Nah, me neither…

Yet that’s just what the folks at “Truth” Community Church in Springfield, Missouri, were treated to this past Resurrection Day (when they weren’t distracted by the big “Easter Egg” hunt, anyway).

For every big-timey Joel Osteen type out there doing their best to spin Christianity into something much more appealing/comforting to unrepentant men and women on a global level, there are a gajillion less-known/talented Scripture-shredding wannabes out there doing the same sort of damage on the local scene.

While the Osteens, Warrens, and Hinns of the world will get their due mention (and full “credit”) in the upcoming release of “Apathetic Christianity”, light will also be brought to bear on  these lower level local “transformers of the faith”.

In order to get at least a taste of sort of local “church leadership” that will be addressed in “Apathetic Christianity”, here’s a transcript of “Pastor” Tyler Padgitt’s Easter Sunday sermon, entitled “God is not Mad at You”:

“My name is Tyler and I want to preach to you and I’m thankful that you’ve given me the chance to preach to you on this Easter Sunday morning. My sermon title will be “God is Not Mad at You”, and, uh, many people have that view of God – a view of God that I was taught about when I was a kid was that God was a fire-breathing menace who was looking for any excuse possible to punish you, and He would do so with much happiness and joy. And, uh, that’s not the idea of God that I find from the Scriptures. I find a gracious, loving God.

And so, uh, I think that a lotta people would struggle with the concept of a faithful, loving God in the face of all the losses that we’ve experienced as Americans. As a pastor, I know of many people that are working with less than they had three or four years ago. People whose hours have been cut. People whose contracts for work they depended on have been diminished greatly. People who’ve lost their jobs. People who are working jobs they never thought they’d work just because times have been so difficult for them. And so undoubtedly there may be many people, maybe a few – who knows? – that have experienced something like that, and I want to try to help you today from the Word of God…

You see, all of us have dreams, all of us have wishes, all of us have goals. All of us have things that we aspire to. I mean, nobody starts their life without an idealistic view of what can be, and that’s not a bad thing. But life sometimes deals us instances and situations that are way less than what we envision for ourselves.

Some of you had the dream of finishing your life with the person that you married as a starry-eyed twenty-two year old, and you found that as time went on you changed and now you’re facing life single and you never thought that would be your case. Some of you have wrestled with the fact that you want children. You’ve even gone so far as to decorate a nursery. You’ve thought about names. But you’ve found out recently that you can’t have children, and that’s less than what your dream was. Some of you are single and you desperately wanted to be married and it’s not happened yet and you’re frustrated with this. And to make matters worse, it seems like everybody else is experiencing the things that you wanted to be experiencing. Those end up being broken dreams; shattered dreams, and you find yourself living out a life that’s a different path than you intended.

As a pastor and somebody dealing with people I realize that no matter how much money you have or how little money you have or what your background is or how educated you are, everybody needs a healer. Everybody needs the help that comes from a savior.

Now, when you experience shattered dreams, when you experience less than what you envisioned, many people have various questions. One of them is “ Is there even a God?” because if there was a God, why is so much bad coming my way? Or, other people have the thought, “if there is a God, why is He mad at me? Why is He working against me?” And that’s uh, I’ve had Monday mornings like that where I’ll come to the office and I’ll be like – I’ll try to pray – and I’ll be like, “God, why do you hate me?” You know? And I’m joking of course, but I think if we’re all honest we’ve all had moments like that.

So the greater struggle, rather than “does God exist for me” is: If there is a God, and we know that there is, then why does so much hurt happen? Why is there so much pain and struggling? And we have to reconcile those two components: There is a God who loves us and yet there is pain and struggling in the world.

So what are you doing with shattered dreams?

What do you do when your life lived out now is less than the best that you envisioned for yourself?

The Scripture has all kinds of examples of those kinds of situations, and today I’m gonna tell you about David from 1 Samuel, chapter 21.

Now David was a unique guy. The Bible says he was a red head. Any red heads in the house? See? They’re always angry; you can hear them. No, I’m joking. The Bible says that he was a ruddy complected redhead. And some commentators even say that David was the illegitimate child of Jesse somehow; that he was not looked to like the others – that he was somehow less than the rest.

And so one day this prophet-priest Samuel came to their house and said,  “The Lord has called me to anoint a king for Israel out of your house.” And so Jesse starts bringing out all his sons, and his sons are just incredible studs.

I mean, they’ve got like, they’re manicured, you know, they’ve got a lot of manscaping[?] done on their face.  Some of them have blonde tips that have been dyed wonderfully and they come in with all of the spray tan on. They’re like, “Hey, what’s up?” and he’s like, “No, not you.”

The next guy comes along – he’s hot [hawt?], he’s handsome, he’s good lookin’, he’s smart, he can play three different instruments at the same time. He’s trying out for the priest, and he’s like, “No, not you.”

And so they go down this line of all these sons and none of them are chosen. And so Samuel goes to Jesse and is like, “Hey, is there anybody else?”  And he’s like, “Pfffft! Yeah, there’s David, but pfffft, this kid, you don’t want him. He’s out in the back forty tending my sheep, and he’s singing with his harp love songs to this God of his, blowing kisses at Him. You don’t want him; he’s a weirdo.”

He’s like, “No. Bring him in.”

And so here’s David, the illegitimate child, unwanted, on the back forty, and he comes in, and the next thing ya know, the oil of the anointing is being poured on him, and he is destined by God to be the next king of Israel. This is [not sure what was said here].  That was ‘Nacho Libre’ in case you didn’t know, the greatest film ever made.

“I’m concerned about you. You’ve not been baptized. You need to be baptized.”  If you don’t know ‘Nacho Libre’ that wouldn’t work for you, but if you do, that’s very powerful. Yes, I know.

So here’s David. He’s got this oil on him, ya know, and he goes back to the fields and he’s tending sheep.

Nothing changes.

He’s anointed for a purpose, but nothing changes. And that’s where frustration can happen in our lives.

We hear God leading us. We feel God calling us. Our heart becomes alive with a vision and a purpose and then nothing happens.

He’s back to the sheep.

So one day his brothers are out fighting, and dad calls him and says, “hey, take these cheese and crackers over to my sons over there.” And so he gets there and they start making fun of him immediately. They start, ya know, tearing him down, ya know. The brothers are pretty harsh on the younger brother David.

He gets there and he sees that these guys are terrified. They’re in their tents, ya know, terrified, painting their toenails, reading Vogue magazine, like a bunch of sissies. I said “sissies”, yes I did.

They’re not fighting this giant ‘cause they’re terrified.

There’s this giant named Goliath. You’ve heard of him maybe if you’ve read the Bible, but he’s a nine foot tall dude who’s massive, and he’d come out every day, and he’d say, “Fee fi fo fum”…he would just curse the children of Israel.

And so here’s David, this runt of a kid, unwanted by his own family. The only person that really wants him is God at this point. And he stands out there and he’s like, “You guys are in your tents painting each others’ toenails and reading Vogue magazine like a bunch of sissies, and this giant is out here” – he calls him an “uncircumcised Philistine”, which is like the worst way you could cut somebody in that day, ya know. He said, “He’s an uncircumcised Philistine, and you’re letting him – this dude over here – mock us?”

And so he like starts getting all anointed.

