tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25914334840283244822024-03-13T06:32:22.339-07:00Journey Through FaithMichael Bauchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16954610300702060634noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2591433484028324482.post-39123530986029597642017-09-13T07:09:00.003-07:002017-09-13T07:11:39.313-07:00Devil in the Details...<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I'm going to go a little of script on this one simply because it kind of blends into my other blog where in I talk about modern media. I don't normally discuss television in this blog, but I felt this time I had to address something important.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Watching causal television for a Christian, and especially for
a Catholic can be a mine field of temptation and depravity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Without a doubt if you start scrolling through
your channel listings you will find something that celebrates moral ambiguity, hedonism,
any one of the seven deadly sins (probably all of them).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Prime time programing is a veritable kaleidoscope
of everything to avoid as a devout follower of Christ and his church.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">In a separate post I talked about the show “Preacher”, and
now I want to look the broader spectrum of supernatural-faith based media.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now a healthy portion of the spiritual elite
will decry the show “Lucifer” as being poison for your spirit, and maybe they
aren’t wrong.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Depending on how you take
the show.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">If you approach shows like “Preacher”, “Lucifer”, “Supernatural”,
and many others like them for what they are; escapist entertainment, you should
be fine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Obviously these aren’t shows
that you should let young children watch (Supernatural being the marginally
safest of the programs), but adults and Christians need to approach them with a
grain of salt.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Season 2 of “Lucifer” and Season 11 of “Supernatural”
introduce a similar character into both of their respective self-contained
mythologies; God’s female counterpart.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">The concept isn’t that great of a leap from an Eastern
religion point of view.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many faiths
around the world recognize a binary creation system, a balance of equal and
opposite forces.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Good and evil, light
and dark, above and below, and male and female.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This faith system stems from observing
biology in the world as most creatures (humans included) require both male and
female contributions to create life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Supernatural”
introduces this system with presenting to the audience “God’s sister” who was
presumably locked up at the start of creation because she was too powerful of
an opposing force.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The angels in that
series even acknowledge her, with one calling her “Aunty Amara”, clearing
spelling out her sibling relationship to God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">“Lucifer” Season 2 spins it a different way, presenting the
female counterpart as “God’s ex-wife.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There is a basis for the female counterpart in ancient texts, going back
before the split between Israel and Islam, but even still modern
interpretations of both faiths exclude the “God’s wife” part.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Further confounding the concepts (setting aside briefly a
binary god) is the fact that Christ is nowhere to be found in either show.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Supernatural” makes the occasional reference
to Christ, “Preacher” despite being centered around a Christian community never
talks about Christ, and “Lucifer” never mentions him either.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These two concepts, the inclusion of an all
but forgotten Eastern concept of a binary deity and the exclusion of Christ is extremely
important for the Christian viewer because it sets down one basic rule you
should remember before going into these shows…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">These shows do not exist in your reality.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">While that should be the “no-brainer” of no brainers, it’s
important to establish that because too many people don’t take the time to
study their own faith.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>American culture
is very much “spoon fed” when it comes to broader concepts of faith and
history.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We know what we are told, but
don’t bother to dig any deeper, and every body of faith is guilty of this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The risk here isn’t that these shows will
present the world with an alternative view of God or question God’s supreme
divine authority over the universe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
risk is that the average person will take fiction as fact.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Both “Lucifer” and “Supernatural” pull heavily from Jewish
lore, Islam, and a bevy of other religions, but tend to shy away from
Christianity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This explains Christ’s
reduced or omitted influence in the storylines.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>If Christ were to show up in either one in all his glory or actually be
acknowledged as the way, the truth, and the light, it would up end the basis
for the shows.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For “Supernatural” the
whole point is that humans have to do everything, and there is no talk of
salvation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For “Lucifer” it would upset the
whole dynamic and bring out the major question “If Lucifer didn’t like Hell,
why not just ask Christ for redemption?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Further, you have to look at the way they portray God in
these shows.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He’s presented as absent
and manipulative as opposed to a loving Father of creation, far from the
omniscient and omnipresent deity Christians have faith in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Essentially these shows do to God, what
ancient Greek’s and Romans did to their deities…they made him human.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Human based deities are, just easier to write
stories about.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They have faults,
failings, desires, and make mistakes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At
one point in “Supernatural” God looks like he’s going to die.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The shows apply human rules to celestial figures
because that’s easier for an audience to grab on to mentally, but that is not
what Christians and Catholics believe.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">As I said earlier these programs will pull from any random
faith they can find to fill out their internal mythology and that’s important
to remember, because they are cherry picking their background.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you want to find out more about your
faith, don’t tune into prime time television unless it’s EWTN.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dig into scholarly works; talk with priests
and deacons and RCIA instructors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These
shows are works of fiction and only serve the devil if you forget that specific
point.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><o:p><span style="font-family: "calibri";">For more of my thoughts on "Preacher" click here.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<a href="http://michaelbauchbrainwaves.blogspot.com/2017/07/season-1-round-up-preacher.html">http://michaelbauchbrainwaves.blogspot.com/2017/07/season-1-round-up-preacher.html</a></o:p> </span> </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Thanks for reading.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Michael Bauchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16954610300702060634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2591433484028324482.post-14300408583655322902017-09-11T09:00:00.001-07:002017-09-11T09:00:50.531-07:00Three Good Moments...
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I was sitting at home last night, reflecting on my day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I began to wonder…if I were to meet Christ
himself right now and he said “I’m going to select three random
moments from your day and we’re going to see how you showed the world my love.”
