Board in my eye

Jesus said, before you focus on the splinter in your brother's eye, take care of the board in your own eye.

So I was thinking of Christians who don’t love this group or that group. They don't like Russians or this race or that race or fans of a particular team or they don't like gay people, or whatever.

People will say that they love those groups, but if their attitudes and actions tell you otherwise, then you know that they don't love them. I have been thinking about how many people are guilty of the sin of withholding love.

As a Christian, I think that is a pretty core mistake. To claim to be a follower of the God that is love, but to withhold love from someone, I don't think it is right.

Before we sneer at the splinter that is in the eye of that other person, let us work to remove the board from our own eye.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

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I am leading a trip to Ireland October 15-24, 2024.
click here for the brochure

If you have questions, feel free to email me at jsbrink57@gmail.com  

Homeless couple

I’m working the night shift in Omaha. I am taking a break sitting in the car. It’s 1:00am and it is 32° outside. A homeless couple is walking through the parking lot. They’re talking. I’m sure this is not their first night out in the cold.

I imagine their conversation.

He- Burr... you look beautiful
she- I think you’re fantastic.
He- please keep me warm tonight.
She- please don’t ever leave me... life on the street is hard enough. I can’t imagine doing it without you.

I don’t really know what they were saying, but I’m sure that they talk and feel and love and hurt just like all of us.

It’s a beautiful day in God’s world. It’s more beautiful for some than others. Be sure to see the good.

- - - - - - - - - -

I am leading a trip to Ireland October 15-24, 2024.
click here for the brochure

If you have questions, feel free to email me at jsbrink57@gmail.com  

More on gratitude

Can we ever have enough thoughts on gratitude?

These are quotes from the message given on Sunday by my Pastor, Tim Barton.

"When you forget that you should be grateful,
what tends to happen is that we become entitled. And
when we don’t get or have what we think that we should
get or have we become bitter. We become resentful...

If gratitude is a way of living that gives thanks for all that we have, then
bitterness is a way of living and thinking that exemplifies
our dissatisfaction with what we don’t have...

And listen, life is hard and it’s normal to be upset by losses
that we suffer and by injustices that we face in life. Grief
and disappointment are just a part of the human
experience. Bitterness however is what happens when that
grief and disappointment take root in our hearts, souls,
and minds and become the driving force behind how we
think and act."

That is some good stuff from Pastor Tim.  Friends, fight bitterness.  Search for something to be grateful for.  It surely is out there.  Release bitterness, hold fast to being grateful.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

Question

An old friend sent in a question that kind of goes like this... If I am going to believe in the concept of the wideness of God's mercy, then how do I deal with people who say that you must accept Jesus as your personal savior or spend eternity in hell?

Answer...

Well... surprise!  The phrase "personal Savior" is not found in the Bible.  It is another part of our church created formulas.

Frankly though, I don't have any need to argue with people who limit God's grace.  I have no thought that I can change their minds.  I feel bad for them, and I pray for them to find God's mercy, but I don't try to change them.

You see, we humans prefer certainty over ambiguity.  That is why many religious people flock to fundamentalist  ways of thinking.  No questions are allowed, because no questions are needed.

How do you deal with them?  You don't have to.  Just love them and go on sharing God's amazing grace.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

Does his mercy end?

Psalm 118:24-29

24 This is the day the LORD has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
25 O LORD, save us;
O LORD, grant us success.
26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD.
From the house of the LORD we bless you. [a]
27 The LORD is God,
and he has made his light shine upon us.
With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession
up [b] to the horns of the altar.
28 You are my God, and I will give you thanks;
you are my God, and I will exalt you.
29 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
his love [mercy] endures forever.

verse 29 "his love or his mercy endures for ever."
Does it?
Or does it end when you die? When you die, if you have been bad enough, do you get cut off from God's mercy? Or does his mercy endure for ever.

There are scriptures on both sides of this question, so pay your money and make your choice.

As for me, I am voting for the God whose love never ends. And I and praying that you come to know the God who's love never ends.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, filled with grace and mercy, be sure to see the good.

Wizard of Oz

 

Questions in church should be allowed.  When Pastors or leaders do not want your questions, it reminds me of the scene in the Wizard of Oz.  What are they trying to hide?  What do they want you to believe that might not be quite so?

Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.