I mean he’s like, “I want you to know-ahhhh. I’m gonna go out there and fight tha devil-ah.” And he, this young, wet behind the ears, barely known kid, puts these rocks in his bag, then as the story goes, he goes up to Goliath. He takes his sling out. He throws a stone. He hits Goliath between the eyes, and the dude dies right there. And David runs up for good measure and grabs Goliath’s massive sword and cuts off his head and hits it like a golf ball after…

Oh, he didn’t do that, but that would make the story better if he did [lotta laughs from the crowd].

So here’s this, uh, this kid now, he’s like exalted immediately. The paparazzi are following him. He is now on the lips of every person in the kingdom of Israel.

Saul is impressed.

Saul is so impressed, he’s like, “Hey David, I’d like you to marry my daughter. And, uh, you’re not gonna pay taxes, and you’ll be eating at my table.”

David is like, ”Oh, [singing] I looooove you Lord! And I liiiift my voiiice!” He’s singing praise songs in the shower because everything’s coming together for him:

God anointed me.

It was all falling apart.

And now, here I am, finally God’s doing something with my life!

This must be the will of God-uh, ya know?

And so one day, the Bible says Saul would have these bouts with dark, dark places. And the Bible calls it an evil spirit would come on him. So an evil spirit would come on Saul, and to get that evil spirit to leave he would call David.

So David would come in with his harp, you know, the one that he sang out in the back forty with and he’d be there, and he’d be like, [begins to lay down a Lynyrd Skynyrd beat]  “Sweet Home Jeeer-us-alem! Where the skies are so blue! Sweet Home Saul’s Jerusalem! [crowd cheers] ..I’m coming home to you!”

And Saul’d be like, “Yeah!”

So that would work great for Saul and he began to depend on David. But then one day Saul just all of a sudden goes, “AaahhhhhhHHHHH, FREAK OUT!” [crowd laughs] and he takes this javelin, while David’s in the corner singing “Sweet Home Jerusalem”, and just [inserts sound effect] hurls it at poor little David.

So David’s like, “What is going on here? I killed Goliath. I was anointed on the back forty. Uh, my family doesn’t want me but God has chosen me. And now you, Saul, are trying to kill me?! What is going on here?”

I mean, what in the world…

And so now David has to run. He has to get outta there because Saul is going to kill him. So this is where we pick up in 1 Samuel chapter 21, and verse one.

He comes to this place and he’s got to figure out what to do. How many of you have had moments like that where everything’s lining up, ya know?

I finally met the right person. They’re awesome. They make my liver quiver. They make my toe jam. They make my heart burn. I can see my whole life out before me.

You got the promotion. They brought you in and gave you a raise.

You got the pregnancy test back. It’s positive.

Everything’s working out, and then things…start…to change. And that’s what happened to David. Things started to change.

David doesn’t feel like God’s with him anymore. It was easy for David to feel like God was with him when everything was going right. And then when Saul freaks out, he’s like, “Ya know what? I’m not so sure that I can count on God anymore.”

This is the same kid who had nothing going for him and God pulled him out of obscurity and said, “You will be anointed. You will be used.” And now that he’s got a little bit of notoriety, and now that a few things have gone right in his life, he, as we’ll see here, is starting to get unwilling to trust in God.

You see, most of us treat our lives like we’re the puppet master, ya know?

Where ya got your little puppet on the string and you’re makin’ it dance and you’re controlling everything and I am the worst – I am a control freak.

I will not go on roller coasters, like [?] got me on Thunderation one time – you know, that death trap at Silver Dollar City. I hate roller coasters. And she’s like, “You can get on this roller coaster. They put car seats on this roller coaster. You’re gonna be okay.”

And so I’m feeling this immense sense of shame. And so I get on this roller coaster, and I literally start freaking out. My face is white. If you’ve been raised in the church, I go into deep intercessory prayer, calling out to God with fervency and tears. People who are behind us are looking like I’m a freak. I don’t like that. I don’t like to be out of control.

When we’re driving somewhere, we have been known, she’ll pull over and we’ll switch seats because I’m critiquing everything she’s doing when we drive.

Oh I’m the only one, okay…I guess I’m in a room full of single people, never been married in the house.

You ever try to canoe with your spouse?

We did that one time. That was a nightmare.

We had to invest in thousands of dollars in marriage counseling after that.

Never canoe with your spouse.

I like to be in control.

And David wanted to be in control, because he had this assurance that good things were coming his way, and so he wanted to make sure that good things kept coming his way.

And so here’s what happened, verse one of 1 Samuel 21:

David came to Nob to Ahimelech the priest. And Ahimelech came to meet David trembling and said to him, “Why are you alone? Why is there nobody with you?”

This is strange.

David’s the anointed-to-be-king guy. Can you imagine Obama showing up, ya know, if you worked at a gas station and was like, “Can I have a Slurpee?”

Like, “Dude, where’s the Secret Service? Where are your people?” Ya know?

Where’s the dude with the football and the nuclear codes?

That’s what David was like there. He shows up and Ahimelech’s afraid, and so here’s what happened…verse two:

[reading] David said to Ahimalech the priest, “The king has charged me with a  matter and said to me, ‘Let no one know anything of the matter about which I send you, and with which I have charged you.’ I have made an appointment with the young men for such and such a place. Now then, what do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever is here.” [end reading]

David is scared. David has the king who has an army coming after him. David has the most powerful dude he knows ready to kill him, and he starts taking control back over of his life.

“I gotta keep the dream. I gotta keep my ideal vision together. And so, because of that, I’ve gotta control it.”

Listen, I want to tell you something: If you’re blessed. If you’re a Christian I guess I’ll say this to you – if you’re blessed, and you know God did it, and hard things come your way, do not compromise your God-given values in the pursuit of your God-given dreams. You cannot compromise yourself into God’s blessings. And that goes true for anything.

If you’re here today and like, “I don’t even know if I’m a Christian”, fine, let me tell you something: Don’t sell out. Don’t say, “I’ll tellya what, well I’ll just live with him for a little while – I will live with him for a little while and I will let him see how good I cook and how nice I clean and what a good woman I am – you know what I mean. And then he’ll be so awestruck that he will marry me.”

[makes buzzer sound] That’s not how it works.  He’ll be like, “Whoah, this is great! No commitment, too! Yeaaahhhh!”

Don’t sacrifice your values for your dreams!

You’re not gonna compromise your way into goodness. All right, we’re gonna calm down right now…

Verse eight:

Then David said to Ahimalech, “Then don’t you have a spear or a sword at hand?”

This is David after he’s lied here. He needs a weapon. He said, “I didn’t bring my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king’s business required haste.”

He’s lying. He’s saying, “What I was doing was so important that I didn’t stop to get weapons.” And really, the king’s business that required haste was to kill David. That’s why he had to run. He’s lying.

[reading] And the priest said, “The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you struck down in the Valley of Elah, behold, it is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you will take that, take it, for there is none but that here.” And David said, “There is none like that; give it to me.” [end reading]

I mean, look what God is trying to get David to wake up to? Here he is, running from Saul, he is weaponless, he comes to this place, he’s hungry, he’s destitute, he’s alone, and the only weapon that they have to give him is the weapon that was symbolic of his greatest victory that was won by the hand of God.

How many times in our lives, when we take control back over our lives, and try to say, “I got this”, and we try to work things on our own, that God doesn’t put things like that in our pathway to remind us that I am still Lord, I am still in charge, and you can still trust me.