what were the odds that he’d find three good moments?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Admittedly for everyone some days are better than
others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I mean I know what moments I’d
want Christ to review with me…but what are the odds that out of 24 hours, those
would be the moment’s he’d randomly select?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Not really in my favor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have
great moments, each and every one of us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We really do, and we can compare those great moments, measure them as
great, because we have a lot of not so great moments.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Would He pick the times I was kind and
generous to my fellow man, to my spouse, or to my children, or would he happen upon a time when
I was short with them, where my frustration ran rough shot over me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It’s a sobering thought, to be sure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you put every single moment of your day on
a dial and spun it, where would that little arrow likely land?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Would your ratio be in favor of good
moments?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If the idea of such a thing
sends a chill down your spine, then you probably already have your answer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If I were to look to the sky and say “Create
in me a clean heart, oh God.” Or “Thank you Jesus for your sacrifice.” Would my
next moment show that I was truly willing to accept that clean heart or show
that I took that sacrifice seriously?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Accepting Jesus is not a casual thing, it is a day to day
responsibility.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are asked, through
accepting Him, to show the world around us, starting in our homes, His love.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This past week we had an issue at home where in one of the
children had a school project due.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
was due, the next day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It had been
assigned to him three weeks prior.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There
was plenty of time between its assignment and its due date to complete it, but
the child in question failed to tell us about it until the day before it was
due.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most, if not all parents know this
scenario far too well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The slapped
together science fair project, the tri fold display board with whatever you
could find plastered on there at the 11<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> hour, and the late trip to
the library praying that the research gets done before they close and politely
tell you to leave.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I recall a heavy as
all get out volcano I smashed together the night before when I was in grade
school.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The thing is it’s amazing what we can do when we are under
pressure, but imagine if we had more time to do it?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Imagine if we had taken the responsibility seriously
and used the time we were given to our advantage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Imagine what those projects would look like.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">From the moment you accept Christ as your savior, regardless
of your faith or denomination, your clock is starting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You are given an assignment, and for the due
date you have a question mark.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It could
be due tomorrow, it could be due in 30 years, and it could be due in a hundred.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You will never know.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But if you take that responsibility seriously,
just imagine what you could do in a day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Just imagine what you could do in 30 years if you lived every single day
like Christ was going to do a spot check on how you are doing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Now I am going to clarify here because I am certain that
somewhere out there someone will read this and say “You don’t do good works for
brownie points with Christ.” And they would be right to say so.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We don’t do good works for brownie points
with Christ, but as Christ is our example to emulate, we should value his
standard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If I had it in my head every
day that Christ would be the one reviewing this work, not just some outsider
looking in with no concept of where I am at in my life or where my head is at,
but Christ the King of Salvation who knows what weighs on my heart, then I
would want it mirror Him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would want
His approval over my work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Lord, does
this please you?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Christ gave us a
measuring tool.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Love the Lord your God
with all your mind, with all your heart, and with all your soul.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Love your neighbor as yourself.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">That is your assignment, whether it be given to you at
Baptism, at Confirmation, at RCIA or your rededication to the church, that is
your assignment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Over the past few weeks I have seen some glowing examples of
“Loving your neighbors as you love yourself.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In the wake of Hurricane Harvey body checking the Gulf Coast of Texas, I
have seen an amazing outpouring of love in my community and in communities from
around the state and from around the country.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There is no purer form of love then asking “What can I do to help?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“What do you need?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People have opened their homes and kitchens
to those devastated by this storm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When
it looked like entire communities were crippled by this hurricane, surrounding
communities opened up and said “It’s alright.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We’ve got you.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">There are some in my community right now that if Christ came
to them and said “Let’s review three random moments…” the would have nothing to
worry about because they took that call seriously, because every day those
followers of Christ looked at the world they woke up in and said “How can I do
better?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It starts at home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
starts by tending your spiritual garden by weeding out the garbage and sin and temptation
that threaten to drag you down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It grows
in your home, where what once were daunting tasks now seem joyful sacrifices
because you are tending to the things important to your family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then you carry that out into the world around
you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you woke up today, it’s not too
late to begin your assignment from God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>If you start right now, you will have way more than 3 good moments to
look back on.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Thanks for reading.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Michael Bauchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16954610300702060634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2591433484028324482.post-71150735681380684322017-08-21T07:32:00.001-07:002017-08-21T07:32:29.740-07:00Crosswalks...
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’ve been sitting on this for a few weeks now and, I really
can’t explain why.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe I was just
waiting for a time when the thought itself felt more fully formed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t like writing off the cuff, it feels
terribly unpolished, disjointed and scatterbrained.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Anyway, the point of today’s post is simple.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do you use crosswalks or not?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">My commute home from work takes me through the business
district of Corpus Christi, Texas, a not terribly big city on the coast.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I take two streets, two left turns and a
right, to get from my office to the highway and something I have noticed for a
long while is that people don’t like to use crosswalks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I could easily assume that those of you reading this know
what a crosswalk is, but erring on the side of caution, a crosswalk is a
section of roadway, usually found at an intersection, where there is a white
painted single column grid indicating to pedestrians that it is safe to cross
the street at this location.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s
usually denoted with “Walk/Don’t Walk” lights.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Now between my office door and the highway there are five
crosswalks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet for reasons totally
their own, I see many people dart willy-nilly across the street like they are
in a live action game of “Frogger”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On
the surface this can confound, because both pedestrians AND drivers know that
by law, the cross walk is the safe spot to cross at.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But here we are, with people going to and
from work launching them into a full sprint across the street.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The question now is “why?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This behavior is indicative of the nature of humanity
itself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We instinctively want to follow
the path of least resistance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We want to
acquire immediate satisfaction without the actual effort of working for
it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s why drug abuse, alcohol
abuse, and gambling abuse is so prevalent in our culture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People see them as a means of immediate
gratification for minimal effort.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">In moderation these things are not bad.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When used properly within the scope of legal
means, drugs are actually a good thing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They can relieve pain during a difficult recovery process, but they
become abused when the effect of the drug is used to supplant the recovery
process.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let’s say you undergo major
surgery for instance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The doctor prescribes
a pain management medication to help you cope with pain while you undergo
recovery therapy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Recovery therapy,
anyone will tell you, is not easy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
can be a hugely difficult process that takes way longer than a five minute
music montage, as popular cinema would have you believe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So when recovery doesn’t present immediate results,
there is a temptation to turn to that pain medication for relief.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">In social situations, alcohol consumption can be good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s okay to share a drink with friends after
work occasionally.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But again, occasionally
does not mean “every day”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It doesn’t
even mean “every Friday or every weekend”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It means once in a while.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Could
be once a month, a time for everyone to unwind and decompress.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Alcohol hits parts of the brain that makes