In an organization that is hiding things, you find falsehood.  In an organization that is transparent, you find real people.  If they won't answer your questions, if they shame you for asking questions, then it is time to move on.

Real churches allow and welcome questions.  They may not always have perfect answers, but in authentic organizations you will find good people doing their best to be upfront with you.

If they act like they are perfect, if your questions are not welcome, then run away.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

Black Friday

I am not going out for Black Friday shopping.

Is that because we have already bought so much junk that we don't need any more? I don't know. I would like to think that my desire to want more, more bigger, more better, and more newer might be coming under control.

I have a truck. A 2006 Ford. I guess I could want another one, a newer one, but I don't. I have a Ford Mustang, 2010. I could easily want a newer one, but I don't. We have TV's. They are not the most modern. We could want more or better or newer TV's. But we don't.

We are not going out for black Friday shopping.

Oh friends, how the world becomes a better place when we stop wanting the next thing.

1 Tim 6:6-8 Godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these let us be content.

I am skipping Black Friday. We have enough stuff.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

it really is this simple

You cannot be grateful and unhappy at the same time.  

We humans are great at finding things to be unhappy about.  Go ahead, make your list, I have my list too.  But, the moment that we make the choice, and it is a choice, to find something to be grateful for, the gratitude just bubbles to the top.

When gratitude is in our minds, the pain of the other difficulties of life fall back.  They fall back into their rightful place.

It really is this simple:  You cannot be grateful and unhappy at the same time.  So choose to be grateful.  Find something to be grateful for.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Thoughts on gratitude 2

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.  It turns what we have into enough, and more.  It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion to clarity... Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow."

                     Melody Beattie

I would add this:

Gratitude is a gift that one can give not only to themselves, but to the world.  It is a gift that is free and one that brings so much joy.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

Thoughts on gratitude pt 1

If you look to others for fulfillment,

you will never truly be fulfilled.

If your happiness depends on money,

you will never be happy with yourself.

Be content with what you have,

rejoice in the way that things are.

When you realize that there is nothing lacking, 

that is when the whole world belongs to you.

- Lao Tzu

Seek ye first the Kingdom of God

Do not store up treasure on this earth

Learn to be content whatever the circumstance

And all things will be added unto you.

Don't get caught up on where these lines come from.  I think the message is important.  Stop worrying about everything.  Stop wanting everything.  Look at what is, and relax.  Look at what is and realize that God is with you.   Be thankful for your life and all that it is, as it is.

Pure Gratitude is a beautiful thing.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

The sins of others

Have you ever spent time thinking about the sins of others?  I think that sometimes you and I might do just that.

And so the other day, I was thinking about the thief on the cross.  What were his sins?  Well, for sure he was a thief.  He took from others.  But in our culture, much robbery and thievery is about drugs.  People steal to pay for their drugs.  Maybe the thief on the cross was addicted to drugs and was trying to get money for his next fix.

Maybe he was poor and coveted what other people had.  Maybe he had a severe case of the "wants."  You have it, and I want it.  I want it really, really badly.

At least he was guilty of the sin of selfishness.  He put himself first.  Whatever was the total story, he put himself first.  Question... have I ever done that?  Yes probably for sure.

So let us summarize... his sins were probably:  stealing, selfishness, coveting, and maybe addiction?

That is a pretty good list.

What did Jesus say about his sins???  Nothing.  NOTHING!

But Jesus did say, "Today, you will be with me in paradise."

Maybe we should spend less time on the lists of other's sins, and more time offering them grace.  Seems like a pretty Jesusy thing to do.

It’s a beautiful day in God’s world, be sure to see the good.

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I am leading a trip to Ireland October 15-24, 2024.
click here for the brochure

If you have questions, feel free to email me at jsbrink57@gmail.com  

you choose

There is an old saying, as we get old, we can get better or we can get bitter.  You choose.

There are many choices in life.  The only person we can do anything about is ourselves.  I can only control my attitude, my choices, my direction.

My friend Bruce sent in this quote:

It's a beautiful, choice filled day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

One God

I believe in one God.

Some Christians will tell you that since there is only one God, then the God of the Muslims is wrong, or the Great Spirit of the American Indians is imaginary.  On and on we can go.  If you don't worship God the way that they worship God, then your God is a sham.

I look at it completely differently.  There is only one God.  Muslims pray to that one God.  So do Methodists and Jehovah's Witnesses.  So do Mormons and Baptists and Hindus.