Some of you want ministry so bad that you’re willing to do whatever you have to do to get to it, and you’re causing yourself to be compromised along the way. And if you’d open your eyes and see that God has some symbolic things He’s put in your path to remind you of his faithfulness, you wouldn’t feel like you had to control everything.

That was free.

Alright; no charge for that…

Now, if God was faithful enough to give David the victory over Goliath when the odds were completely stacked against him, and the only answer to how it happened was that the supernatural, invisible God of the Israelites won that battle for him – if God was faithful then, then why in the world is David lying and taking matters into his own hands now?

You and I can sum up – it’s getting preachy in here – can sum up the Christian life like this, one word: Trust.

That’s the Christian life. The essence of faith is trusting in God. If we trust Him, He’s Lord.

Over the last three years, our church, and I’m the lead pastor, has gone through a major theological and cultural transition.

I became the pastor of this church at twenty-six years of age; didn’t know anything. I was, uh, pretty naïve. And I think that was God’s plan. I think that God had a work to do that superseded the box of religion that we were dwelling in, and He kept me blind long enough to place me here at this church to change it to a Gospel-centered church, not a religion-centered church – not a man’s-religion-centered church.

So during that time we lost over half our membership and, uh, more thousands of dollars than I want to admit to, but God sustained us. During that time, we’d have people come up to us and say, Pastor, I just wanted to give you this Applebee’s gift card. Use it whenever you want.” I’d be like, “I’m using it right now, ‘cause I’m hungry and the babies are hungry.” We’d go two or three months without getting paid.

Food would show up. Checks would come in the mail. God provided.

Now, the problem was, is that the system that we were a part of dwelt and focused more on the fear of man than the fear of God. And I remember as I began to study the Word of God and see the grave disconnect between the practices of our church and the Word of God, I saw that gap – and, my God, I don’t know how to get us from here to there. I don’t have a clue. I know that it’s not pleasing you, but I don’t know how to fix this. And so I just began to seek God and pray. For like three years before we started moving, I began to pray and ask God, “Help me. Help me.”

So we began to progress and we began to change. And we began to teach the Word of God. Imagine that. For the Word of God, and one of the things that I began to do was to teach the book of Romans, the book of Galatians, line by line, verse by verse, and not even really preach it, just read it and explain it, you know. And people’s minds that were with us started to change and the other ones started hitting the door; people were leaving so fast, I would say it was like rats going off a sinking ship, but that’s a bad analogy.

And a lot of good people left us.

So, uh, while we were still fighting the battle – there’s a purpose to this story – while we were still fighting the battle, we had a business meeting. Every year the church has a business meeting if you abide by IRS guidelines. We were having a business meeting, and you should abide by IRS guidelines no matter who you are, thank you.

We had a business meeting and I had heard through the grapevine that they were gonna – that they had organized the people that didn’t like me – they were gonna come and they were gonna create a public scene. They were going to – they were going to lynch me. They were gonna call me out. They were gonna call for a vote of confidence. They were gonna do something – I don’t know what they were gonna do.

So I heard this and then, you know, I started having violent diarrhea.

I’m talking violent diarrhea.

Like Dumb and Dumber when he kicks his legs out straight…that violent!

Sickness…pain…struggle…

I’ll try to keep it PG-13 from here on out.

And so I just said, you know, “Lord, I was raised in the church, and if we have to have a good old fashioned church fight, I know how to do it. But I don’t think that’s what you want from me.”

And so in prayer, I said, “God, if you want to rescue this church, then you’re gonna have to rescue it, because I can’t rescue it.”

Here I am, 29, maybe 31, I don’t know – 29, 31, something like that – ya know, not, I don’t have the knowledge ability , depending on God here.

So that night, I was very dehydrated. Drinking [not sure what it was he said here]. And, uh, at four o’clock PM, on that day, the news castor came on, brother Brandon Beck, KY-3, said, “There’s an ice storm scheduled for this evening. This didn’t show up on our future cast, but there’s an ice storm coming this evening. We’ll see how bad it is.”

That night, I kid you not, an un-forecasted ice storm blew in and we had a very peaceful and calm business meeting, because everyone that hated me stayed home.

Now, that’s one of the few times in my life I got it right. I’m not saying that because, ‘Hey, look at me! I’m a supernatural Christian!’ No.

God help[ed?] me! If He calls you to do something, keep on trusting Him to do it! If He gave you a dream, and said, “I’m going to do this through you”, quit trying to be the puppet master and control it! Let God work it out! Because when He works it out, it’s absolutely better than when you get your fingerprints all over it.

Woo!

I don’t do that ‘cause I’m angry; I do that ‘cause I’m fired up.

So what’s the pattern you fall into when things start going out of hand for you? What do you do when it seems like your dreams aren’t gonna come true? What happens on the inside of you when that – when you have that fear of, “Oh no! God’s not gonna show up!” and you start popping pills…you start hittin’ the bottle…

What do you do?

Do you start lying?

Do you start stealing?

You start manipulating?

How do you respond when it seems like your dreams are being crushed in front of you?

Listen: This is the mistake David made – he thought he knew what God should be doing. Look at your neighbor and say, “You’re not God!” Look at the neighbor and say, “You ain’t Jesus! You ain’t the Prince of Peace!”

“You ain’t Messiah!”

And we all try to be our own functional savior and we get ourselves in all kinds of trouble when we assume that God must think and feel just like I’m feelin’ right now! And that’s not the case at all. God is God and I’m not Him and you’re not Him.

So here’s what happened, because David manipulated and lied and got Ahimelech to give him that sword, in 1 Samuel chapter 22, one of Ahimelech’s kids comes to David and tells him that Saul found out – a guy named Doeg told Saul, and Saul went back to that little town and he killed Ahimelech, his family, and 85 priests all because you lied, David.

And David’s like, “Oh no.”

And this is a turning point for David. Because, in that moment of time, when he realized his manipulation was not fixing the issue, he understood, “my way isn’t working.” My way isn’t working.

I love Dr. Phil.

He gets somebody up there, and he’s like, he just listens, ya know…draws it out of ‘em…

“So, how do you feel about this? What is your opinion about that?”

And then he gets them in this impossible situation, where they just look like a total fool, and he looks at ‘em and he drops his eyes and he says, “How’s that workin’ for ya?”

I just wanna like, “I’ll tell you how it’s workin’ for me right now: I may not have a psychology degree, but I fists…”

When it becomes apparent that our dreams aren’t coming true, that’s not the time to take things into your own hands. That’s when you need to lean on God.

When things aren’t going like you want them to go, it doesn’t mean that your life is spinning out of control, it just means that you’re not the one in control.

God’s not mad at you. He may be working something out that you have no concept of.

And you’re not really a Christian if you don’t say, “I trust You.”

Think about Abraham, the father of faith. God came to Abraham and said, “Abraham, I’ve got a land I wanna show you. I’m not gonna tell you where it’s at. I’m not gonna tell you how we’re gonna get there. Will you trust me?” And Abraham’s like, “Yes.”

That’s the essence of the Christian walk.

I don’t know where we’re going. I don’t know how we’re gonna get there. But I trust You.

For some of you, you’ve taken your faith in Jesus Christ and you’ve wrapped it around this dream of what He’ll do with your life. And now your faith and your dream are so intertwined that if your dream doesn’t come true, you’ll deny your faith. And you now have an idol.