you feel good, and people want to go back to that good feeling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The problem is that the feeling can feel so
good, that it starts to make the stress of work or at home look harder than it
actually is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So the inclination is to
cut across that street back into alcohol to get back to the good feeling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This starts to upset the balance
significantly where seeking that good feeling of alcohol is actually making the
stressors worse because you aren’t taking the time to actually deal with them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Gambling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Again, in a
strictly social construct, it’s fine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>You can go to a casino to have some fun with friends, maybe gain a
little bit of money in the long run.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve
heard it said though, that the worst thing you can do in gambling is win.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s because that triggers a whole new set
of senses in your brain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That feeling
when you get your paycheck at the end of your work period, that gratification
you feel for being rewarded for your hard work?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Yeah, that, only without the stress of actually working for it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All of the sudden you have a means to feel
that rush of winning with minimal effort.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The problem now is that you don’t always win.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact, more often than not, you don’t
win.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But you want to gain back that
feeling of winning so you keep playing, spending more and more time and money
into an institution that has promised you and owes you nothing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">A gambling win, time available to spend with friends,
medical science, these are blessings from God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>God has graced us with these gifts to help us in a difficult world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But when we rely on this above the work God
has called us to, we turn these blessings into self-appointed curses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God did not curse these institutions; we let
the Devil tell us that it was easier to abuse them than to do the hard work.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">But how do drugs, alcohol, and gambling relate to
crosswalks?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s the principle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The risk of avoiding the work to gain the
reward is unbalanced.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Darting across the
street offers the same sense of satisfaction as getting high or drunk or riding
that winning bet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is risking getting hit
by a car worth avoiding the thirty or fifty feet you’d need to walk to across
the street safely?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most of the people I
see do it don’t seem to even think about it, it’s action without thought.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When they first tried it, it worked without
incident.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The second and third time,
again without incident.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They could dart
across that street fifty times and not get hit by a car.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You might abuse drugs or gamble or get drunk
fifty times without incident.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But what
happens when you lose more than you were willing to risk?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When getting drunk or high turns into
something more important than your responsibilities?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When you can’t pay your bills because you
were banking on that next big score?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When
you dart across that street without even thinking, or noticing the car who didn’t
see you?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Work vs Risk.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Which
will leave you more satisfied when you get your reward?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">As always, thanks for reading.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Michael Bauchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16954610300702060634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2591433484028324482.post-59809995489643326612017-05-02T07:39:00.001-07:002017-05-02T07:39:27.625-07:00Who Are You Willing to Pray For?<p dir="ltr">A lot of times in our lives, especially as Christians, we find ourselves encountering people who may be in times of trouble, and some who will actively ask “If you could please pray for me?”  Usually we count these folks among our friends, close acquaintences, or co-workers.  But would you pray for a stranger?  Would you pray for someone who hurt you?  Could you pray for an inmate?</p>
<p dir="ltr">Today’s (May 2, 2017) scripture reading is Acts 7:51-8:1</p>
<p dir="ltr">“<i>Stephen said to the people, the elders and the scribes: ‘You stubborn people, with your pagan hearts and pagan ears. You are always resisting the Holy Spirit, just as your ancestors used to do. Can you name a single prophet your ancestors never persecuted? In the past they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, and now you have become his betrayers, his murderers. You who had the Law brought to you by angels are the very ones who have not kept it.’</i></p>
<p dir="ltr"><i>  They were infuriated when they heard this, and ground their teeth at him.</i></p>
<p dir="ltr"><i>  But Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at God’s right hand. ‘I can see heaven thrown open’ he said ‘and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.’ At this all the members of the council shouted out and stopped their ears with their hands; then they all rushed at him, sent him out of the city and stoned him. The witnesses put down their clothes at the feet of a young man called Saul. As they were stoning him, Stephen said in invocation, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’ Then he knelt down and said aloud, ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them’; and with these words he fell asleep. Saul entirely approved of the killing</i>.”</p>
<p dir="ltr">Now, previously I’ve talked about Jesus’ famous prayer “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”  This is one of his final words before dying on the cross for our sins, and this act calls for us as God’s children to unilateral forgiveness. But this is Jesus Christ, the Son of God we are talking about.  Forgiveness is what He does; it’s easy for him…right?</p>
<p dir="ltr">What about Stephen?  We see here Stephen standing up to the people of the day, despite the fact that they CLEARLY didn’t want to hear it, and was stoned to death for his witnessing the Glory of God.  That is to say he was brutally murdered, bludgeoned to death with rocks.  Not “a rock”…rocks, this took a while.  You can imagine the pain he was experiencing, even as he called for the Lord to not hold their sin against them.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Where I work right now, we have over a thousand inmates, all of whom have been accused, some found guilty and convicted of some pretty hard crimes.  We are talking murder, robbery, abuse, sexual assault of children and so forth.  Could you pray for them?  Could you stand there and ask God not to hold their sins against them?  Could you look at the man convicted of sexually assaulting a child and say “I forgive you.” And stand as his advocate before the throne of God?</p>
<p dir="ltr">It’s hard.  We have anger for that kind of thing; we have an intolerance of these heinous crimes.  Imagine the worst crime committed by someone against you, whether it is an actual criminal offense or rather a social infraction; now imagine forgiving them.  But that’s what God calls us to do.  Stephen’s example is proof that we as mere mortals can do this.  We can forgive, we should forgive, and further we SHOULD pray for those who have sinned against us.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Your prayer doesn’t have to be complicated; it can be just as simple as Stephen’s.  If you want to get into more detail, you can, that’s well within your right.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Now that doesn’t mean you are wiping the slate clean before the throne.  We can forgive, but a priest, absolves sins. </p>
<p dir="ltr">“Absolve: to set (someone) free from an obligation or the consequences of guilt”</p>
<p dir="ltr">“Forgive: to cease to feel resentment against (an offender)”</p>
<p dir="ltr"><sup>Merriam Webster Dictionary</sup></p>
<p dir="ltr">Our forgiveness, while not wiping the slate clean before the throne of God, does go a long way to make a case for someone with Christ.  Further, it releases our own hearts from the burden of resentment.  You know what it’s like to carry a grudge against someone, how that weighs on you.  What if Stephen, or Christ, had decided to hold grudges rather than crosses? </p>
<p dir="ltr">So please know this, if you carry something on your heart, at least know that I forgive you.  I can’t set it right, but I can stand there and say “Lord, Heavenly Father, for the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, please do not hold this person’s sin against them.”</p>
Michael Bauchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16954610300702060634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2591433484028324482.post-61557231368692351742017-04-11T07:39:00.001-07:002017-04-11T07:39:18.848-07:00About Prayer<p dir="ltr"></p>
<p dir="ltr">It’s been more than a little bit since I’ve posted anything here, and that’s just because I’ve been really, really busy. That happens. My journey through faith is still continuing, I just haven’t had a real opportunity to update you faithful followers. So today I want to talk about something very specific:<br></p>
<p dir="ltr">Prayer</p>
<p dir="ltr">Now, I’m not going to go into what I pray about, that’s between me and God. Rather I want to address how to approach prayer. When we pray, we are entering a direct dialog with God, we are going to him with our concerns, our wants, and our needs. If you find yourself confused on how to start off praying, if you’ve never really prayed before, don’t worry, Jesus himself gave us a template in Matthew 6:9-13</p>
<p dir="ltr">“<sup>9</sup> “This, then, is how you should pray:</p>
<p dir="ltr">“‘Our Father in heaven,</p>
<p dir="ltr">hallowed be your name,</p>
<p dir="ltr"><sup>10</sup> your kingdom come,</p>
<p dir="ltr">your will be done,</p>
<p dir="ltr"> on earth as it is in heaven.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><sup>11</sup> Give us today our daily bread.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><sup>12</sup> And forgive us our debts,</p>
<p dir="ltr"> as we also have forgiven our debtors.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><sup>13</sup> And lead us not into temptation,[a]</p>
<p dir="ltr"> but deliver us from the evil one.[b]’”</p>
<p dir="ltr"> </p>
<p dir="ltr">If that reads as very familiar, it’s because most churches pray this, the Lord’s Prayer, at least once per service or mass, because it is pretty spot on. I won’t break it down for you, that’s more for something like RCIA to cover, but it is sufficient to say that if you don’t know what to pray, start here.</p>
<p dir="ltr"> </p>
<p dir="ltr">More directly I want to talk about how to approach prayer. Hopefully you’ve either gotten a chance to read the book or see the film “War Room”. If you haven’t I encourage you to talk the time to check it out. Now the basic premise of the “War Room” is that is brings the suggestion of having a space somewhere in your home dedicated exclusively to prayer. I fully support this, however I’ll be the first to admit I have no such space in my own home. So in order to compensate I talked with my wife and we decided instead to keep “War Journals”. The idea is the same, we write down things that we think need God’s intercession on and refer to them when we go into our times of prayer. The “War” is the spiritual warfare that we are conducting against evil in the world. </p>
<p dir="ltr"> </p>
