More Jesus. . .Less Crap

Some of my "tens" of readers may be offended by the title that I have chosen for this edition of my blog, but this is the slogan for a church being planted in Pittsburgh, Pa. right now. The more that I heard, the more that I thought. . .AMEN!

Then there's tonight. I go to church to hear about the joys of killing Santa? Don't we have anything better to talk about? If you are doing your job in leading your family to know and worship Christ throughout the year, a cultural acknowledgment of Santa is not going to threaten that! Then we romanticize how the Catholics really know how to celebrate Christmas. While they may have the forms and some liturgy, they lack a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ as their Savior. Any cursory study of Catholicism will reveal such. I am proud of my baptist faith and have found ways to celebrate the birth of my Savior without falling into the dead religion of times past.

This is another time in which my missionary experience has ruined me! You see when I served in Mexico, I watched Christians refuse to have nativity scenes in their homes because they were pagan. This experience convinced me that culture plays a central role in our knowledge of God and worship of Him. Most of us are so immersed in it that we cannot see it for ourselves. It took our living in a Catholic country to make me realize how much I have been influenced by my culture.

I say all of this to say as the church in Pa. has said: More Jesus. . .Less Crap! That is what we need to work toward. Stop chasing the shadows of sin and deal with your sin. Stop turning your back on the widows, orphans, and poor. Stop clinging to your religion so much that Jesus and the Bible has little to do with your life. Santa Claus is the least of our worries. Who did Jesus rebuke most when he was on earth? The Pharisees. Those who clung to the outward religion so much that they lost sight of what life was all about. Take time to read Colossians 2 some time.

May we all find a little more Jesus in our lives! (and a lot less of that other stuff)

When Thanksgiving Shuts Down Worship

The trumpeters and singers performed together in unison to praise and give thanks to the Lord. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals, and other instruments, they raised their voices and praised the Lord with these words:

“He is good!
His faithful love endures forever!”

At that moment a thick cloud filled the Temple of the Lord. 14 The priests could not continue their service because of the cloud, for the glorious presence of the Lord filled the Temple of God. 2 Chronicles 5:13-14, NLT

It is black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, and I am actually THANKFUL!
Not because my wife found at 4am this morning the Leapster L-Max (x3) that Toys R Us had sold out of. (shhh don't tell the kids) I'm thankful for the time that we had with family yesterday and all that God is doing there. Areas in which there was great darkness, the light is now penetrating in my family after years of pain and sadness.

The passage above speaks of the culmination of the building of the temple. I feel as if my life is that temple. God has been building me for years and consequently building my family. This is not to say that we are a perfect family. We still have many needs, but I see light where there had not been light. I see family members who are so close to knowing the Savior that I know and they don't even know it.

When God showed up in the service described above, everything shut down. . . even worship! I had a family member tell me recently that I did not pray like a baptist. For my baptist brethren out there, I will tell you that she did not know how a baptist prays. What she wanted to say is that I did not pray like a churchy religious leader. That was the ultimate complement! When God breaks through the religion to show himself it becomes about Him and not about us!
Just as God's glorious presence filled the temple above and caused things to stop and focus on Him, I pray that the temple that is my life would be impacted by the powerful presence of God. And if need be. . .shut me down if necessary.