You can take good things and make them God things and then they become bad things.

He is Lord. We are Christians.

Ya know?

We are not Trumpians, as in Donald Trump, ya know, he’s our founder. We’re gonna be all billionaires and everything’s gonna be wonderful. No. Jesus was a homeless man who died a suffering death. ..and sometimes suffering will come to the lives of believers, but the Scripture says the trying of your faith works maturity in your life. You gotta trust in God with the details.

And here’s the deal: David forgot. He forgot about the victories when he saw that sword, he shoulda remembered that God was able. And then he, there’s something in that text that should awaken all of us, and that is this, and I’m almost done…

Five loaves. There were five loaves. The Scripture says “five loaves” in that moment, and now we are New Testament Christians going back and reading this story and we see the word “five loaves” – if you remember something about five loaves, it is this: Jesus took five loaves and three fishes and multiplied them supernaturally and fed a multitude. What does this mean?

It means that you don’t have to manipulate anything. If you trust in God, He has the ability not to manipulate but to multiply and to bring about blessings.  Put your confidence in God today.

I remember as we were changing this church to be a place that would be hospitable for people to find Jesus, I remember standing over there, and I’m telling you, there were times on the early service when there’d be like thirteen people in here. I wouldn’t even open – people thought I was caught up in the spirit – no, I just didn’t want to look around…didn’t wanna know…literally thinking, “God, I hope – I hope you’re gonna rescue me. I hope you’re gonna rescue this church.”

And I’d say that out loud. A lot. We’d be worshipping and I’d be like, “Help us, God. Help us!” And Rene would say, “Stop it! Stop it! Pull yourself together! If God be for us, who can be against us?”

“I know, honey, I know…”

What God is doing here in this church – there is an expressing of the church that He’s raising up here. It’s not because of me. I’m just a slob doing my job.

Look at me. I sweat profusely.

It’s gotta be Jesus.

When I was dating, ya know, in high school and stuff, the girls would look at me and say, “That Tyler is hot…and sweaty.” And that was me.

Why are you here today?

Why are you here?

I know, yeah I know it’s not ‘cause of the postcard ‘cause my picture wasn’t on the postcard.

I mean, you’re here because God has a plan for your life. You may have not discovered it yet. You may not even know what it is, but I assure you that God has a plan for your life. And you may understand what that is or you may not even have a clue, but wherever you’re at in the journey, the Lord sent me here to tell you that, if the very same power that conquered the grave dwells in you, you have got to trust.

Jesus, in the suffering of His passion, prayed this prayer: “Not my will, but thine be done. If it’s possible, let this cup of suffering pass from me. But nevertheless, let your will be done.”

Because God’s plan with all of our lives is better than our manipulation of that plan.

God’s not mad at you.

You just need to trust Him.

God’s not mad at you.

You just need to trust him.

God’s not mad at you.

You just need to trust Him…and make Him Lord, and not just one of many things you’re serving.

Would you stand with me this morning.

Every head bowed, every eye closed, please…”

[More stories related to the coming release of Apathetic Christianity: The Zombie Religion of American Churchianity will be posted soon. Also feel free to check http://www.R3VOLUTIONPRESS.com for further details.]

Howdy Y’all,

(see my southern roots there?)

There is much to report but only a moment to spare, so, here we go…

The new book site is up at FireBreathingChristians.com.

Also, as a reminder, tomorrow morning from 8-8:30 Central Time, I will be interviewed on American Family Radio’s Matt Friedeman Show.

Here’s a link to the AFR network home page:

http://www.afa.net/radio/

Please pray over both of these things. Once the dust settles and I am able to tell the many amazing stories that have unfolded before my eyes and along my path over recent months, I will do so. I very much look forward to sharing them with you.

In the meantime, have a great day and live for the Kingdom!

Soli Deo Gloria…and let’s roll!

SAB

__________________________________________________________________________

Copyright 2010 S.A. Buss – Feel free to re-post this piece, but only with the copyright included and a link to Fire Breathing Christian whenever possible. Thank you!

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The Secular Inquisition

You and I live in a post-Christian America that is rapidly transitioning into an anti-Christian state. This shift can still be reversed, but only for a little while longer and only if the Common Believer embraces their responsibility to engage the culture. It is my prayer and hope that our God will make use of these words to encourage and empower you to that end.

The Fire Breathing Christian has become both an endangered species and the most feared of creatures from the liberal humanist perspective now dominating the scene. I am convinced that by removing Spirit- and fire-filled believers from that endangered list we can both help every anti-Christian leftist in the nation realize their darkest fears and return America to her God-glorifying foundation. Put another way, we can accomplish great things and have a whole lotta fun in the process.

We will begin our preparation for battle by considering one believer’s stand and the subsequent hate movement mobilized for her destruction. In this example we will find a great deal of valuable information concerning the nature and strategies of our opposition as well as a clear and powerful warning to every Common Believer who would dare take to the field of battle: You will be hated.

American culture is at war with God, His Word, and His people. The active suppression and silence of all Christian thought is a primary goal of the forces currently guiding secular civilization.  We now live in an age of Secular Inquisition and must prepare accordingly.

So I invite you now, one Common Believer to another, that we might begin this most important journey together in the name of the one true God, who is a consuming fire.

__________________________________________________________________________

Thank you again for taking the time to read through this portion of Fire Breathing Christians. As I mentioned earlier, more excerpts will be posted in the coming days.

I apologize for a few annoying formatting issues with regard to this post.  The book itself is definitely a polished, smooth production. Unfortunately, that polished smoothness didn’t cut and paste very well, so…

Your patience is much appreciated.

Pre-order and sale information will be posted in late October, 2010. (The Amazon.com listing will be up in the next week or two, as well.)

Thank you for your prayers and support!

SAB

www.FireBreathingChristian.com

Copyright 2010 S.A. Buss

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Nearly four months after the last post here, God has been very good to (and busy with) me, so there is a whole lot to report.

I will post much more in the way of detail in the next week or so, but, for now, here are the basics:

• The Fire Breathing Christians book and a new, related site will launch on October 31st. (A shell for the new site should be up by October 24.)
• I will be appearing on American Family Radio’s Matt Friedeman Show on Monday, October 25 from 8-8:30 AM. This will be the first of several appearances to be made in support of the book.
• I am now helping to write scripts for two videos (with more to come) with The Apologetics Group. One is called Is Gay OK? Ten Things Every Christian Needs to Know, and the other is entitled When the Bible Gets Ugly. Both should be winter releases (though When the Bible Gets Ugly might make it as a late fall release).

Full details regarding each of these items will be coming soon. I am very sorry for the lack of posts lately, but with all that’s been happening on these multiple fronts, I trust that you will understand. I am more thankful for your patience and prayers than you can know!

It’s been a wild, strange, and exciting ride over the last couple of years, and it looks like things are about to get really interesting.

I look forward to sharing with you all as much as possible as soon as possible. Thank you again for all of your encouragement, support, and especially your prayers.

Soli Deo Gloria…and let’s roll!

S

When a Christian is born through their supernaturally imposed spiritual regeneration, they are made anew. They are fundamentally transformed in an instant. They are literally brought from spiritual death to spiritual life. In that magnificent moment of conversion, they are made into what God describes in His perfect Word as “new creatures”.