Yes, yes, yes, these are very different approaches that fight with each other, but remember rule #1, there is only one God.  Different beliefs about the one God does not change the fact that there is only one God.

Instead of a narrow view of the practice of loving God, we should have an expansive view of loving God.  The Jews hated the Samaritans for many reasons, one of which was that they worshiped in the wrong ways and in the wrong place.  Jesus did not care about any of that.  He knew that there was one God and that Jews and Samaritans were both seeking the one God.

There is only one God.  And that God is worshiped and sought in many many different ways, but there is still just one God.  He does not have to be worshipped the Baptist, Methodist or Mormon way.

One.  Just one.  Loved by many, in many different ways.  As my pastor said last Sunday, he has the whole world in his hands.  Not just our tribe, but all tribes... the human tribe.

It’s a beautiful day in God’s world, be sure to see the good.

- - - - - - - - - -

I am leading a trip to Ireland October 15-24, 2024.
click here for the brochure

If you have questions, feel free to email me at jsbrink57@gmail.com  

Not on a technicality

God is not looking to catch you on a technicality.

Yes in this life, you loved God, Jesus, and people, but....

But you were baptized the wrong way.  But you attended the wrong church.  But you cheated on your taxes.  But you lusted over that other person.  But you complained too much.  But you did this or that.... so you are out...

Friends, God is not looking to catch you on a technicality.  He loves us, he loves you and he wants you to live a happy life full of peace and joy.  Stop worrying that you missed the mark in this way or that.

Would you throw away your child because they did not clean up their room?  Or maybe they married the wrong person, or got divorced.  When would you throw your child away?

God's love is bigger than human love.  God is not looking to catch you on a technicality.  He loves you.

It’s a beautiful day in God’s world, be sure to see the good.

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I am leading a trip to Ireland October 15-24, 2024.
click here for the brochure

If you have questions, feel free to email me at jsbrink57@gmail.com  

Burning Puppies for eternity

Wow, now isn't that a terrible title to a blog post.

The following analogy is not original to me, I heard it from someone else... maybe Courtney or Rhonda?  I don't remember.  If I heard it from you, please remind me so I can give you credit.

In the following analogy, The God of love is compared to A human dog lover.  

The dog lover adopts 100 cute puppies.  He loves them and cuddles them in this life.  He tries to teach them not to beg for food, not to potty inside the house, and not to bite people.  Some of them get it, and some of them don't.  Some of them never get the chance to attend the trainings.  Anyway, at the end of their lives, the cute puppies who did not get it, are thrown into a burning furnace, to burn, not just for a period of time, but for eternity.

Cute puppies... 50% of them burn for eternity.  Would this "dog lover" be allowed to adopt dogs?  Of course not.  Yet what do some Christians teach about God?

- - - - 

And now let's switch over to God.  He loves 100 humans so much.  But the 50% that don't get it, they burn in hell.  Surely God loves us humans more than we humans love puppies.  Why would we believe or teach that God is going to torture the object of his love for eternity?

Let's treat all dogs well.  Because all dogs go to heaven.  And dogs are worthy of your love.  And let's believe in a God that loves us unconditionally.  It's time to believe in a God that refuses to see puppies or humans be tortured for eternity.  God is love and it is time that we believed that God is love.

It’s a beautiful day in God’s world, be sure to see the good.

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I am leading a trip to Ireland October 15-24, 2024.
click here for the brochure

If you have questions, feel free to email me at jsbrink57@gmail.com  

The way the truth and the life, all for now

John 14:6  I am the way the truth and the life... no once comes to the Father, but through me.

Oh how we love to make things about us. Our brains are "me" centered, and our churches are usually wired for self preservation. That means that we have created doctrines and systems [formulas] that support "our way" as if it were the "only" way.

Let's look at the phrase, "the way, the truth and the life" found in John 14:6. The way that denominations use it makes it feels like this...

In the Baptist church, it sounds like, "I am Jesus, and I am the Baptist way, the Baptist truth and the Baptist life." In the Catholic church it sounds like, "I am Jesus, the Catholic way, truth and life." There are denominational Jesus' of every type. There is a Mormon Jesus. There is probably a Methodist Jesus. These are all created to support our denominational, our tribe's way of looking at theology and the world.

