Ben Stein's Speech: Thoughts?

The following was written by Ben Stein and recited by him on CBS
Sunday Morning Commentary.


My confession:

I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it
does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful
lit up, bejeweled trees Christmas trees. I don't feel threatened. I
don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are: Christmas
trees.

It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, "Merry Christmas" to me. I
don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a
ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it. It shows that we are all brothers
and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn't bother me
at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection
near my beach house in Malibu. If people want a creche, it's just as
fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.

I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don't think
Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think
people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around,
period. I have no idea where the concept came from that America is an
explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution and I
don't like it being shoved down my throat.

Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that
we should worship Nick and Jessica and we aren't allowed to worship
God as we understand Him? I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old,
too. But there are a lot of us who are wondering where Nick and
Jessica came from and where the America we knew went to.

In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is
a little different: This is not intended to be a joke; it's not funny,
it's intended to get you thinking.

Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane
Clayson asked her "How could God let something like this happen?"
(regarding Katrina) Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and
insightful response.
She said, "I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are,
but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get
out of our government and to get out of our lives. And being the
gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect
God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave
us alone?"

In light of recent events...terrorists attack, school shootings, etc.
I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her
body found recently) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools,
and we said OK.
Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school. The Bible
says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor
as yourself. And we said OK.

Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they
misbehave because their little personalities would be warped and we
might damage their self-esteem (Dr. Spock's son committed suicide). We
said an expert should know what he's talking about. And we said OK.

Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why
they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to
kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves.

Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it
out. I think it has a great deal to do with "WE REAP WHAT WE SOW."

Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the
world's going to hell. Funny how we believe what the newspapers say,
but question what the Bible says. Funny how you can send 'jokes'
through e-mail and they spread like wildfire but when you start
sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing.
Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through
cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school
and workplace.

Are you laughing?

Funny how when you forward this message, you will not send it to many
on your address list because you're not sure what they believe, or
what they will think of you for sending it.

Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us
than what God thinks of us.

Pass it on if you think it has merit. If not then just discard it...
no one will know you did. But, if you discard this thought process,
don't sit back and complain about what bad shape the world is in.
My Best Regards.
Honestly and respectfully,

Ben Stein Pin It

Losing it All

"I could not help but think that somewhere along the way we had missed what is radical about our faith and replaced it with what is comfortable. We (are) settling for a Christianity that revolves around catering to ourselves when the central message of Christianity is actually about abandoning ourselves."                                                                                                                                       - David Platt - from "Radical: Taking your faith back from the American dream"

 One of my inspirations lately has been the book, Radical by David Platt. The quote above, taken directly from chapter 1 of Platt's piece, is a blunt statement that may or may not cut truth into many American Christians today. I however, see so much truth to this statement, as I do all throughout Platt's work. So many churches and church-goers in today's society are worried about the comfort of their church-going experience. This, however is only one aspect to the above statement. What about our priorities? Are we catering to the comfort of ourselves here too? 

As Christians, we spend a lot of our time simply keeping other Christians, and ourselves, happy. There is a constant debate over pews vs. chairs, hymns vs. contemporary music - along with many other of the lesser cliche debates throughout churches today. Sadly, this removes the point of our mission. Does God really call us to make ourselves content?

Absolutely not.

Luke 14: 26 -27:  "If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple.  And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple."

Whoa... This may be our first reaction to this passage. The American way would be to soften these words, and we do. "God didn't really mean that. He actually meant....(insert personal meaning here)." Or, "That was then, this is now." But think about our position as Christians. Really, really think about it. As a Christian, I'm supposed to believe the Bible is full of truth and heed it's very words. Our society fights this. 

When we really look at the words of Luke 14: 26-27, and sort out its meaning, you'll find it is more blunt than you would like. Does God really mean we are to hate our family? In the Greek language, the word "hate" or "miseo" means "to love less by comparison". This section is about priority. We see in Matthew 22: 36 that the Greatest Commandment is the "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your mind, and all your soul..." Then we read,  "Love your neighbor as yourself." God #1, each other second. God instructs us to love. Thus in Luke we are to put God as #1. 

Then we read in Luke 14: 27 that we have to carry our cross daily to follow Christ. Loyalty. We need to choose to lose ourselves on a daily basis to follow Christ. A cross is a way of death. If you are carrying your cross, you're on your way to death. You are done making life plans, having dreams, etc. Thus, Christ is saying here, we need to LOSE ourselves daily for Him. Surrender our dreams, our hopes, our plans to Him. Matthew 10:37 tells us that "whoever loses their lives for My sake will find it."

The question that remains now is: What will you do about this? As a Christian, are you willing to lose everything for a God Who is worth everything? Do you know what the cost of following Christ is? Really? Are you willing to give it all for Him on a daily basis? Have you come to Christ on HIS terms and not on your terms, or the terms of our society? Salvation is not a checklist. Jesus never said you need to volunteer in ministries to have salvation; or pray this prayer; or sign a card that you are a believer. No. It takes losing ourselves and carrying our crosses on a daily basis.