As new creatures, these reborn men, women, boys, and girls become defined and definable by new parameters, and they are imbued with a new heart, a new will, and a variety of amazing new abilities and attributes.

The attribute I’d like to touch on briefly here is that of new vision.

New creatures have new vision, and new vision brings with it a new perception of depth.

In much the same way as our physical vision makes use of two distinct perspectives in order to acquire a more accurate understanding of the physical world in which we live, so too does our new spiritual vision make use of two previously unknown perspectives, so that we might have clarity that we could never have known prior to conversion.

The first perspective clarifying truth attained through the new creature’s new vision is that of God’s holy nature. 

The second pertains to the true nature of man, both before and after regeneration.

With these previously unknown and unknowable truths brought into focus for the first time at the moment of a believer’s rebirth, they are given the spiritual equivalent of depth perception.

Just as two physical eyes are crafted to provide physical depth perception, so too are the twin truths of the complete holiness of God and the total depravity of man crafted so that they instantly and effortlessly illuminate depths that are not even noticed, much less understood or appreciated, by the spiritually dead, unrepentant, and unregenerate man, woman or child.

With this new vision, once self-absorbed God haters get a first glimpse at the pure holiness of the God they once openly mocked and sought to violate with every thought and deed. They finally gain the slightest sense of the depth of their guilt, and they are broken.

With this new vision, God’s adopted sons and daughters see the depths of the condition from which He chose to save them. They finally begin to see what they never could before: That they were completely dead and doomed to suffer the righteous wrath of the holy God against whom they had completely rebelled.

And through these profound revelations, the true depth of God’s grace is brought into focus…though not completely.

Not on this side of our physical regeneration, anyway. But in every day between this day and that promised one to come, our new vision will serve to guide us ever closer in relationship with and appreciation of our perfect Father, all to our eternal joy and all to His eternal glory.

SAB

www.FireBreathingChristian.com

__________________________________________________________________________

Copyright 2010 S.A. Buss – Feel free to re-post this piece, but only with the copyright included and a link to Fire Breathing Christian whenever possible. Thank you!

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You say you want a revolution

Well you know

We all wanna change the world…

~ The Beatles

 

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

~ Jesus (the real one) 

Everybody wants a revolution. They sure seem to, anyway.

Nike wants one. Apple wants one. Chick-fil-A even wants one.

Every two years, the party out of power wants one.

Sexuality always wants one. The body count on that one stands somewhere north of 41,000,000 (and counting) in America alone. And that’s just the death toll on one of multiple fronts, mind you. Talk about a revolutionary war with casualties…

Fashion, technology, cars, video games, music, literature, film…even politics, sex, spirituality, and religion. Perpetual revolution is the way of the world. Revolution for the sake of revolution. Change for the sake of change. Movement without purpose or direction based on the notion that it always beats standing firm.

Revolution is popular, and we love popular. So it is that we must love revolution.

It’s hip. It’s cool. It’s serious, too. And the way that the whole revolution concept manages to cover everything from the hip and trendy to the serious and profound tells us something about its inherent power, scope, and appeal as an idea.

Yeah, everybody wants a revolution, and they all want you to join in.

Any self-respecting revolutionary lives to recruit, and these days they are programmed to do just that on behalf of the perpetual revolution machine that is popular culture. There’s always a new style, sound, and feel to pitch, and producers of the pitch are counting on their properly programmed pawns to do the work of spreading the latest and greatest good news of the millisecond where the most recently culturally coronated cool game, band, diet, look, sound, or thought is concerned.

It’s all about networking, don’t ya know. Oddly enough, most of those doing the bidding of ”revolutionaries” like The Beatles, Sony, Hollywood, and Madison Avenue don’t know. They have no idea how, why, when, where, or even that they have been so thoroughly programmed. They simply hear, obey, and regurgitate. They are defined by the world and they live accordingly. They “just do it”.  And the “it” in question is: advertise.

They do it on their Facebook pages and Twitter feeds. They do it in their phone conversations and around the table when they bother to sit down and eat. They do it in the car with friends and at restaurants. They do this evangelical pop-culturist routine pretty much all the time. It’s who they are and what they’ve become, all by design.

You see, these pop-culture programmed little revolutionaries are inherently evangelical.

And, for a long time now, evangelicals have been very revolutionary. Only in a bad way.

The styles and modes of revolution practiced by most of evangelicalism in America over the past several decades have, for the most part, been expressions of open rebellion against biblical truth.

American Churchianity has been swept up, chewed up, and spit out by a secular culture that is very pleased with the resultant transformation of adversary into ally. The church has been conformed to the world she was commissioned to transform.

Where once we were known for Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield, we are now known for Joel Osteen and Rick Warren. Where once our society was led and shaped by those with a high view of God and His Word, we are now inspired by any of a million different leaders heading as fast as they can in their million different directions from truth.

We now live in a supposedly Christian nation utterly dominated by fundamentally anti-Christian characters and concepts. From Flu Shot Jesus and The Artists Formerly Known as The Emergent Church to “Best Life Now” Carnal Christianity and Purpose Driven Evangelicalism, American Churchianity has largely abandoned the truth of Scripture as its guiding light and has subsequently stumbled down every dark alley towards which she has been nudged by her enemy.

A Mr. Potato Jesus brand of name-it-and-claim-it, man-centered spirituality and religion on demand has taken hold.

Welcome to the Progressive cultural and religious revolution!

We’ve revolutionized education.

We’ve revolutionized sexuality.

We’ve revolutionized family.

And right about now we’re revolutionizing economics.

So we see that, for much of the time since the American Revolution, major revolutions in America haven’t gone very well from a biblical perspective. They’ve been, for the most part, vehicles for decline and darkness in a land that once cherished truth, understood the nature of true liberty, and exalted the one true God of biblical Christianity.

So is revolution always a bad thing, then?

Nope.

Not at all.

It’s just that, like almost anything wicked little fallen people get their hands on, we are very prone to mess it up.

The bad news is that we’ve managed to do just that, both with great intensity and over a long stretch of time. America has been radically changed, one individual at a time, from a God-fearing, Scripture-loving, magnificently blessed bright and shining light in a world of darkness, to a hollowed out husk on the verge of death by a thousand suicidal decisions born of a thousand suicidal delusions.

The good news is that Jesus is God.

And He saves.

He saves people. One at a time.

These people make up families, towns, cities, states, and nations.

These people make up movements, too.

They start revolutions.

And, make no mistake, this is precisely what is happening…right here…right now…

C.S. Lewis put it this way:

 

“Enemy-occupied territory – that’s what this world is. Christianity is the story of how the rightful king has landed and is calling us all to take part in a great campaign of sabotage.”

 

The call has gone out. The command has been given.

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

The ultimate insurrection is now underway.

 And it’s gonna be good!

…to be continued in “Reformation>Revival>Revolution (2 of 3)” - to be posted soon…

____________________________________

By the grace of God, I’ve been given what seems to be nothing short of a miraculous opportunity through the good folks at WorldNetDaily and WND Books. My book, Fire Breathing Christians: The Transformative Power of the Common Believer, has just been listed at Amazon and, Lord willing, will be released on September 14. My aim with this work is to encourage just the sort of Reformation, Revival and Revolution that has been touched upon in these three blog posts. This is truly an amazing opportunity to bring a Christ-centered approach to the culture war that has ravaged America. Your prayers are coveted as I go about the risky business of tackling scores of the most serious issues in what will surely be a controversy inspiring manner. I am new to all of this, so please pray that I might be granted the ever-elusive perfect combo of boldness and grace (and basic competence, too…yeah, that would be nice).

