It's Not The End Of The World (probably)

89-year-old Harold Camping of Oakland, California seems to think he's got it all figured out. I don't think he does.

I think he's doing his part to give Christianity a bad name, but that doesn't mean this week is a bad time to ponder your relationship with your Creator. I do think it's a bad time to quit your job, sell your house, charge a fortune on your credit cards, or shave your head and go sit on a hill to wait for The Rapture.

I won't waste much more time on this, but I will refer you to Jesus himself, who said in Matthew 24 verse 36, "Of that day and hour no man knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only." Camping tries to explain here, but in my opinion it's a swing and a miss. See you Sunday then?
Love,
derifter

You Can't Handle The Truth?

I find it odd that as born-again Christians, many of us hesitate to enter into the amazing truth that God has spoken about us. I could retire a little earlier if I had a nickel for every time I've heard a Christian, even preachers, qualify exciting things that God has done in them personally (or us as a body) by sheepishly adding something along the lines of, "...not that I could have done it without the help of God...". Okay, let's just put that to rest: Most people already knew you couldn't have done it without the help of God! You're not that good.

I'm talking about Christians who wear sinfulness and unworthiness almost like a badge of honor. Are we afraid that if we live like what God says about us is true, we'll fall into pride? I think there's a danger of falling the other way too, and downplaying what God has done in us. I think it's even a form of unbelief. Say for example, the idea that over the years God has cleaned up the way I think. That blows me away! But you never hear it said without the cling-on phrase, "But I still have a lonnng way to go..." Well, of course we do. But I say let's celebrate what God has done. I'm telling you that God HAS cleaned up the way I think. And I'm thankful for it, pure and simple. I have no pride in it, it's His doing. But I take joy in the fact that He is working in me, and I can see the results. If you can't see results in your life, you need to wonder why. If He's given us new life, and a new nature, why do we want to downplay that? Let's get that thing out in the open and see what it'll do! How holy can we possibly live?