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Facebook Do NOTs

Today I was quite inspired by one of my friends' posts on Facebook pet peeves, and realized an entire blog post could be written on on this subject. But before I go into this posting about what NOT to use your facebook status for, let me begin by saying that I, myself am guilty of a couple of these. Some of these I learned the hard way. Others I came to my senses on before hitting the "post" button. Yet, most of these are what I've seen from other posters that have driven me absolutely crazy.

So, with all that said, here is a list of some of my Facebook Do NOTs- learned from experience, or from the opinion of myself and others:


1) Using PROFANITY in your status, comments, etc - I know that in today's world it is everywhere. For some reason kids- and adults- think it makes them sound so awesome...truth is (which is a whole other status game that irks me)- I think it drops the intelligence and power of a status and/or comment to a rock-bottom level. There are a plethora of words in the English language that can be used, other than the F-Bomb or the four-lettered S-word. I don't agree with Eminem on the power of profanity.

I must say that I was talking to a friend a few days ago, and she said she completely "defriends" anyone who uses profanity or has friends who use profanity on their news feed. I can't say that I blame her. I've seriously considered it, and odds are in the near future it will happen. If I want to hear/see profanity, I'll move to New York and take the public transportation everywhere I go. In the meantime, for the sake of my spiritual health and future family's spiritual health, I will do all I can to cut it out of my life.


2) Using your status to talk about or to 1 specific person -  I've noticed this is especially popular with the high school crowd, and emotionally vulnerable girls. (Can't say that I haven't done this in a moment of weakness). And I'm not talking about wishing a parent or friend a Happy Birthday on your status - that's pretty nice. However, I've seen the passive-aggressive statuses come across towards a single person (usually from one ex to another). For example, a status might read something like "Enjoy your new (enter profanity here) girlfriend...". Yep - I doubt he's reading your status if he has a new girlfriend, and though you may say you're over him, your status would suggest otherwise.

The fact that someone is being bashed on a status everyone can see is honestly kind of low. It's actually a type of bullying. It is simply flaunting how horrible a certain individual is to the world. But one thing that needs to be remembered is that that individual is someone's son, brother, sister, parent, friend...Even though they might not be liked by you, they are pretty well-liked by someone else. Just be cautious of this - because it can come back to haunt you. Let me reiterate that I have been guilty of this, and it is super-easy to use Facebook as a weapon against someone we may not like, but just remember that in the end we don't end up being the mature-bigger person in this fight.


3) Ridiculous photos that give you hope and/or guilt - We've all seen them. "Share this photo if you want a surprise in 1 hour! If you scroll past this, something horrible will happen to you in 10 minutes!" GIVE ME A BREAK! Never have I ever seen a photo cause such magic to happen. It's one thing if you see a photo that you believe in and repost because it is you, but it is another thing to guilt fellow-users into reposting because they think an animal will die if they don't. I can't say for sure that Facebook donates money to every photo that demands a need, but I highly doubt it with most of them. I think it's one thing to use a photo to raise awareness, but it is absolutely another thing to have people repost out of guilt. Definitely one of my pet-peeves when I log on and see 9 miles of photos taking over my Facebook news feed. Odds are, I'll block them.

One of my personal favorite statuses used to mock things like this: "IT'S OFFICIAL! FACEBOOK USERS WILL BELIEVE ANYTHING THEIR FRIENDS COPY AND PASTE INTO THEIR STATUS MESSAGES! NOT ONLY WILL FACEBOOK START CHARGING YOU TOMORROW, THEY ARE ALSO GOING TO BILL YOUR CREDIT CARD FOR THE PAST 3 YEARS OF SERVICES. ...LUCKILY, EACH PERSON WHO COPIES AND PASTES THIS STATUS WILL RECEIVE A FREE UNICORN IN THE MAIL TOMORROW. IF YOU DON'T REPOST THIS STATUS, FACEBOOK CODE HAS BEEN SET UP TO AUTOMATICALLY SET YOUR COMPUTER ON FIRE AND HARM AN INNOCENT BUNNY IN THE FOREST!"



4) Posts that belong on text messages- I may be a tad biased here, since I studied English and writing, but I honestly can't stand when I see a status like this: "wut r u doin 2day? i went 2 skool." Uhg....'nuff said.


5) Posting racy/scandalous photos- I know I don't want to see butt cracks or boob cracks, so I bet there are others who don't want to either. When they're taken by that same person in a mirror - that's even worse. Odds are it's being done to attract a guy/girl, and trust me - you don't want those types chasing you anyways.


There are others that bother me personally - like the obvious sharing too much information with the Facebook world, or the "here's a picture of my daily breakfast cereal", or posting your cell number for all the perverts and criminals to track you on, but I think the point is across.

Perhaps you're offended by some of these "do nots" but these are simply my opinion, and a common opinion among friends and fellow users. Do whatever you'd like with your Facebook profile. It's not like Facebook has a block on any of the above anyways. I'm guilty of a couple of these. Pin It

Sacred Discontentment

There is this concept I've been learning about over this past year about churches and church-goers called "sacred discontentment". As citizens living in a society of consumerism and finding what pleases us most, we have sadly turned church into an act of consumerism. As Americans, we literally will "shop" for that church that has everything we've ever dreamed of having in a church.
A feel-good message
Rocking children's and youth programs
Pews or chairs (depending on your style)
Hymns or contemporary songs
Friendly, outgoing people

But there is a flaw to this thinking. God - our perfect, wonderful Creator - created church. But He is using imperfect people to run His church. Yet, we as imperfect people expect perfection in a church. See the problem here?