<p dir="ltr">Whether or not you have a prayer room or a prayer journal, the second part is more important, and that is dedicating time to prayer. I mean DEDICATE time to prayer, not fit it in where you can, if you can. No, you need to make a decision that you are going make that time just for your relationship with God. For me, this is when I first get up, after my shower. I usually spend 5:30am to 6ish, sometimes a little after, in prayer. Its…not always easy. I struggle sometimes, but I try. We have four kids right now, three of which are little, but its important to make that time for the Lord. If they are awake, I’ll take care of their immediate needs, and then they can join me in prayer. Or they can watch cartoons in the other room. It’s a pretty even split when it happens.</p>
<p dir="ltr"> </p>
<p dir="ltr">So, we have our prayer, we have our things to pray on, and we have our time to pray, what else could you possibly need?</p>
<p dir="ltr"> </p>
<p dir="ltr">How about the mindset to start praying? Often, when we approach God, we do so with our needs as our focus. It makes sense, that’s what we want/need and that’s where our head is going to be at. But I caution you against going from this ego-centric starting point, because while God understands and respects your needs, wants, and desires, He also is looking at a much, much bigger picture. A good case in point is praying for a new job. Happens, I think, to all of us at some point. We find ourselves in a situation where we need to examine our finances and find we are falling short, not to mention we are miserable in that job so we pray “Lord, give me a new job to better pay my bills.”</p>
<p dir="ltr"> </p>
<p dir="ltr">So your bills aren’t getting paid, that’s legit, but are you balancing your budget properly? Are you being a good steward with your financial blessings? You should examine that before you get bent out of shape because you didn’t get that raise. You are miserable at your job so you want a new one? That’s fair, but how are you approaching your current job? Are you a good and faithful employee? Are you kind and courteous to your co-workers? Or are you acting miserable and bringing the moral of the work place down.</p>
<p dir="ltr"> </p>
<p dir="ltr">Often God doesn’t put us where we want to go, He puts us where we need to be. When you approach God about finances, you may not get a “new job” but rather direction on how to make ends meet by extending on your current circumstances or capitalizing on some previously unused talents.</p>
<p dir="ltr"> </p>
<p dir="ltr">Basically don’t get upset if you don’t get astraight answer right away. God knows what He’s got in store for you.</p>
<p dir="ltr"> </p>
<p dir="ltr">Lastly, as you do your personal reflection before praying, look at what it is you really need. Go to the Wedding at Cana, for instance. The servants at the wedding went to Mary, explaining they were running out of wine fast. They identified the immediate need. The thing is, that had always been the problem, they didn’t have enough wine to start with. The manager of the servants (there’s always one) should have been looking at the people coming in and if he’d done just a little math would have realized a lot sooner that they were going to need more wine. So now one person’s lack of preparation or adapting to a situation became an emergency that could have shamed a newly wedded family. When the need was identified, they turned to God.</p>
<p dir="ltr"> </p>
<p dir="ltr">We talked about this not long ago in RCIA and one of my instructors said that “God needs you to tell Him what you need…” and I agree with that up to about 75%. God is fully aware of the needs of his children. Christ at the wedding for instance wasn’t shocked that the wine was running out, because being God he knew. He knew before the servants knew. He knew before anyone got up that morning. God knows what you need. But before you can go to him in prayer, YOU have to know what you need. You have to examine yourself and determine where you need God’s help. That’s a big part of it because that is a humbling experience, to need something from someone else. We like to want, we hate to need. We like to say “I want a new car because this one is a little old, and the engine knocks around a bit, and I have to do an oil change and new tires and…” but we hate it when our car is smoking on the side of the road and we need the grace and mercy of someone outside ourselves. We want a new job, because it can be stressful to stretch finances and make cuts, but we hate to need a new job because our car got repossessed and we are skipping meals and dealing without light or water until the next check comes.</p>
<p dir="ltr"> </p>
<p dir="ltr">God knows what you need. Are you ready to talk to Him about it?<br></p>
Michael Bauchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16954610300702060634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2591433484028324482.post-48974391855214314412017-02-17T13:03:00.002-08:002017-02-17T13:03:30.545-08:00On Reconciliation...
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">In any journey of faith we take moments down long, winding
roads of self-examination, and these times are extremely important because it
helps put us in a head-space to really think about our relationship with
God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Part of that journey is
reconciliation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">But what are we reconciling with God about?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I mean, what has caused this rift between us
and the Father?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well that would be
sin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But then there is that ever present
question of what exactly is “sin”?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Sin, in broad terms, is any action you knowingly take or
refuse to take that puts you at odds with God’s plan, will, and
commandments.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We really don’t have the
time or the space to dive into all the different types of sin out there, nor do
I feel particularly qualified to do so.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Instead I’m going to shore it up with the root of all sin, the center of
sin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“I”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">When you look at the very word “sin” the center of it is
“I”, and that really establishes a foundation for understanding sin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When you go to confession, you can’t talk
about what everyone else has been doing, you can only hold accountable
yourself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Forgive me father, for <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u>“I”</u></i></b>
have sinned.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When we sin, we are
placing ourselves, our wants and desires, above what God has intended.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We love ourselves more than we love anything
else.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When we sin, it’s an egocentric
action, regardless of what the particular sin is.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Let’s go back to the Garden of Eden.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Original Sin, as we understand it, is Adam
and Eve taking the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, eating it, and becoming
aware of basically everything.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You’ve
probably heard this story a thousand times, but let me offer you a different
perspective:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There wasn’t anything
special about that tree.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Think about the
command in Genesis 2: 17: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“but you must
not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from
it you will certainly die.”</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now, in
Genesis 3:6 <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“When the woman saw that the
fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable
for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her
husband, who was with her, and he ate it.”</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Notice what didn’t happen?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They didn’t drop dead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They ate
from the tree, and in doing so came to the realization that they could make
their own choices, and started coming to imperfect conclusions about the world
around them rather than relying on God’s instruction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They placed themselves before God, the ego,
the self, became more important, and that is when they lost their way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God placed the commandment “do not eat of it,
or you will certainly die”, but that was an outcome, a result of their
decision, not an effect of the act.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Let me unpack that last part, there is a difference between
the action and the decision to act and sin is a choice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You have to make a decision whether or not to
sin, whether or not you are going to place yourself ahead of God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Exodus 20:3 plainly states “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">You shall have no other gods before me</i>.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now, in an era of polytheistic societies,
that means you worship the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Period.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>God comes first in the line of priorities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Christ himself expands on this in Matthew
22:37-38 <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“And he said to him, “You shall
love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all
your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">If you love something with all your heart and soul and mind,
then you love it more than you love yourself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That is a very tall order, but there it is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sin is placing God anywhere beyond #1.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, regardless of what your personal sins
are, they are all derivatives of placing yourself ahead of God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Now
that we have identified what sin is, we can actually start looking for
reconciliation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God is a God of mercy,
grace, and forgiveness, and he is always wanting us to come home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A perfect illustration of this is “the Good
Shepherd”, where Christ is carrying the lamb on His shoulders, bringing it
home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is what Christ has been
trying to do, He’s trying to bring us back to the Father, back to Paradise, and
we need him to do that, because if we try to figure it out for ourselves, then
we are going right back to placing ourselves ahead of God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So how do we reconcile this?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Well, if you’ve been reading this far, the answer should be
pretty straight forward.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We need to
start by placing God ahead of ourselves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That’s the “how”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When we find
ourselves tempted, either by our friends, our family, our addictions, the
pleasure centers of our brain, or the devil himself, then we need to examine
the action and ask “Is this pleasing to God?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Years ago I was working with a gentleman and he asked me “Hey Michael,
would it be ethical if I…” and I stopped him right there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I said “If you ever have to ask “would it be
ethical if I did this…” the answer is probably a resounding “no.””<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The same applies here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you have to ask if something would be
pleasing to God, the answer is probably going to be a resounding no.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If something is pleasing to God, we know that
pretty much right off the bat, it’s kind of a gut instinct for the most part.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s not to say it’s easy, and I highly
recommend reaching out to a pastor or a priest or an accountability partner or
someone to get a second opinion if you ever find yourself confused.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When in doubt, pray it out.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Now WHY do we need to reconcile with God?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because, in short, we’ve severely damaged our