As the long pre-release ramping up process rolls along, I’d appreciate it if you’d check out the listing of the book, read through the summary below and, if you have any thoughts (good, bad, or anywhere in between), please feel free to shoot me an email. I will read ‘em all and do my best to respond, though it may take a little time.

If you know of anyone who would be interested in this message, please forward it on to them. In this age of instant communication and networking, your help with this particular piece of revolution marketing can accomplish far more good than you probably realize. That said, please do not randomly send this info, blanket email folks, or anything like that. Only send this on to those whom you have very good reason to believe would enjoy and be encouraged by the themes in Fire Breathing Christians. This whole “Fire Breathing” deal is going to be annoying enough to folks on the other side of that coin. We don’t want or need to add unnecessarily to that offense.

I have no idea at this point whether it will be used or not, but, in order to help you get a better feel for the book, here’s an advance look at the copy that I submitted for the back/inside cover.  (All written material copyright 2010, S.A. Buss) :

___________________________________

Fire Breathing Christians is a pew-to-pulpit plea for reformation, revival, and revolution. The church has been infiltrated, redefined, and led down a path to man-made, man-centered religion and spirituality. A Mr. Potato Jesus brand of pick-and-choose truth now dominates the church.

In its postmodern abandonment and purpose-driven surrender of the Gospel’s essential penetrating edge, American Churchianity has exchanged the perfect, supernaturally forged Sword of Truth for an endless supply of flimsy, pathetic little man-made sporks. In strict theological terms, this is known as “really dumb”.  And “really dangerous”.

In a bold call to Christ-centered culture warfare, Fire Breathing Christians encourages and equips Common Believers to identify and overcome every enemy of the Gospel, including: 

• Progressive Religion – Postmodernism’s war on biblical truth has a gang of giggling, happily heretical allies in The Artists Formerly Known as The Emergent Church.
• Progressive Politics – The man-centered “social gospel” is built upon a foundation of Christ-less hope and Christ-less change. This anti-Gospel is the engine that powers the Progressive political movement.
• Purpose Driven Evangelism – In its embrace of Flu Shot Jesus and Carnal Christianity for the sake of secular appeal, American Churchianity has largely assumed the role of warm and friendly escort to Hell.
• The Goat Driven Church – Through its purpose driven business model and “Best Life Now” appeals to greed and narcissism, American Churchianity has been occupied, defined, and dominated by the anti-Christian “goat”.
• Compulsory “Charity” – Once its voluntary aspect is removed, Christian charity is murdered. Compulsory charity is a biblical oxymoron, but it is a required step down the Progressive path to socialism.
• Murder for Convenience – Where Nazi Germany murdered millions for horrific reasons, Progressive America has one-upped her super-state sister by murdering tens of millions of the most innocent for mere convenience.

In every vital area of consideration, Fire Breathing Christians points directly towards the only solution with the power to save a person, a nation, a culture, or a world:

The whole, undiluted Gospel of Jesus Christ.

This is the banner under which we must formulate every strategy and fight every battle. This is our source of true hope, peace, and joy. This is the banner that we must restore as our guiding standard in all things. This is our Reformation…our Revival…our Revolution…

We were made for such a time as this.

___________________________________

Thank you for taking the time to read and prayerfully consider these things. Your thoughts, support, and especially your prayers are coveted! Together, Lord willing, we will see great positive change in this wounded culture as we swim deep, make waves, and endeavor to exalt the whole, undiluted Gospel of Jesus Christ as the essential first solution to any problem facing any individual, city, or nation. This is the message of Fire Breathing Christians.

Soli Deo Gloria…and let’s roll!

SAB

www.FireBreathingChristian.com

__________________________________________________________________________

Copyright 2010 S.A. Buss – Feel free to re-post this piece, but only with the copyright included and a link to Fire Breathing Christian whenever possible. Thank you!

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Whitey hates blacks.

Whitey hates women.

And Whitey definitely hates Mexicans. Even more than he hates kittens, smiles and sunshine.

He lives to use, abuse, plunder and murder at every turn. That’s just what Whitey does.

Man, I hate Whitey more with every keystroke…and I’m white!

Whitey hates so much that he won’t even allow socialized medicine, socialized housing, open borders with Mexico, the dismantling of the U.S. military, or the disarming of the legal American citizenry. Yeah, this Whitey dude is that bad.

Clearly Whitey and his oppressive, inhumane, imperialistic and intolerably cruel America both deserve to die. They must be stopped. They must be destroyed. Only with the America of old left burnt to the ground (figuratively or literally – either is fine) will we finally be able to realize the “fundamental change” needed to make the world right again. You know, like in all of those other fine socialist countries…Greece, for example.

But who will rise to this noble cause?

Who will crush the imperialists and liberate the oppressed working class?

Who will take what the “rich” (read: anyone working hard to earn more than $40K) have and “spread that wealth” equally?

Who will destroy the profit motive and bring down the capitalist system?

Barack can’t do it alone. Not that he isn’t tryin’. 

It’s just that more is needed. More hope. More “fundamental change”. More progress. The One needs a good number two to make it all happen. A colorful sidekick, if you will.

We need more organizing of communities for the purpose of destroying the United States. We must foment more rage amongst those who are being cheated by the suppression of socialism in America. And we can always use more destruction of the core values that made America the single greatest nation known in all of recorded human history. But this is simply too much progress for one – even the One – man to achieve.

Fortunately for Barry O and the Progressives, Amerika has its second savior in as many years:

Machete!

Welcome to Hollywood. Land of a million self-loathing American dreams and birthplace of the latest cool new “race war” fad.

And welcome to Machete!, the latest star-laden assault on everything that made these idiotic stars possible in the first place.

Machete was ”once a decent man”. Really. After all, you can obviously trust Hollywood to know what makes for a decent guy.

He was even “living a decent life”, just in case that first wave of “decent” didn’t do the trick.

But now…now…thanks to Whitey and his draconian crackdown on ridiculous things like “crime”, now Machete “is a brutal savage who must slaughter to stay alive”.

See what Whitey did? He made poor little innocent and decent Machete get all brutally savage and stuff… 

Bad, bad Whitey!

Whitey deserves Machete/machete, and he’s gonna get ‘em both! So bring on the righteous rage, mayhem, destruction and slaughter of Whitey’s America. There will be death. There will be mayhem. There will be Machete justice!

For Progressives, this is what qualifies as “the feel good hit of the summer”.

If we could just ship this Machete yahoo to Pandora, we might be on to something. I’d actually pay to see that Avatar sequel. But I digress…and I surely just got blacklisted for suggesting that anyone anything like Machete be “shipped off” to anywhere.

While the forces of tolerance and progress tarry and we have a moment before their planned storm of change, consider the following:

1. Legal immigration is beautiful!
2. Illegal anything is…*drumroll*… illegal. 
3. Every other nation has enforced border control.
4. Mexico has some of the most stringent border control standards on earth; many refer to them as “draconian”. Just ask any discontent Guatemalans with an eye toward their northern borders.
5. There is only one race in this discussion. It’s called “human”. Feel free to check into it if your Hollywood/Progressive indoctrination has you doubting that one.