But, Jesus will not be defined or contained by any of them. He is bigger than our definitions of him. He is larger than our formulas.  Remember, he is from the beginning.  He was around before our Pastors and churches created their doctrines.  Remember that he brooded over creation.  Remember that he has the whole world in his hands.  He is bigger than our ideas...

What if, when he says, "I am the way, the truth and the life" he means this...

        Before the world was formed, I am. Before Pastors insisted that you believe it their way, I am.     

        Before the religions organized, I was.

Therefore, where ever you go in this world, you will find me. I am the way. If you find something that feels like the way, that is me. I am the truth. If you find truth, regardless of the label that man has put on it, that is me. And if you find freedom and life, regardless of the parameters, that is me.

I am Jesus. The Way, the Truth and the Life. I am the Cosmic Christ from the beginning. I will not be bound by denominational definitions. I am not contained by man's doctrine.

Find me. I am out there. I am out there in all kinds of places that might surprise you. I am Jesus. I am everywhere.

That works for me.

It’s a beautiful day in God’s world, be sure to see the good.

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I am leading a trip to Ireland October 15-24, 2024.
click here for the brochure

If you have questions, feel free to email me at jsbrink57@gmail.com  

Part 3 - the way, the truth and the life

Well meaning, conservative Christians often use this verse to shame others into believing that Jesus is the only way.  Believe this way or you are going to hell.  God loves you all, but if you don't do it our way, then you are lost.

Personally, I find this approach to Christianity to be very painful.  God loves you, but... God loves you but he is going to send Pygmies in Africa to hell.  God loves you, but if you don't believe it just right...

You will note that in Jesus’ encounters with people, he does not shame their religions. He simply teaches about the kingdom of God. He has many encounters with Romans, and does not tell them that they are going to hell because they worship a pantheon of Gods.  He does not tell the thief on the cross that he is going to hell because he has not confessed his sins.   He does not tell the Samaritans in his encounters with them that they have the wrong religion.  In fact, in the story of the Good Samaritan, the Samaritan is the hero.  Also please note that in the birth narrative in Matthew,  the three wise men are kings from the East, and they are celebrated as a part of the story. They would surely have been Zoroastrians, not Jews or Christians.

So Jesus has a habit of taking people in and welcoming them. He does not make a habit of excluding people because they didn’t have the correct religious formula down.

Most people that love Jesus, love him because of this very aspect… he welcomed everyone: the tired, the poor, the outcast, the ones who did not get it.

He did not create a formala to restrict entrance or shame people. The church would do that later.

It’s a beautiful day in God’s world, be sure to see the good.

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I am leading a trip to Ireland October 15-24, 2024.
click here for the brochure

If you have questions, feel free to email me at jsbrink57@gmail.com  

The way the truth and the life, Part 2

Way, truth, life, part 2

Today lets talk about what are authentic words of Jesus. Not everything attributed to Jesus in the Bible are his authentic words. How do we know this? Because there are some passages that were added later by scribes. Some were not happy with the ending of Mark, so they added the section of verses that talk about handling serpents and drinking deadly poison. This section is not in our original/oldest scriptures so they are not the words of Jesus.  See my blog post from Sept 9, 2022.

Likewise, in John 8, the woman caught in adultery is not an authentic Jesus story. Yes it makes all of the Jesus movies, but it also was a later addition. It is not a true Jesus story. If you don’t want to believe me, look in an NIV version bible and you can see the section is blocked off and noted with the phrase… “our oldest and most reliable manuscripts do not contain…”  See my blog post from Sept 8, 2022.

So there are some words of Jesus in the Bible that are not words of Jesus at all. Now my conservative friends may want to kill me for saying this, but many scholars suggest that this phrase, "the way, the truth and the life" attributed to Jesus is not authentic either.

Scholars note that this phrase is only found in the gospel of John.   John is the latest or newest gospel,  Matthew, mark and Luke were earlier.  None of the early three contain the “way, truth and life” statement.  Scholars would tell you that John was written to convert people, while the earlier three gospels were “just the facts only.”  They would point to the last phrase in the gospel of John, John 20:30-31

  30 Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31 But these are written that you may believe[b] that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Scholars would tell you that the author/authors of John wrote with an intent to teach and evangelize, that you might believe, and potentially took liberties to do so.  The idea is that there is theology presented in John, that you do not find in Matthew, Mark and Luke.