relationship with him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our sin caused
our divide from him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our continued sin
required the sacrifice of Jesus to atone for sin, and our continued sin spits
in the eye of Christ every time we do it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">That’s a hard truth right there, because a lot of times we
like to gloss over sins by saying “well I’m not really hurting anyone.” But no,
we are hurting Christ when we do this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Further we are damaging our relationship with not only God, but those
around us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So reconciliation is very
important.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Many, many years ago, while my grandfather was still alive,
my father was looking through the local newspaper and saw that an elderly woman
with our last name had passed away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our
last name is not common in our area, so he reached out to my grandpa and asked
if he knew who this lady was.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Boy did
he.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My grandfather said that, when he
was about to ship out for the army in WWII, he was going around to various
friends and family saying his final goodbyes, just in case he didn’t make it
home, which you can imagine had to be a very sobering time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He arrived at this family members house and
saw a copy of “Mein Kampf” on the table, (the autobiography of Adolf Hitler)
and various Nazi party paraphernalia around the house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was understandably upset and told her as
much in probably a very loud and colorful way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He then reported her to the FBI, and that was the last we heard of her
until the day my dad read her obituary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">On one hand this story serves to illustrate the fractioning
war and choices can have on a family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Obviously at some point in their shared history, this person meant a lot
to my grandpa, enough that he wanted to tell her goodbye.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So to have this massive rift between the two,
to the extent that the greater portion of her extended family had no idea she
even existed, that is a devastating thing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I calculated it out, that was fifty six-ish years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Over five and a half decades of no
communication.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Five and a half decades
of missed weddings, of missed birthdays, of anniversaries, reunions, funerals,
celebrations of life, landmark events that were lost because of choices made in
the heat of the moment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Yes, being a Nazi sympathizer is no small thing; neither is
being reported to the FBI.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But no one
can say how she would have viewed the Nazi party during the run of WWII, a
month later, a year later, ten years later.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It could have been the very next day she opened her eyes and renounced
the party all together, but we’ll never know.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In her defense, had it not been for WWII, Hitler would have been
remembered by history as a great leader.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He was Time Magazine’s man of the year prior to the war.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The man she was defending wasn’t declaring a
holocaust on humanity; he was the man who revitalized her nation of origin, a
place she felt very strong emotional ties to.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She might not have known, and for her ignorance was condemned.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">When God became man, in the body and blood of Jesus Christ,
he sought to reconcile with us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He walked
the world from our point of view, saw the whole of humanity and understood on a
fundamental level what it is we go through.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He understands why we make the choices we make.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus dined with tax collectors and sinners
not to condemn them but to show that God understands, and still wants us to
come home before it’s too late.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He wants
to carry us on his shoulders home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In
order to do that, we need to walk in his will and turn our back on sin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nobody said it would be easy, but that’s why
we have the church and confession.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
Gospel is not about condemnation, but the fulfillment of a promise of father to
his children.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Thanks for reading.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Michael Bauchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16954610300702060634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2591433484028324482.post-24538640219191568702017-01-09T10:42:00.002-08:002017-01-09T10:42:22.643-08:00Are You “Okay” with “Not Being Okay”?
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">On the
surface, it comes across as a rather pedantic question.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Obviously if you aren’t “okay” then you aren’t
“okay”, however the issue can be far more complex than that.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">There is no dispute that in the scriptures Christ flipped
the societal scales.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He dined with the less-than-reputable
people in the land, the tax collectors, prostitutes, and sinners.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But there is an important point there that a
lot of folks get confused on: his tolerance of their life style wasn’t
acceptance of their lifestyle.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We need to break it down:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>to tolerate something is to “allow the existence, occurrence, or
practice of (something that one does not necessarily like or agree with)
without interference”, while to accept is to “believe or come to recognize (an
opinion, explanation, etc.) as valid or correct”. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Google Dictionary<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I want to highlight one specific part in the definitions:
tolerate “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">something that one does not necessarily like or agree with</i></b>” and
accept “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">recognize as valid or correct</i></b>”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>These concepts are not synonymous; they don’t mean the same thing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can tolerate something without accepting it;
you can be “not okay” with something.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">What brought this about was, my wife and I were watching “Sister
Wives” the other night and, while that in of itself is a whole other can of
worms, the episode in question dealt with this this family dealing with one of
the daughter’s revelations that she was a lesbian.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her biological mother, Meri, in the episode kept
going back and forth during the interview sessions stating that she was
concerned that her daughter felt that she (the mother) was “not okay” with her
being a lesbian.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you watch the episode
its pretty clear that, deep down she’s not okay with it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My wife pointed out “it doesn’t really matter
if you’re “not okay” with it.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
stated that it was something that has happened and there it is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like it or not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What I noticed in between the interviews and
the footage from their home was that no, she was clearly not okay with her
daughter being a lesbian, but more, she wasn’t okay with herself not being
okay.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is what is going to cause
some problems.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Society, the world, has us wrapped up in expectations for
our responses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a very “like it or
not” world we live in, and if we DON’T like something we are made to feel
lesser about it, like we are the one with the problem.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“I’m gay, and if you don’t like that, you
have a problem.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“I use drugs, and if you
don’t like that, you have a problem.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“I’m
getting an abortion, and if you don’t like that…” you see the where this is
going.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">But where the world is demanding we accept something, we
have to understand that Christ called us to tolerate, not accept.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We do not have to like it, and we need to be
okay with not liking it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We need to be
okay with not being okay.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">If you have a friend who is overweight and you know their
health is failing due to their weight issues, it’s okay not to be okay with
that. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can “not like” the situation,
but still be their friend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can
tolerate the situation for the sake of the person.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You absolutely do not have to accept that
they are overweight, and when you pretend to accept something you are not okay
with, you are placing an unnecessary conflict within yourself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When everything in your head is screaming “You
need to lose weight or you will die!” but on the outside you are silently
watching them kill themselves, you are not doing them a favor and you are
hurting yourself to boot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you
acknowledge that you are not okay, then you can stand as someone trying to help
them out of their situation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Going back to Jesus, he tolerated their situations for the
sake of the person.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He said “I love you,
but you need to fix this situation.” And that is love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Love isn’t accepting someone’s lifestyle
unquestioningly, its understanding and tolerating, in the hopes that together
you can help them fix the rougher parts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Going back to Meri and her daughter: she can be “not okay”
with her daughter being a lesbian, which is perfectly acceptable and not
unfounded.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The LGBT lifestyle has a lot
of dark roads around it, and there are two ways people go down these roads:
When their families don’t accept who they are, and when they are too accepting
of what they do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Meri’s daughter is a
lesbian, and there’s nothing she can do about that, but she can be there as a
supportive parent, tolerant of the dynamic, but still not okay with it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By being there, she can help keep her
daughter from the darker paths of the LGBT lifestyle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She can say “I don’t like the path you are on
right, now, but I will walk it with you in the hopes that you don’t get hurt.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">That is love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Love is
not wanting someone to get hurt, and not wanting them to hurt themselves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Love is patient, understanding and kind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Love understands that there were things in
that person’s life that led them to this point, but love also wants to change
trajectory to something that heals.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Now I’m not saying that homosexuality, obesity, and drug use