Finally, if you should wonder how you might deal with a real-life Machete coming to your home to bring Progressive “justice” to you and your family, just remember: The second amendment is a beautiful thing.

Use it.

While you still can.

And you can even incorporate a little Hollywood into your Machete stopping routine if you like, as in, “Two in the chest. One in the head.” That’s from Collateral.

Thanks, Hollywood! You’re the best!

.

My book, Fire Breathing Christians: The Transformative Power of the Common Believer, has just been listed at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. It will be released on September 14. Your thoughts, support, and especially your prayers, are much appreciated!

www.FireBreathingChristian.com

__________________________________________________________________________

Copyright 2010 S.A. Buss – Feel free to re-post this piece, but only with the copyright included and a link to Fire Breathing Christian whenever possible. Thank you!

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Meet Butch.

Butch has quite a tale to tell, and telling it has served him well.

He has fortune. He has power. He has fame. And each of these were brought Butch’s way through the creative use of his compelling story.

The Story of Butch has all of the key ingredients that make for a hit: drama, struggle, tragedy, pain and triumph. One of the greatest triumphs, at least in the material sense, came when Butch landed a primo gig as President of Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary at Liberty University – founded by Jerry Falwell – in Lynchburg, Virginia. This intriguing tangle of trials and victories over many long years’ time is, in many ways, a classic American success story.

The long road to Liberty began for Butch when he was born in a far away, exotic land to a very serious Muslim family. There he grew deep in his family’s traditions, transitioning into a young man deeply committed to the religion of the prophet Muhammad. As a teenager, Butch moved with his family to America, where his devotion to Islam caused him serious grief in a culture that he believed to be filled with Christians who hated him for his openly flaunted commitment and devotion to Allah.

But Butch found at least some American Christians to be more than willing to kindly interact with him. This interaction produced the most wonderful sort of triumphal moment when Butch was, as he likes to say, “elected because I selected” to make Jesus Lord and became a Christian.

Butch then surged into his new found faith. In subsequent years, he studied, learned, and earned numerous degrees en route to establishing – or at least promoting – himself as a “front line apologist”, willing to defend his religious vision anywhere that said defense might be required. He was knowledgeable, aggressive and skilled in the defense of his faith, and was happy to use his talents for the purpose of advancing the evangelical kingdom.

He would “debate anyone, anywhere, anytime”, or so the line went.

And debate he did!

For years he engaged  in debates with top tier representatives from scores of counter-Christian worldviews and religions. He told terrific tales of these epic encounters and used their dramatic details to further establish himself as battle proven warrior of the faith.

His proclamations were frequent and bold.

His ascendancy to celebrity and power within an evangelical community left starving for answers to Islam in a post-9/11 world was meteoric.

He was “the man” when it came to discussions of Islam from a Christian perspective.

He co-wrote books, gave lectures, made the circuit…yeah, Butch had clearly found his place. His niche. His market.

If you’re an evangelical in America, the odds are quite good that you know of Butch. Though not necessarily as Butch.

Somewhere between his selection of election and subsequent ascendancy  to the seat of power and celebrity that he currently holds at Liberty University, “Butch” decided to revert to his birth name:

Ergun Caner.

Ergun Caner has since become not just a name but a brand.

Ergun has made a name, reputation and career out of his “front line apologetics” persona.

His stirring resume has taken Ergun far. It is powerful stuff. It’s compelling, inspiring and remarkable in so many ways.

It’s also untrue.

In just as many ways as Ergun’s story is amazing, it is also fiction.

The light began to shine on Ergun in the aftermath of the cancellation of one of those heavyweight, title-bout type super-debates he had become so famous for talking about.

In this instance, the one-time debate opponent was Dr. James White, of Alpha and Omega Ministries. Unlike most of the prior events credited to Caner by Caner, the debate involving James White was more of an intra-faith encounter on many issues pertaining to the theology of the Protestant Reformation. In this event, Dr. Caner was to represent dominant view in contemporary American Christianity, which embraces a synergistic soteriology (meaning that man holds the key decision – and therefore critical and essential power – in determining his salvation). Dr. White was to represent the monergistic position on salvation as embraced during the Reformation by the likes of Luther and Calvin. This position holds that God is in complete control where man’s salvation is concerned.

In the aftermath of the debate’s cancellation, there were a variety of public comments made by both sides. In response to many of the general and specific claims of Dr. Caner, Dr. White posted a video clip online that presents some of Caner’s more interesting claims in his own words (including the contention that formal debates have become far less useful because “myopic Reformed folks” have “taken over” these events and that this has produced a result “like the Jerry Springer Show”).

The video includes numerous apparent contradictions in Caner’s general presentation, along with a rather Jerry Springer like clip of him being tased on stage as part of some sort of somehow evangelical event (and one apparently more worthy of his participation than formal debates).

The reasons for Dr. White’s response are substantive.

Dr. White has spent his life cultivating and deploying skills in the very area in which Dr. Caner has built his name, reputation, and brand. As his publicly available and verifiable bio makes plain, Dr. White has a long history of serious, scholarly debate. Dr. White has debated top tier representatives of  counter-Christian systems of belief. Dr. White has made himself available to respectfully debate scores of the very best that “the other side” may have to offer. In short, Dr. White does what Dr. Caner claims to have done.

The Legend of Ergun Caner has only just begun to reap its natural consequences.

And as the next chapter of this unfortunate saga unfolds, many will be watching.

Potential Muslim converts will be watching.

Christians will be watching, many of whom came to Liberty University due in no small part to the hype of one Dr. Ergun Caner.

A secular world will be watching.

And what will they see?

Will the cult of personality or celebrity successfully insulate Ergun Caner from criticism?

Will truth be pursued vigorously by the professing Christian community in America?

Will Christians live up to their hype?

And what will Liberty University do? What are the values of that institution and how will they impact this whole unfortunate situation?

In light of the many revelations that have already come, the Ergun Caner brand that has been sold so well for so long now warrants serious re-evaluation.

Jihad Butch must be vetted.

Better late than never.

.

www.FireBreathingChristian.com

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Writing copyright 2010 Scott Alan Buss – Feel free to re-post this piece, but only with the copyright included and a link to Fire Breathing Christian whenever possible. Thank you!

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Not so long ago, in a galaxy not nearly far enough away…

Actually just a few weeks back and in this galaxy – on this very planet, even - there was a particular mansion-wandering mega-consumer and hyper-capitalist who was basking in the glow of his most recent multi-gazillion dollar earning success story. Well, this particular success was much more effects than story driven, but I digress. The bottom line here is that, in the wake of the record setting and pop-culture shaping impact of his latest cinematic creation, the mega-consumer in question was taking the opportunity to do a whole lotta interviews and take a whole lotta shots at those who he perceived to be enemies.

Fair enough.

No complaints there. Actually, I love it when this kind talks. The more, the better.

One clip that I saw featured this guy in-between taking shots at Glenn Beck, blathering on about how his freely chosen and exuberantly pursued way of life is killing mommy earth and the rest of us right along with her. He didn’t put it quite that way, of course, because he and all elite liberals progressives are entitled to live as demigods among the sacrificial masses, but his ramblings did appropriately focus on the truth of global warming and how anyone who denies the truthiness of said truth is a moron.

