to sermons, being in the academic environment, and even going to class each day.  Although I am sitting in the airport very tired as I write this . . . it was hard to leave the seminary.

So, what was the downer?  Well two days after I arrived, I got a call from my wife telling me that she and my youngest were on their way to the hospital.  My little girl had an infection, and the doctors were going to be very aggressive in treating this.  Of course, my wife and I were caught off guard and I began to sense that it was going to be difficult to keep my mind at school.  I wanted to be at home.  I wanted to help and I wanted to be there for my wife and daughter.  What a downer . . . but God was about to do a great work. continue reading more…

I have been out of town for a couple of weeks.  One week I spent preaching at a youth camp.  The theme for the camp was “There is Hope.”  It is always a privilege to preach the Gospel and proclaim that there is HOPE with Christ.  It was a good time for me to read and reflect between preaching twice a day and it was a growing time for the teenagers in attendance.  

The second week my family and I spent six days on the beach in Florida.  Each year I am so thankful that God allows us that time as a family.  While sitting on the beach watching our kids play in the surf, my wife and I had a chance to reflect and talk about life.  We talked about our church, things we are looking forward to, and the challenges ahead.  This blog was also a topic of conversation along with the recent activity.  The last blog topic was homosexuality which seems to be a hot topic these days, and perhaps I have made some mistakes.  There are times when we just need to admit . . . we failed.  If you remember, the purpose of dealing with the homosexual issue was, “What was the Christian response?”  This is where I failed those of you who take the time to read this blog. continue reading more…

I am not a major sports fan.  I tend to enjoy football the most, but I will, at one time or another, watch just about any sport.  Lately, as you know, the basketball playoffs have been on TV and I have watched a total of 2 NBA games all season (both of them playoff games).  I know this phrase belongs to the sport of baseball, but recently during the basketball playoffs, I have been “batting a thousand” and I don’t mean in predicting a winner.  I just recently blogged about the “It Gets Better Project” which I saw during the first game I watched and  last night,  I was introduced to another campaign entitled, “ThinkB4YouSpeak” which is, I believe, part of the “GLSEN Sports Project.” I looked up their web address and according to the GLSEN website:

The GLSEN Sports Project is an education and advocacy initiative focused on addressing LGBT issues in K-12 school-based athletic and physical education programs.

The 30 second spot (commercial) had basketball players denounce the phrase, “That’s so gay.”  I will have to admit, that the phrase was certainly uttered by me more than once when I was a teenager (as did the vast majority did during the 80’s).  We said it among friends when someone in the group did something stupid or ridiculous.  Those days are long behind me, but I will have to say that the commercial caught my attention for one particular reason.  According to one of the basketball superstars, the reason behind the request to avoid the phrase, “That’s so gay” is that it’s “offensive to homosexuals.”  I imagine that from this point on, not only will that phrase no longer be uttered without consequences in the public sector, but it will no longer be in movies, TV shows, and no athlete would think of saying it without fines or public disapproval.

So again, I asked the question . . . “What is the Christian response?”  continue reading more…

The other day I was watching a recorded program on TV and usually I fast forward through the commercials, but for some reason I did not and then I saw a 30 second spot entitled It Gets Better which was sponsored by GOOGLE Chrome.  I was sure I didn’t see what I just saw; so I went back and watched it again to make sure I wasn’t mistaken.  I was very surprised this spot aired during primetime and that it aired during the basketball playoffs.  I decided to do some research and here is what I found.

According to the It Gets Better Project website, because many young people are bullied each day, they have nowhere to turn.  This is especially true for LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transsexual) kids and teenagers.  The site goes on to say,  In many instances, gay and lesbian adolescents are taunted — even tortured — simply for being themselves.  The site then lists the names of seven kids that committed suicide because they were gay or perceived to be gay by their peers.  The next paragraph is as follows:  

While many of these teens couldn’t see a positive future for themselves, we can. The It Gets Better Project was created to show young LGBT people the levels of happiness, potential, and positivity their lives will reach – if they can just get through their teen years. The It Gets Better Project wants to remind teenagers in the LGBT community that they are not alone — and it WILL get better.

I could not help but think, “What’s the Christian response to such behavior AND to the commercial/project?”  Without a doubt, this ad once again demonstrates that we live in a fallen world and apart from the wisdom of God, our  solutions concerning sin is at best inadequate and at worse sinful. continue reading more…