So, is the way, the truth and the life an authentic Jesus statement, or was is added by later Christians to teach a particular understanding of the Christian faith?

Now if you want to kill me, please keep reading the upcoming posts. See you tomorrow.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

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I am leading a trip to Ireland October 15-24, 2024.
click here for the brochure

If you have questions, feel free to email me at jsbrink57@gmail.com  

The way, the truth and the life

A friend asked a question: Do you consider John 14:6 to be a formula. John 14:6 says, "I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father, but by me."

A few weeks ago I had posted asking for questions, and this was sent in. I had also recently posted about how the church has created formulas that are not always helpful to our life as Christians.

And so here is this question about a passage that many Christians feel as fundamental to the faith. Way, truth and life... no one gets in except through me.

I am going to spend the next several days offering some thoughts about this passage. Many of you will not agree with me, but I encourage you to read all of the parts, until the end.

Part One... Is the way, the truth and the life a formula created by the church.

Oh, there is so much to talk about here… Please note as I begin this discussion, that there are words of Jesus that we cling to, and words of Jesus that we ignore and disobey. Some people love to cling to this passage, the way, the truth the life, but everyone ignores the passage: don’t lay up treasure in heaven.

So it is clear to me that the church has chosen to grasp onto certain phrases and ignore other ones outright.

Do I think it is a formula? Well it is almost certainly used as a formula by many denominations. They take the phrase and turn it into, “Jesus is the way the truth and the life. Anyone else is going to hell. And our denomination can tell you exactly what his way was, what his truth was, and then you can find the life.”

Friends, remember, Jesus words are always bigger that the local pastor’s understanding of them. Jesus' words are always bigger than a denominations formulaic use of them.

Also please keep in mind that we have no way to redirect or ask Jesus for clarification… Jesus, when you say this, does it mean this, does it mean that, or something else?So the short answer is that many churches have chosen this passage while ignoring others. They have put it on a banner with their flavor of Jesus infused.

These denominations tend to be the more fundamental and the more heavy.  Many Christians today have been taught the heavy approach, but they don't find it fitting into their world view of today.

More on this tomorrow.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

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I am leading a trip to Ireland October 15-24, 2024.
click here for the brochure

If you have questions, feel free to email me at jsbrink57@gmail.com  

Where I work

Sometimes, where I work can be dangerous.  Mostly because I am working around water.  And in Florida, if there is water, there might be gators.  Or gator, singular.  It would only take one to ruin your day.

So you can see from the pictures that I am repairing a wooden fence that is along a canal.  Anytime I am in these areas, I always keep something sharp with me.  Gators can pop out of the water and up an embankment pretty fast.   And, at 66, I could easily become dinner.

And so as I begin the job, I pray, "Lord, help me do this job well and please keep me safe."

My concern is that lurking beneath the water, there is a gator, and he is praying, "Lord I thank you for this meal that I am about to consume."

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

- - - - - - - - - -

I am leading a trip to Ireland October 15-24, 2024.
click here for the brochure

If you have questions, feel free to email me at jsbrink57@gmail.com  

Question - what to say when a pet dies

A friend sent in this question...

When a Pet dies, what do you say to the owner?

Well, first of all, never say, "It was just a cat it was just a dog." To a real pet owner, the furry friends become companions and members of our family. When you think about it, it is kind of painful to think that in the life time of a human, we could have 4 dogs or cats living consecutive lives… we would watch them grow from pups to full grown, and then watch them die, and we lose them, over and over in this life. But we love our pets so that is what we do.

Never suggest that they get another cat or dog. They know that they can do that.

And so, I think that usually, just as in a human death, way too much is said. We really should say nothing more than this: "I love you, and I am sorry."

Now, if they invite you into the discussion, I think it is fine to say more:

• Rover was a great dog. I loved him.
• I know you loved him. I know it hurts.
• If the lion lays down with the lamb in heaven, then I know we will see our pets again.

But as a general rule, I love you and I am sorry, is a good start and it is probably enough.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

- - - - - - - - - -

I am leading a trip to Ireland October 15-24, 2024.
click here for the brochure

If you have questions, feel free to email me at jsbrink57@gmail.com  

Not them

I pulled into the church and parked on the street.  I noticed that my buddy Dave was getting out of his car.  I noticed his license plate.  It said, "not them."  I was intrigued.  Not them.  What does that mean.