are interchangeable, they aren’t. Each one is its own thing, but they are all
something that you can be “not okay” with.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But before you decide you are not okay with something, you may want to
pray on it and determine <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">WHY </i></b>you aren’t okay with it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I think we’ll cover that another time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Thanks for reading, and God bless.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Michael Bauchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16954610300702060634noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2591433484028324482.post-55003993438294904632016-12-09T19:50:00.001-08:002016-12-09T19:50:20.556-08:00Putting Our Shadow Where it Belongs...<div align="left" ><p dir="ltr"><font color ="#000000">My family has a tradition of watching National Lampoons Christmas Vacation around Christmas time, and if you haven't seen it I recommend checking it out at least once.  Maybe you'll like it, maybe you won't, all depends on your personal tastes.  This isn't a review, I have another blog for that.  This is more about what occurred to me as I viewed the film.</font></p>
</div><p dir="ltr"></p>
<div align="left" ><p dir="ltr"><font color ="#000000">The central character is Clark Griswald, a loving father and husband who works very hard to provide for his family, and in general a very kind man.  While some of his kindness is begruding, its still there amid the complaining.  He could easily give into his own selfishness on multiple occasions but he pushes through because at his core he's a good person.</font></p>
</div><p dir="ltr"></p>
<div align="left" ><p dir="ltr"><font color ="#000000">His major character flaw is a sense of entitlement he has.  He wants the best for his family, and a major plot point revolves around his expected Christmas bonus.  He feels entitled to this extra money at the end of the calender year and has, in fact, already spent it.  This character flaw actually bothered me when I first viewed the film, this weird sense of entitlement, that he deserves something he didn't earn.  It took me a while to figure out why it hit me son close to home and why it was so terribly irritating.  Its because it reminded me of...me.</font></p>
</div><p dir="ltr"></p>
<div align="left" ><p dir="ltr"><font color ="#000000">I know a lot of my generation, myself included, struggles with that sense of entitlement, and most psychologist will tell you that you get irritated with negative traits people posses that remind you of yourself, because deep down we don't like facing our own faults, our personal darkness.</font></p>
</div><p dir="ltr"></p>
<div align="left" ><p dir="ltr"><font color ="#000000">However facing our flaws is essential to our spiritual growth.  Our flaws don't define us, but because we spend time dwelling on them we think they do.  Our flaws, rather, are a road map to get closer to God.</font></p>
</div><p dir="ltr"></p>
<div align="left" ><p dir="ltr"><font color ="#000000">Things like entitlement are very childish. In the film Griswald throws a temper tantrum and in our weaker moments we do to. Our selfishness leads to anger and disappointment when we don't get what we want and when we let that dictate our moods we become as children, without control of our emotions. Look at 1st Corinthians 11-13 "</font><font color ="#000000">11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 12 For now we see in a mirror, darkly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known."</font></p>
</div><p dir="ltr"></p>
<div align="left" ><p dir="ltr"><font color ="#000000">A mirror darkly. That selfish child we have lying inside us, that is our dark, sinful self. We have to examine ourselves, not to wallow in self effacing guilt but to overcome the part of us that holds us back from God. Turn away from that sinful you, turn to the light of God. When you know your darkness and push it behind you, not within you but behind you, you face the light of God.</font></p>
</div><p dir="ltr"></p>
<div align="left" ><p dir="ltr"><font color ="#000000">Let us help each other to make this a year of renewal, and show that through is this world can know the love of Jesus.</font></p>
</div><p dir="ltr"></p>
<div align="left" ><p dir="ltr"><font color ="#000000">Thank you for reading, and God bless you.</font></p>
</div>Michael Bauchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16954610300702060634noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2591433484028324482.post-90627923242932646422016-12-07T12:54:00.000-08:002016-12-07T12:54:02.331-08:00Beginning the Journey: Part 1-The Prodigial Son
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Going over what I've shared up until now, I realized that I'd never told you how all of this got started in the first place. This is not an easy story for me to tell, but if it helps to share, then share I shall.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Whenever I speak to folks about God’s plan in life, I always
tell them “God doesn’t take you where you want to go, but sends you where you
need to be.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Those words come not just
from years of studying, but from my own personal experience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the summer of 2008 I was living in Corpus
Christi, Texas, a delicate gem of a city on the gulf coast, and I was at an
all-time low, both professionally and personally.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After seven years of law enforcement, I was
not handling the strain very well, and I had just broken up with a woman I
thought I was going to be with for the rest of my life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Through all of this I felt myself drifting
away from God, and that September, I followed the advice of some friends of
mine and joined them in Bellingham, Washington, 2000 miles away from everything
that reminded me of my troubles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I gave
my two weeks’ notice, cashing in all the money I had saved up, sold my truck,
packed up my bags and headed to the Pacific Northwest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the time I didn’t know what God wanted out
of me, and I frankly did not care.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
didn’t care about anything.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Arriving in Washington, it was a nice change of pace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Things were slower; I had far fewer personal
or professional responsibilities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Granted the fact that I had no social life and no job had a lot to do
with that, but it gave me time to walk and to think about what I really wanted
out of life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I tried going back to
church.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Being raised Missouri Synod Lutheran;
it had always been reinforced in my life how important a church family is, so I
tried out the local Missouri Synod church up there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I didn’t care for it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I went in there a complete stranger, and felt
like I left exactly the same way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So I
went to the local Evangelical Lutheran Church (ELCA) and found it a lot more
welcoming, but there was something just not right, not clicking for me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It didn’t help that I found myself in a job I
did not like at all, flipping burgers at a local restaurant.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All of my high and mighty law enforcement
experience hadn’t paid off like I thought it would.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I could not, for the life of me, shake the
funk I was in. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So I prayed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I prayed
for guidance, for some kind of message that would tell me what I needed to
do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In praying, I realized how far off
of God’s path I had wandered, because when I was younger I could talk to God
like he was an old friend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now it was
like I didn’t know him at all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But he
came to me in the form of friends.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
few friends I had made when I was up there, would point out “You talk about
Texas all the time, why not go back.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
like you, but we know you’re not happy here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We love you, go home.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It became very clear to me that this was, in fact, the
direction God wanted me on now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Almost
as soon as I booked my plane ticket, I received a phone call from a friend
still living in Texas stating that he had a car lined up for me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It wasn’t anything fancy but it would get me
around town.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I stopped at my aunt’s
house, who lived in Seattle, to visit before my flight left and, that night I
got a message from a friend of my family’s stating that she had a job lined up
for me at the daycare attached to the church my parents went to.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Already my life was shaping up to be at least
60% better just by turning myself around and following the direction God wanted
me on.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">When I arrived in Texas, I once again found myself
conflicted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here was the only real home
I’d known for the majority of my life, but here too were all the problems I’d
left behind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I didn’t know how to feel
about my return.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was thankful and
grateful to have a job and a car, but nagging doubt told me that I had just
came back right where I started from, that I hadn’t made any progress at all.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It was here that God gave me something else to ponder, a
different struggle to face off with.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
pastor at our church, a man not far off from me in age, one who had helped me
as much as he could during my turbulent times, was called to another
church.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This calling offered him
enormous opportunity to spread the word and he accepted it graciously.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thus we were left in a church that had no
pastor, which is as functional as a ship with no captain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The crew knows what to do to keep the ship
running, but that’s not much use when you don’t know where to go.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To compound the matter, we couldn’t afford a
new pastor, our previous one made ends meet by working as a DJ for a local
radio station.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pastors from other
churches stepped forward to lend a hand and a voice, but they could not truly
lead our congregation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This isn’t the challenge God laid before me though.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I believe firmly that he did not want me to
suddenly jump up and go to seminary, but He did want me to teach His word, to
have an open dialog with others about God’s grace and the power of faith.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One Sunday morning, we were expecting a
pastor from San Antonio to come and preach, but he suffered a car accident on
the way and would not be in attendance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I was on the elder’s committee and we discussed what to do next.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I said, “I’ll take today’s sermon.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I still have no idea what I was
thinking.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve spoken before groups
approximately one time prior in my entire life, and certainly hadn’t prepared
anything.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had an hour to figure out
what I was going to say, an hour to prepare a sermon from scratch and deliver
it before a group of people who knew me literally my whole life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some of them were at my baptism when I was an
infant.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So to say there was some