He completely believes in global warming. He completely embraces a lifestyle of material excess and resource swilling without limit. And he completely thinks that something should be done to save mommy earth from the certain and imminent death she faces at the hands of…guys just like him. But not him. Get it?

Clever guy. 

You know the type. A luxury indulging, sacrifice-for-others preaching, mommy earth wrecking, egomaniacal, truth murdering machine. A man after Michael Moore’s own overworked little heart.

Fortunately, before I even had time to allow the rants and raves of  eco evangelist Captain Avatard to settle in deep enough to inspire anything more serious than a chuckle, God graciously provided me with a pretty sweet curve ball in the form of a simple but very comforting and exciting notion. It had little to do with any of Avatard’s complaints, attacks, rank hypocrisy or “challenges” to Glenn Beck. Nope, quite appropriately, this beautiful thought just left the flailing whiner cold while moving me along to subjects of actual substance and joy.

The concept went something like this: Someday, and soon, the arts will be restored along with the rest of God’s fallen, corrupt creation. They will be elevated to heights currently inconceivable to the human mind. And that’ll just be their starting point. It’s all up, up and away from there, if you can imagine that…and you can’t, really.

Each and every Christian will play an active role in this process.

Every creative spark and impulse woven into their uniquely crafted bodies, minds, and spirits will finally find perfect fruition through unfettered expression, exploration, and enjoyment without end. They will constantly improve, grow, learn and, above all else, praise the Lord eternally through the ever-improving practice of their God given talents in an environment free from sin, corruption, decay, and Hollywood.

Painters will paint. Builders will build. Dancers will dance. Writers will write. Every talent and desire will be realized. Perfectly.

New forms of expression will be unveiled and cultivated. New goals will be discovered and attained. New challenges will be identified and overcome.

All without end.

Creative expression, joy, and praise will be intertwined eternally to the glory of God and the bliss of His children. We will learn more and praise Him more completely with every step taken towards a better understanding of His nature through the endless revelations resulting from the practice of His arts.

For many of us, this truth can be a great comfort as we struggle, sacrifice, and face the often intense persecution that we are promised as we obediently serve Him here in this dark and dying world.

Every obedient father who sets aside many a personal aspiration, dream and preference while diligently working to honor his family obligations in a manner not of his choosing will one day be rewarded. Every obedient mother who similarly sets aside personal ambition and goals for the sake of honoring her family obligations will one day be rewarded. Every child who sacrificed much and was persecuted for doing so in a culture at war with God, truth, and genuine beauty will be rewarded. Every child born and every adult afflicted with a limitation or handicap, from the minor to the extreme, will one day soon find themselves there, in that place, free to fly without restraint.          

This is where Christians will one day be.

This is where they will dance…sing…write…build…explore…craft…play…and laugh. Laugh as never before.

And while in this quickly coming world there will be laughter the likes and depths of which we cannot now comprehend, there will also be a place where there is no laughter.

None.

Ever.

And there will be many people in that place.

There is much in the way of sad irony here, as those who effortlessly quote and reflexively submit to a plethora of Christ-less pop culture icons yet have no desire to learn of or submit to God through His perfect Word will never even have a taste or glimpse of the coming world where true artistic talent will bloom unrestrained. They will know nothing of what great art – even in its earliest stages - can be. They will wonder about this place, but they will never know it. They will be banished forever from its light along with the rest of the fallen world of darkness that so captivated, defined, and ultimately consumed them.

Those who wanted heaven but never wanted God will have neither.

They will be separated from all that is beautiful and good.

Forever.

Theirs will be an unending conscious torment coupled with and amplified by the full realization that everything beautiful and good is unfolding in its undiluted form at that very moment – and every moment to come –  in a land that they will never see. There will be eternal weeping. There will be gnashing of teeth.

And, quite possibly, infinite Avatar sequels.

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www.FireBreathingChristian.com

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Copyright 2010 S.A. Buss – Feel free to re-post this piece, but only with the copyright included and a link to Fire Breathing Christian whenever possible. Thank you!

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As Christians, we worship and serve the one true and Almighty God.

That gets cooler to me every time I think about it. I’m sure that you who are also Christians feel the same way. And hopefully that means it gets cooler to you and to me quite often, since we should be naturally inspired to frequently dwell on His nature.

His sheer power is nothing short of incomprehensible to our finite little minds, and that’s one of many great reasons that we have for our constant awe, wonder, and amazement over Him.

That said, I’ve got a natural tendency that I think comes to most of us where this “Almighty” idea is concerned, and when I take the time to consciously check it when it rears its ugly head, I invariably shift into a much higher gear of the aforementioned awe, wonder and amazement. It works for me every time, so I wanted to share just in case it might help you a bit too.

First off, we as Christians tend to have a hierarchy in mind with God at the top. This, for the most part, is a very good thing.

One potential less-than-good-thing about it can be our natural tendency to default to placing limitations on things that we imagine or represent conceptually. With this in mind, it’s easy for us to end up with a hierarchy composed of things with God being the thing at the top, but, often times unconsciously, we then think of Him as existing within certain limitations that actually do not apply.

While we are likely to assume God rightly occupies the Top Spot, and therefore holds the titles of Most Mighty and Most Powerful, this is not enough.

All Mighty is much more than Most Mighty. Infinitely more. And we need to remember that as best we can.

Of course, an All Mighty God instantly qualifies for Most Mighty status as well, but often times there are limitations assumed with Most Mighty that are easily shaken off when we pause to consider just what it means to be All Mighty, as the God of biblical Christianity is known to be.

If we’re not careful, especially when we don’t pause to consider this All Mighty nature of His, we are often times automatically inclined to think of Him as much, much less than what and who He truly is. Infinitely less.

Many of us automatically imagine Him – again, not inaccurately, but under-accurately (I make words almost as effortlessly as God makes galaxies) – as merely being more powerful than everything else under Him on the descending flow chart of created things in our minds. We see Him as more powerful and more mighty than fern trees, grasshoppers, seagulls and sharks. We rank Him well above storms, oceans and even planets and stars. We even place Him over angels, demons, and people.

We see God as Most Mighty when we place Him here, and this is a good thing.

But when we realized that He is All Mighty as well, then it gets a whole lot better…and a whole lot more intimidating…and a whole lot more wonderful.

This All Mighty God holds all might. This All Powerful God holds all power.

For you numbers folks, the balance of power and might goes something like this:

God – 100%

All that comprises His creation – 0%

Every bit of power that every fish, person, planet or star operates with is continually flowing from Him, as it must, because all true power is always His. He is the source of all power at all times and in all places.

The physical power required for every breath that we take is given by God in the moment that the breath is taken. It must be, as it is His.

Every gust of wind, note of song, and spark of thought is powered by His power. Every roll of thunder and exploding star does its thing on His schedule with His power all according to His plan.

Nothing that occurs does so without power given actively by Him in that moment so that it might come to pass all according to His eternal plan to display each of His holy attributes to perfection and bring maximum glory to Himself in the process.

Now that is God.

At least more so than the “most mighty” version that can creep into mind if we let it…

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www.FireBreathingChristian.com

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Copyright 2010 S.A. Buss – Feel free to re-post this piece, but only with the copyright included and a link to Fire Breathing Christian whenever possible. Thank you!

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