This has made the concept of church not about outreach, but about swapping people who already know Christ, and entitlement. There is a major flaw here.

A Feel- Good message won't always make you happy. Especially if it is calling out a flaw we have as humans. We may leave convicted and challenged instead.

We are to be a Christian body that comes to church to learn, but also to learn and GO do work.

“...We all possess knowledge.” But knowledge puffs up while love builds up." - I Corinthians 8: 1b

Don't let our mindset of entitlement and consumerism feed into this sick view of church. It is not how God intended it, and it isn't how we are to gain a mentality of going out and creating disciples.





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Nostalgia

I've had heavy yearnings lately for the Bible camp I used to work at. Summer is obviously surrounding me from all angles, and that makes me long more for those blessed years I had working in a Christ-centered community for a Christ-centered purpose. I know I have opportunities all around me to do that where I am now, but the atmosphere will never have that same feeling.
I miss the seclusion of being on summer staff in a "bubble" we would call it. 
That atmosphere was certainly a wonderful example of Christ's many parts working as one body. The support was always right next door and when something exciting happened, everyone in your "bubble" would share in that excitement. Same goes for those grieving times and hard times. My closest friends where those I made while working at PLCBC. Many of us have been married and in each others weddings, we still will make it a point to see each other if we're in town, and reminisce crazy times at camp - like the crazy flu that plowed through camp one year, and the memorable days  of camp life. 

Working with the kids and families that came in and out week after week was a whole other blessing within itself. Sitting and talking to families and kids during their time with you is such a priceless opportunity that I probably took for granted more than I know. I gained so much insight and advice on life from mothers, father, grandmothers and grandfathers. And when I was able to encourage a kid in my cabin, that showed me just how capable of God's work I am.

I can't express enough how much I grew while in staff a Portage Lake. I never would have pictured myself opening up as much as I have. I never pictured myself being an adult leader and example. But God has surely done amazing things in my life since my time there. I have now entered this new, amazing chapter in my life, however. I guess that means the next step is to be a family camper. =)

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Psalm 139:14 Collage

This is a GREAT activity to do with teenage girls! I used to unify my cabins of girls together as a camp counselor with this activity.

 (Example of my simple collage - you can definitely do more!)

All you need is:
Colored letter-sized paper
Glue stick
Magazines (appropriate)
Pens/Markers

Have girls chose whatever color paper they want. Have them write in the middle of their sheet (leaving room around the edges for cut-outs)

"I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful; I know that full well." - Psalm 139: 14 (NLT)

From there, give your girls time to look through and cut out things they like, or that help explain who they are. Have them glue their cut-outs around the verse they wrote on their sheets.
I had each girl hang up their collage by their bunks and told them it was a reminder that God created us all differently and beautifully. This is a great activity to remind us about acceptance of each others' differences.


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Music Review: Lecrae

 


Ok, so I must say that I have probably reviewed Lecrae's music in tons of different places, for tons of different audiences.
Over time, Lecrae has become one of my favorite artists. When you hear Lecrae, you don't hear beat-around-the-bush, cheesy Christian music. Lecrae is upfront, real and blunt in telling it like it is. Quoting scripture and real-life issues in ways that don't offend and don't use profane language is one of the best qualities of Lecrae's music.

I love hip hop/rap music, however, I HATE profane hip hop/rap music. I find Lecrae to be the best alternative to all the other crap out there tainting our society. You won't hear any F-bombing, woman-bashing, abusive lyrics here! Instead, you'll treat your ear and soul to positive, inspirational words that gives you a care-free feeling of being a Christ-follower, but a deep conviction for doing something about it.

Parents: This one is a winner. Though you may not always be able to tell exactly what the lyrics say, I can guarantee you that Lecrae doesn't create any worries about it. Check out lyrics to specific songs by searching the web for any lyric database.

Here are some from one of my favorites from Lecrae's song, "Chase That (Ambition)":

"But history repeats itself, evil's what it is.
Cuz Lucifer was cast away for doing what I did.
Created by the God who spoke the earth into existence,
Instead of chasing the Father's glory, he was chasin' his.

He lies to us all, told Adam he could ball.
"Why you followin' God when you could go get it all?"
I'll tell you what's better, or better yet worse.
Chasin' your own glory by doin' the Lord's work.

So holla if it hurts, but we were made for greater.
Our greatest satisfaction is making His name famous.
So if we're never named among the greatest,
They don't critically acclaim us,
Ain't nothin' to be ashamed of, we gave it up for the Savior."

This is a great alternative to all the crap our society has to offer. Avoid the Eminem and Kayne. Give Lecrae a try. It's all about your mindset, and Lecrae puts it into perspective for you.

Get a taste: Click here to listen to "Chase That (Ambition)"



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