So when I got into the church, I said hello to him, complemented him on his car, and then I asked him, what is the meaning of your license plate?

Not them.

He said it is simply this... when I have a problem, I want to blame others.  I want to blame them.  But it is not them. It is me.  Not them, it is me.

I love it!!!

More of us should think this way.  I am responsible for my issues.  Not them.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

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I am leading a trip to Ireland October 15-24, 2024.
click here for the brochure

If you have questions, feel free to email me at jsbrink57@gmail.com 

Trouble in the check out line

I received this story from a Kansas City friend...

This morning I stopped by Price Chopper on my way to the airport (going to Denver to cheer on the Chiefs!!!).  I picked up Zicam (to ensure that I don’t get sick and can cheer on our guys in red) and I grabbed a banana to ensure that I wouldn’t get hangry on the flight.  [I try to be a nice person, but when I am hungry, all bets are off.]

As I scoped out the check out lines, I realized that it is too early in the day for the self-checkout register to be open. There is only one cashier open and one customer has just started unloading her huge cart of groceries. 

Now I am in a hurry, and I think to myself this is going to take forever.  I knew that there was nothing that I could do, so I just tried to relax and I smiled at the lady putting her groceries on the belt. She promptly asked if all I had was the two items in my hand and I replied yes. She said, “here just add them to my order, I’ve got you covered.” 

What? You want to pay for my things???  Of course, I said to her that is a very sweet gesture but no I couldn’t do that especially since the Zicam was $13.00.  She insisted and looked me in the eyes and said, “consider this a pay it forward moment, take the money you would have used to pay for these items and find a good cause or a person in need to give it to.”  I tried to hand her a $20 but again she denied my money.  I realized that if I forced her to take the money, I would be denying her the gift of bringing some joy to me.

So, I gave this complete stranger who had a huge heart, a hug right there in the grocery store check out lane. She handed me my two items and I promised I would find a person or cause to pass it on to. This 3 minute exchange brought both her and me joy and I can’t wait to look for an opportunity to help someone else out.

Jeff comments:  What a lovely example of generosity!  Oh that we all would seek ways to be more kind, gracious and generous.  And an interesting thought... next time someone is behind me in line with almost nothing, instead of just letting them go before me, pay for their stuff.  I love it!!!

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

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I am leading a trip to Ireland October 15-24, 2024.
click here for the brochure

If you have questions, feel free to email me at jsbrink57@gmail.com  

Discomfort and Ambiguity

I had breakfast last week with Courtney and Rhonda, two wonderful ladies that I used to work with.  We had a wonderful time and it was so good to see them.

We talked about many things, but one of the discussion pieces was on living with discomfort and ambiguity in this life. In a world filled with ambiguity, humans prefer certainty. We would prefer black and white but so often in life there are gray areas.

Ambiguity is that movement in life that causes us to feel like things are just a bit out of kilter. Change brings distress. Complicated, uncomfortable lives can rob us of peace.

We want things to go back to the way that they were. Remember when so and so was president? Remember when everyone went to church? Remember when the stock market was good? We wish for the old days, but I suggest to you that the old days had their moments as well.

Life is fluid. Life is moving. Our society is big, complicated, technical and mobile. Literally, before we can acclimate to one change, another is coming along. And so I keep reminding myself and others: we prefer certainty, but there is going to be ambiguity. Learn to be comfortable in a world that is not static. Learn to be comfortable with change. Learn to be comfortable with lose ends.  Learn to be comfortable with discomfort.

Our comfort in this life cannot be based on everything going and being just the way that we want it to go and be. The world refuses to align itself to make me or you happy.  Our comfort must be found in trusting in God.  Keep the big picture in mind.  Stay focused.  Stay on track.  Keep loving.  Everything is OK.

It is after all, a beautiful complicated ambiguous day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

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I am leading a trip to Ireland October 15-24, 2024.
click here for the brochure

If you have questions, feel free to email me at jsbrink57@gmail.com  

More on the Book of Revelation

Here are some questions about our understanding of the book of Revelation

Is it possible that a person could be taught something [about the book of Revelation], but then realize later in life that what they learned was a misrepresentation?
[yes of course.]

Is it possible that if one generation of people is told that blue is yellow, and they tell their kids the same, that eventually the society will forget that blue is really blue, even defending the position that blue is yellow?
[yes, it happens all the time.]

Is it possible that the loudest voice is not always the correct voice?
[yes.]