pressure there would be a gross understatement.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So I sat in the pastor’s vacant office with a yellow legal
pad while the rest attended Bible study and I prayed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“What, God, do you want me to say today?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What do you need them to hear?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I had two words written on the page by the time my hour was
up, “Prodigal Son.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A Bible story that
I’d heard my whole life, but had taken on new meaning for me over the course of
the last year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So I stood at the pulpit,
hands wet with sweat, looking out at a small sea of faces.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I could feel my heart thumping in my
chest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I took a deep breath, channeled
everything I’d learned in high school about public speaking, and I could feel a
presence, something that felt like it was beside me and around me, like a
comforting hand on my shoulder.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
propelled me forward, and I started to speak.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I spoke about my own personal journey, about the perspective that it had
given me to our relationship with God when we go astray, and how no matter how
far we go from Him, all we have to do is turn around and He’ll be there,
waiting with a smile and open arms, because every day, in our own very special
ways, we are that prodigal son.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was
not a polished sermon by any stretch of the imagination, but it was unfiltered
and honest, and it resonated with the congregation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For the first time in my living memory people
actually talked about what was said on Sunday morning well into the next week.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">That led me to a new ministry within the church.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We called it “Mobile Ministry”, where I would
write up weekly Bible studies and e-mail them to anyone who was interested so
they had something to carry through the week, to learn from and discuss with
others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I changed careers, got back into
law enforcement and as I talked with my co-workers I learned of their various
personal struggles and we addressed that in Mobile Ministry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>During this time I also spoke a few more
times, only with better prepared sermons in hand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will never really know how much those
listening to me took with them as they left and I suppose it is better that way
in the long run.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The church is gone, the
Ministry has faded away into a dusty, unused blog somewhere on the internet,
but those lessons I still carry and I pass on as much as I can as I look to the
next road God wants me to take.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Next time…Part 2: Finding a Home.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Michael Bauchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16954610300702060634noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2591433484028324482.post-38968278849593282182016-12-05T11:56:00.001-08:002016-12-05T11:56:33.432-08:00Its a LOT more complicated than that...
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">By faith, we live in the world but don't have to be of the world. We exist living in a place that is fallen and tired, and sinful, but we are called by Christ to come out of that place, and that's not always easy. Not everyone makes it out.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Obviously this blog is about my journey into becoming a
member of the Catholic Church and, it was inevitable that I would have to talk
about the various scandals that have loomed over the organization for the
years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The chief among them is, without
about, the accusations leveled against various priests concerning the sexual
abuse of young children.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">A friend of mine, Brian Sweeny, recently shared on his
Facebook page a clip from an interview with Billy Connolly, a popular actor and
comedian.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the clip he is asked about
his relationship with the Catholic Church.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He naturally addressed the child sex abuse scandal and he stated that he
does not have a relationship with the Catholic Church anymore for that and
various other reasons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m going to
refer to Billy Connolly again in a little bit so stay tuned.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Now, I cannot and will not belittle the sex scandal, the
actions, the events, or the victims.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s
not what this is about.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I won’t justify
the actions of the church other than to say that before they could take action
it was their duty and responsibility to investigate each allegation for what it
was.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is actually where my criminal
law background comes into play because that is the lens I have to look at it
through.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have no choice, I’m in too
deep (in criminal law).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I cannot take any accusation at face value.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have to wait for the investigation to prove,
disprove, or remain inconclusive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If the
investigation proves inconclusive, then the law has no choice but to side with
the defendant, because you are considered innocent UNTIL PROVEN guilty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are an organization over 2000 years old,
so they are accustomed to handling problems behind closed doors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Its just that these incidents were reported
in an era that the church, I think, was not prepared for.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The era of the internet where every opinion
was taken as absolute regardless of what actual facts said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That, I think more than anything, colored the
views of those who cried foul on the church.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">That’s not to say that the church did everything right in
regards to the scandal, but the actions of these priests, and those that
actually made an effort to cover it up, these were not the actions of the
church but of individuals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I cannot hold
the body of faith responsible for the actions of men.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let me give you an example from my life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">While attending the Missouri Synod Lutheran Church, we had a
pastor that, frankly was questionable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Our church oversaw a day care and it was later discovered that he had
child pornography on his computer, in his office, at the church.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, question answered.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I personally never trusted the man, but that
was my gut instinct, not based on any facts that I had.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was removed from his office at the church,
I don’t know if there were any criminal charges filed, and he’s no longer
endorse by the Lutheran Church, but he’s still a pastor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He may not have a congregation, but
officially he’s still a pastor.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So, was justice served?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I don’t personally think so, but I also don’t know what was found during
the investigation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I also don’t hold God
responsible for the actions of this man.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I’m very big on personal responsibility.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The priests who conducted these terrible acts on children, I hold them
personally responsible for their actions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The people who covered it up, I hold them personally responsible for
their actions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You know who also holds
these people personally responsible for their actions?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They sooner or later, are going to have to
square up with God on their actions, and abuse of office is not limited to the
Catholic Church, as my personal story illustrates.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It can happen anywhere because people are, at
their core, just people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Their actions
do not invalidate the faith or the teachings of the church.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">One thing that is very important to remember is that yes,
you can be mad at the church, you can question it’s teachings, and ultimately
you should evaluate how they apply to your specific life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Billy Connolly did.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After the loss of his sister and of his
friend, Robin Williams, Connolly did ultimately return to the church.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whether or not he participates in mass itself
is his choice, but he makes it a point to pray and light a candle for his lost
loved ones.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think that, more than
anything expresses the point of the whole sordid affair.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can be mad at representatives of the
church, but remember that God exists above all of them, and God, regardless of
your actions, will always be there for you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Michael Bauchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16954610300702060634noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2591433484028324482.post-80897827158455370172016-11-30T07:09:00.001-08:002016-11-30T07:09:24.533-08:00Love Does not Judge, Love Forgives.<div dir="ltr">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Hey folks, it’s been a while since I last posted because we
were traveling for the Thanksgiving holiday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Now that I’m back I wanted to address something that, as we spend time
with others in the close quarters of the holiday gatherings we may all want to remember:
be tolerant.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">All too often we find ourselves in the mixed company of
people who have lives or have made choices that we actively disagree with.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps they’ve made relationship choices
that prove consistently destructive, perhaps they’ve turned to substance abuse,
and perhaps they’ve resorted to a kind of “Peter Pan syndrome” where they
refuse to advance their life beyond a certain point, they won’t (from our
perspective, grow up).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Judging other people is very easy to do, because we judge
based on our perspective of the situation, based on our choices, our lives, and
our responses, but that’s also dangerous for our hearts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’ve used this example in conversations in the past, but I
think it takes precedence here: working in law enforcement whether you’ve done
it one day or done it a decade, you run into people who are not happy to see
you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve had multiple co-workers voice
the same complaint, that people they contact have a bad attitude.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have to remind them that, before they
contact police something bad has to happen to them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve never had a situation where someone pops
their head into my office just to say “Everything’s fine, having a great day!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No, we meet people on their bad days,
sometimes the worst day of their life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">When we sit in judgement of other people’s choices, are we
taking into account what they themselves are going through?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Think back to your last really bad day, did
