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The Good Samaritan on Mount Everest!

I am not a mountain climber, but I hope that if I am ever in trouble, someone like Daniel Mazur lends a helping hand to me.  This is a great story of an American climbing guide who gave up his ascent of the highest mountain in the world to help a stranded climber just days after many others passed by a British climber who eventually died on Everest.

This story reminded me of what a couple of men in our church named Mick and Clint did to help a distressed woman the other day as she sat weeping in her truck.  This guy Daniel is a hero who is receiving much deserved press coverage, but Mick and Clint are hero's in their own right in my book!

I love what Daniel Mazur went on to say in this AP story about the rescue.

"Oh yeah, it was worth it," he said. "You can always go back to the summit but you only have one life to live. If we had left the man to die, that would have always been on my mind ... How could you live with yourself?"

I forgot to mention that Daniel's two paying clients had to sacrifice their ascent as well to save this man.  On top of that, other climbers had already passed by and left Lincoln Hall, the stranded climber to die!  Stories like this remind me of the parable that Jesus told 2000 years ago to  his followers to illustrate the need to demonstrate faith and love with action.  Jesus finished that parable with the words, "Go and do likewise."  Sounds like good advice to me!  Way to go Daniel Mazur!  Way to go Mick and Clint!

Tags: Mount Everest, mountain climbing, rescue, Daniel Mazur, Christianity, Jesus Christ, good Samaritan

A Chilling New Wave of Anti-Semitism

Please take the time to read this article in Christianity Today by David Aikman entitled, AN UGLY PHOENIX REBORN.  The former correspondent for TIME MAGAZINE describes a chilling new wave of Anti-Semitism sweeping Europe only 61 years after we discovered over 6 million Jews were horribly murdered by Adolph Hitler and his Final Solution!  The article goes on to recount how most Europeans see Israel as the biggest threat to world peace and not North Korea, Iran or radical Islamist terrorism.  This is such an amazing confirmation to me of the demonic nature of this lie and proof that people are already beginning to forget what we promised would "never again" happen in our world.

I am not a Dispensationalist and I do not believe that Israel in its current state is under God's covenant blessing, but I am forever indebted to Judaism and the Jewish people for the great heritage of truth and history that they have passed on to us Christians.  I pray that Jews all over this globe would "look on him who they have pierced" and turn to Yeshua (Jesus) as Messiah.  I will continue to support Israel's right to exist as a nation because they are one of the only truly democratic nations within the Middle East and our ally.  I do believe that God did something supernatural 58 years ago when Israel came to be an entity as a nation once again, so it is very important that we stand with them and challenge them politically when they engage in injustice toward any Arab people group.

I would remind those who think Israel is such a threat that almost every day we hear reports of Iran's president promising to wipe Israel off the map.  I would remind you that Israel lives with the constant threat of terrorism and invasion from every nation that surrounds them.  The hatred toward Jews and Israel that I am describing is not based upon injustices toward Palestinians or territory gained in war, but a deep ancient hatred that is rooted in nothing more than Jewish ethnicity and religion. This hatred was present before any of the current political realities and can only be explained as evil and twisted.  Please remember what the Nazi's and Stalinists did to the Jews in the last century and pray for the peace of Jerusalem and the preservation of Israel.

P.S. - A few qualifiers are necessary.  1.  A Dispensationalist is a Christian who has a certain viewpoint on the end times or "last things" when it comes to Biblical prophecy.  It is a complex methodology for determining how this current age will end and views the nation of Israel as having a very prominent part in those events.  2.  When I say Israel in its current state is not under God's covenant blessing, I am simply referring to those promises based upon obedience.  Yes, God promised them the land, but those promises were based upon obedience.   Disobedience would ultimately lead to expulsion from the land.  3.  When I quote from Zechariah 12:10, where the text declares "they will look on Me whom they pierced", I am not blaming the Jews alone for Jesus' death.  The Bible tells us that all of us are responsible for Jesus' death because our sin put him on the cross.  The very fact that the Roman Empire with its mixed multitude and the Jewish religious system were the instruments used,  just confirms our universal responsibility.  Two dreaded enemies got together to kill the Prince of Peace!

Tags: Israel, Anti-Semitism, Palestine, Holocaust, Jesus, Adolph Hitler, Genocide

I Must Stand For Wicca

UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION - BILL OF RIGHTS - Amendment 1.  Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Sometimes the Culture War can put us in some rather uncomfortable positions and cause us to have some strange bedfellows as the story I am linking to in Christianity Today  so poignantly illustrates.  As John W. Whitehead explains in his column, Stand Up, Stand Up for Wicca, "Amidst a sea of memorial plaques at the Northern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery, one space remains blank.  That space is waiting to be filled by a plaque honoring the life and sacrifice of 34-year-old Sgt. Patrick Stewart, who was killed in action on September 25, 2005, when his helicopter was struck with a rocket-propelled grenade as it flew over Afghanistan. But it may be some time before Sgt. Stewart is remembered with a memorial plaque. That's because his war widow and the Department of Veterans Affairs are at odds over the Stewart family's request to have the Wiccan pentacle, a five-pointed star surrounded by a circle, placed on the plaque. As of May 31, 2006, government officials have refused to allow the Wiccan symbol to be placed on Stewart's plaque."