Have you as a Christian, ever considered other Christian life paradigms? In other words, what do Christians in Ethiopia believe? Is it the same as what we believe?
[Most of us don't, but we should. Not every Christian believes what you do.]

Who was Revelation written to? What was going on in their world? Does an understanding of the original setting impact my understanding of the book for today?
[Revelation was written to 7 churches. They were historical churches of the early New Testament times. The church was being persecuted by the Romans.] [To read a book without understanding the intent of the author is like us finding a letter from George to Martha Washington and asking what it means to us.]

The Bible contains many types of literature- History, wisdom, apocalyptic and letters among the list. Are all passages of Scripture to be read and understood in the same way?
[no]

Are there parts of parables that are just part of the story? For example in the parable of the house on the rock and the house on the sand, is it fair to ask- where is the house? Who is the owner?

What is apocalyptic literature? What is the general point of its writing- the normal nuances of this genre of literature?
[Apocalyptic writing usually insists on the demise of the present evil age and a promise of a victorious future with God. It is written about the writer's age, not ours.]

What is dispensationalism? Where did it come from? How long has it been around as a doctrine? Does this cause you to think differently about some of the associated doctrines?
[Dispensationalism has given rise to many false teachings in the church, including the notion of a rapture. Nothing like this was not taught prior to 1850]

Do the overarching themes of Scripture teach that we will be saved from difficulty, or does it teach that God is with us through the difficulty?
[We are sometimes saved, but not always saved and the point of faith is not that we should be saved from difficulty.]

Is solid doctrine built on a patch work quilt of chosen Scriptures, or on the overarching themes of Scripture?
[main themes of course.]

Americans are fixated with knowledge. Is the point of the Christian life to know everything or to live a life that is full of God's love
[love of course]

How many Bible teachers have been wrong about their interpretation of the scriptures regarding the end of time?
[all of them, but some of them made lots of money selling books.]

Where might all of these questions point us regarding our understanding of the book of Revelation and the Christian life? What is the purpose of the Christian life?
[The purpose of the Christian life is to love God and to love others. We may find difficulty in this life, but in the end, God is victorious.]

We live in God's world, and it is a beautiful, fear free day in God's world.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
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I am leading a trip to Ireland October 15-24, 2024.
click here for the brochure


If you have questions, feel free to email me at jsbrink57@gmail.com

Question 3

A delightful man sent in a question about Biblical Prophecy.  His question was, in my opinion, has biblical prophecy been fulfilled in the past.

Here is my short answer:  Yes.  Everything except the return of Jesus has been fulfilled in the past.

Many readers will jump to "end of time prophecies."  And as you know, many preachers have made a living out of pulling scriptures out of context, combining them together in ways that are arbitrary, and coming up with maps of the end of time and dates for the end.  There is a great book called, "The Last Days are here Again" by Richard Kyle.  In the book he goes thru church history and outlines every group who made a calendar and set a date for Jesus return.   I guess that humans like to feel that they are special and living in special times.

In my opinion, this is a waste of time.  The rapture and attached teachings were not taught prior to the 1850's.  It is a new teaching in the timeline of Christianity.  If you don't believe me, read about it online, read about John Nelson Darby and how this teaching emerged.

A companion thought to this is that the book of Revelation is not about the future, it is about the past.  John wrote Revelation about what was happening in his day and he wrote it for the Christians being persecuted by Rome.  I am not a scholar, but this is the view of all Biblical scholars.

So, in my opinion, except for the return of Jesus, all "Biblical prophecy" has already taken place.

To me the good news about this is that we can stop worrying and stop speculating about the end of time, about Israel and the Middle East.  We don't have to worry about some tribulation time coming in the future.  Instead, we can relax and live and live and live lives of love.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

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I am leading a trip to Ireland October 15-24, 2024.
click here for the brochure

If you have questions, feel free to email me at jsbrink57@gmail.com  

what problems?

So when I was in high school, I had a young life leader named Jim.

He was tall, good-looking, and played the guitar.  Was a big shot at a very big high school in California for all of the afore mentioned reasons.  His favorite scripture was Romans Eight, "I recognize that the present sufferings are not worthy to be compared with the glory that will be revealed." 

I can remember at 17 wondering and thinking, "He is 24. What does he know about suffering?" 

What did any of us know about suffering?  We lived in nice three-bedroom subdivision homes. Yes in the mid-70's there were gas lines at the local station, but it was a sign of the times.  Even with the gas crisis, America was booming. It was great times. What suffering could he have been talking about?

And then I stop and think... a person can get cleaned up.  They can put on nice clothes.  Then can even don a smile.  But still inside, they could be hurting.  Lots of happy, pretty, shiny people are hurting on the inside.

Jim, where ever you are, I hug you from afar.  I hope that you have found peace thru the years.

And if you are reading this blog today and your life is chocked full of pain and suffering... I care.  I hurt for you.  I hurt with you.  May you find grace and love and healing.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

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I am leading a trip to Ireland October 15-24, 2024.
click here for the brochure

If you have questions, feel free to email me at jsbrink57@gmail.com  

Question 2

A dear friend sent in this question...

How do I adapt those difficult scriptures that forbid or condemn certain things to today's world without feeling guilty about changing the word of the Lord? How do I know that this is the right thing to do?


First of all, we need a view of scripture that understands that it is here for us, we are not here for it. It does not control us or dominate us, it is here for us to use to help us find God. We do not serve scripture, but it serves us.

Secondly, everyone picks and chooses. There are many scriptures that we ignore. We don't condone slavery. We don't eat our children during war time. We don't stone rebellious sons. It is ok to understand that there are some scriptures that we just do not follow. Again, referring to #1, scripture is here for us... it does not own us.

Thirdly... feeling guilty over scripture is a never ending disaster should we choose to go down that road. Imagine all of the passages that we cannot live up to: Not storing up treasure, withholding from the poor, not covering our heads, etc. If we want to feel guilty about scripture, then we can spend our lives doing so. Again, refer to #1. Scripture is given to us as a guide to help us find God. It does not own us and it is not God. Only God is God... the Bible is not God, only God is God.

In summary, I would say to you and to all that God has given us, you and me, the gift of this life. We can spend it feeling guilty, we can spend it being worried over little things, or we can wake to the day with joy in our hearts and give every moment to God and to his people.

Imagine that you wrote a list of thoughts and advice to your children. Would you want them to feel guilty if they didn't follow it exactly as you presented? No! We know that all of our children are different. We want them to live lives of joy, not worry.

Each person has a right to their spiritual journey. My hope and prayer is that we make our choices and live with joy. I think that this is more important to God than any of our common human worries. Find peace, find joy and live it out. Don't sweat the scripture stuff. Live and love.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

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I am leading a trip to Ireland October 15-24, 2024.
click here for the brochure
If you have questions, feel free to email me at jsbrink57@gmail.com

Missional

I remember the first time I heard the word missional.  Someone said that it wasn't a word.  Well, that word, and that concept resonated with me.  And as we began to talk about it at church, it resonated with most of the congregation.

I remember one lady telling me that we needed more about the bible and less about missions.  I told her the bible was about missions.

Friends, if a church isn't in mission, if it isn't helping the poor, how is it the church?

For us to consider ourselves followers of Jesus, we need less doctrine, no judgment and lots more missions.  Christians should be engaged in missional living, finding ways to help the poor.  Churches should be talking about this, and members should be the foot soldiers in following Jesus in mission.

That is more "shoulds" than I like to have in a post, but you get the idea.  We are not here to believe the right things, we are here to love one another and to give our lives selflessly to the broken and to the least of these.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

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I am leading a trip to Ireland October 15-24, 2024.
click here for the brochure

If you have questions, feel free to email me at jsbrink57@gmail.com  

Jesus did not start the church

When we think of today's church, what do we think of?

Bishops and Pastors.  Elders and deacons.  Buildings.  Service times.  Traditional vs contemporary.  The trinity.  The sinner's prayer.  Pot luck dinners.  Pews.  Choirs.

Jesus did not start any of that.  JESUS DID NOT START ANY OF THAT.

What Jesus did try to start was a way of living, a way of love.  Turning the other cheek.  Helping the poor.  Going the second mile.  

Friends, as Christ followers in 2023, we need less church stuff and more Jesus stuff.  They are not the same.   Insist that your church engage in more Jesus stuff.  Less doctrine and more love.  Less rules and more grace.  

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

- - - - - - - - - -

I am leading a trip to Ireland October 15-24, 2024.
click here for the brochure

If you have questions, feel free to email me at jsbrink57@gmail.com