As the rest of the article goes on to point out, it is very important for people of all faiths to stand up for cases like this because if one religion can be disallowed its free exercise, than all can be.  It would be my desire for all Wiccan's to come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, the very creator of the sun, the moon, the stars, the earth, the seasons and rhythms of creation, male and female and sexual passion and energy.  But even if they never do, I will stand for a Wiccan's right to worship however they desire, even while trying to persuade them otherwise.  Sergeant Patrick Stewart's family should be able to memorialize his death with whatever symbol is appropriate to the Wiccan religion, and the Department of Veterans Affairs should support them and see that it happens quickly.

As a follower of Jesus Christ, I unashamedly embrace Him as the Savior of the world and the only source of salvation, heaven, the forgiveness of sins and fellowship with the Creator Yahweh.  I know Him as the Ultimate Goodness and Harmony behind creation, and the Conqueror of the evil spirits in the world known as demons.  I believe all people must turn from self worship, nature worship and sin to Jesus Christ in order to be in harmony with God and His creation.  I trust Jesus Christ and His sinless, perfect life, substitutionary death, cleansing blood and bodily resurrection and ascension as the only means for seekers to be reconciled to the Eternal God.

Having said all of this, I realize that their are many who do not embrace my beliefs and see them as being intolerant because they make Jesus exclusive and unique above all the other people to have ever walked this planet.  With all that is in me, I would seek to persuade these very people and trust God's Spirit to change their hearts to believe the aforementioned truths.  In spite of all of this, I am an American and I do not in any way espouse forcing people to believe or embrace a particular religion.  I agree with our Founding Fathers and the First Amendment and would stand for any person of any belief system that was being threatened or not given the right to the "free exercise thereof." Because I am a Christian American, I must stand for Wicca in this case.

Tags: Freedom of Religion, Wicca, Christianity, Christ, Jesus, First Amendment, War on Terror, Constitution of the U.S.

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BE A REAL MAN!

I Corinthians 16:13 - Keep your eyes open for spiritual danger; stand true to the Lord; act like men; be strong; TLB.    

John 15:13- Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends.  NKJV.

Ephesians 5:25 - Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, NKJV.    

Nehemiah 4:14- And I looked, and arose and said to the nobles, to the leaders, and to the rest of the people, "Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, great and awesome, and fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses." NKJV.

I am leaving today to join about 35-40 men on a MEN'S ADVANCE in a beautiful wooded area just North of Spokane, Washington.  As I embark on what always turns into an interesting adventure, I find myself reflecting on what it means to be a man and why manhood seems to be under such attack today from cultural forces that seek to make "maleness" a bad thing.    

Many men these days seem to be confused about manhood because they have been told for several decades now that aggression, strength, passion, drive and decisive action are qualities to be avoided.  Men are being forced into a mold of "niceness" where the highest virtue to be achieved is to be "nice" to one and all.  Don't get me wrong, I am not trying to say that being manly is defined by being harsh or caustic, just that our highest goal in life should not be to make everybody happy with a kind of sappy sweetness.

As a man, I find that I am most inspired by great stories of love, sacrifice, brotherhood, courage and protection.  Though I hate war, I recognize that it is a sad necessity at those times in history when to avoid it is to risk our very existence as human beings.  War though seems to be one of those endeavors that brings out both the best and worst in men.  Whether it is the story of Sergeant York, or movies like Saving Private Ryan, Schindler's List or Hotel Rwanda, there is something so powerful about men who put it all on the line to risk life, limb, property, comfort and privilege to rescue, protect and sacrifice for others.  It seems that when men live like this, they are fulfilling what it truly means to be "manly".  This is precisely why Jesus Christ is the ultimate man and the greatest model ever of what a REAL MAN looks like!    

As the above Scripture references make clear," laying down our lives, loving sacrificially, and fighting for our brothers, children, wives and houses", calls out to the "deep unto deep" within us and inspires something that often lies dormant in the day to day drudgery we call life.  The good news is that it doesn't take a war or some kind of heroic act to live our lives this way.  We were made to give up our rights, desires and comforts to assure that others may live well.  It is in "losing our lives" that we truly "find our lives" and become REAL MEN.  Men were made to give all for the sake of others and to put it all on the line to assure that the weak, the poor, the widows and the orphans are protected, provided for and loved.  We are called to live heroically by loving our wives as they deserve to be loved, and by providing an example for our sons and daughters to follow.

One day, some of us will be called upon to literally put our lives on the line for our families, nation or Lord, but until we do, we must make it a practice in the rhythms of our homes, workplaces and churches.  My friend and associate pastor Larry always reminds me that "we get good at what we practice at most often."  If we practice loving, giving, sacrifice and true manhood, we will be the kind of man we want to be in the day of testing and when we stand in the presence of the Almighty and hear Him pronounce, "Well done good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of the Lord!"    

Powered by QumanaTags: Men, Manhood, Marriage, Family, War, Sacrifice, Love, Jesus