you show grace under fire?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Did you fail
to be charming when life, the universe, and everything seemed to turn on you at
once?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Were you a Job or a Jonah when
things didn’t go your way?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I want us take a quick jaunt to John 8:2-12.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is where the Pharisees drag a woman
caught in adultery to Jesus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They cite
that Mosaic law, the law passed down to the Israelites by Moses, states that
this woman should be stoned unto death.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This
was a set up for Jesus, either he would rebuke Moses’ law (which was the word
of God) or he would condone the death of this woman.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus handled the situation like he normally
does, by spinning it back onto the Pharisees asking them if their slates are
clean.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He points out that only one without
sin can truly sit in judgement of another person.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Let’s go to the woman right quick, because rarely is she
talked about in the scenario and that’s a shame because in many ways she’s the
stand in for us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She’s us with our
problems, she’s us with our faults and our lapses in judgement and our
self-destructive behavior, and our substance abuse and our Peter Pan
syndromes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was forcibly dragged from
wherever she was and brought before the Son of God with the very real possibility
of being bludgeoned to death with large rocks looming over her by a crowd that
clearly did not care for her welfare, who only wanted to prove a point at her
expense.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">If you are starting to feel empathy towards this woman,
good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That means you are a good hearted
person, that on some level you understand.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">If we can extend that empathy to a woman who lived 2000+
years ago, can’t we extend it to the person sitting less than ten feet from us
whom we might have known two minutes or all our lives?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Part of the problem we have when it comes to dealing with
people who we view as needing to get their lives together is that we, as a
society, have lost the meanings of two very important words: tolerate and
accept.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">To tolerate is to “allow the existence, occurrence, or
practice of (something that one does not necessarily like or agree with)
without interference.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">To accept is to “believe or come to recognize (an opinion,
explanation, etc.) as valid or correct.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">See there is a difference in the two concepts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When we tolerate someone else’s life choice,
we don’t have to accept them, we don’t have to view them as correct, but we
still shouldn’t judge because we don’t know what’s going on with them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So what do we do then?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We can’t accept the choices others have made, but we can’t judge them
because we don’t know what’s going on with them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let’s flip back to “why are you judging?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">You judge because you don’t agree with it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the vast majority of cases we are prone to
judge because we love that person, because we feel that person can be better
than the situation that they are in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let’s
face it, you don’t spend a lot of time thinking and feeling about a topic that
you don’t care about, so if you are so wrapped up in what this person is doing,
then it’s because you feel you have a vested interest in their life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You have a vested interest but approaching
with a judgmental attitude can cause that person to withdraw into the very
lifestyle you are trying to get them out of.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">What did Christ do?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Christ understood.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By law, yes
the woman could have been judged and sentenced to immediate and painful death,
but that’s not what he lets happen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
gets the accusors to leave her alone first, then he waits, he loves, and he
forgives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Christ is the Son of God,
there is nothing in this woman’s life that he doesn’t know.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He looks at her and sees every step that led
her into her situation, and knows every wrong things she’s ever done, and he
forgives her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These are some of the same
sins He’s later going to die on the cross for, but he forgives her.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">That is love, my friends.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That is forgiveness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our brothers
and sisters in humanity have to deal with a lot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hearts are broken, lives are torn apart, and
sometimes at the end of the day, when they are sitting there glaring at the
mirror they can’t forgive themselves for all that they think they’ve done.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Forgive them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Forgive them in your own heart, and approach them as you should, as a
fellow human being, and give them compassion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>You can tolerate their decisions without accepting them, but by showing
them compassion and love you offer them hope and grace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Through this, you shine a little bit of God’s
love into their world, and that little bit can go a very long way.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
<div dir="ltr">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Thanks for reading and happy holidays.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
</div>
Michael Bauchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16954610300702060634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2591433484028324482.post-53252828641456317122016-11-09T13:01:00.003-08:002016-11-09T13:01:56.907-08:00Faith Tested, Science Approved
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Sometimes the only pay off t</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">o having any faith is that it's tested again and again every day."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Fall Out Boy: Immortals<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Right
now we are at a phenomenal crossroads.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Never before in my entire life have I seen a response to an election
like this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While half the population is elated,
the other half is morose, looking up to the skies as if the anti-Christ has
begun to walk among us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Needless to say it’s been a pretty heavy week, and its only
Wednesday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With that in mind, I want to
take a few minutes today to talk about some things that validate faith.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A lot of the time people of faith, especially
right now, feel like their faith is being tested by the world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Make no mistake, it is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The stronger you grow in faith, the harder
the devil is going to work on you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s
an accepted fact.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But as you go about
your battle and you sit there, knees in the mud, staring at your hands just
wondering if there is any point to it all, keep in mind a few things.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">First, let’s start in the beginning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning, God created
heaven and earth.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This passage directly
correlates to a being, existing outside of time and space, creating the reality
around us that we call the universe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Early scientists postulated that the universe was eternal, having no beginning
and no end, however later it was discovered by followers of those same
disciplines that the universe was, and is, expanding.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Obviously if something is expanding, then at
one point it had to be smaller, and has to have a reason for expanding.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Try this experiment at home, take a balloon
and, with a marker, draw a bunch of dots on it while it’s still deflated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then blow that bad boy up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You will see the dots expand and get further
and further away from each other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That
is what scientists have found is going on with the universe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Something is pushing those dots, in this case
galaxies, further away from each other, which means at one point, all space and
matter was condensed into some finite point, commonly referred to as
singularity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Something had to have
kicked off this expansion process, called the Big Bang, something that had to
exist outside our reality, beyond time and space.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That something is God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-j300nJ5H2H0/WCOOYY6NfyI/AAAAAAAADgs/ZFQhSGzHRR08e_CE0Jd_izfINxrgApvGACLcB/s1600/big%2Bbang.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-j300nJ5H2H0/WCOOYY6NfyI/AAAAAAAADgs/ZFQhSGzHRR08e_CE0Jd_izfINxrgApvGACLcB/s320/big%2Bbang.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Next there was “God created the universe in 6 days…” Genesis
1, 2:2.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most would say that’s balderdash,
you couldn’t create all reality in six days.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Well, I’m going to try and paraphrase Dr. Gerald Schroder on this one,
but I’ll put a link to his full articles below.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Go back to your balloon model of the universe and pick a point anywhere
on it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lets say that our galaxy, simply
because now you have a visual for where we are at.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you calculated to the center of the
universe and parked yourself there and shot a message at light speed, you would
find that it would arrive at our planet about the time the planet started to
cool from the fires of creation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“…and
the earth…” from Genesis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Next day you
shoot another message from that point, and it travels billions and billions of
miles and so forth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When you do that,
say seven times, it plays out to not only the age of the universe, but also how
long man has been floating around the planet writing down his history.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">http://www.geraldschroeder.com/AgeUniverse.aspx<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Genesis 2:7 “And then the Lord God formed man from the clay
of the earth…” God fashioned us from the same matter that he formed the
world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of the 59 elements that make up
the human body, all 59 can be found in the earth’s crust.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are of this earth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">https://esoriano.wordpress.com/2007/05/25/from-dust-to-man-a-scientific-proof/<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">God set us apart from the animals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many in the scientific community would have
you believe that humans are nothing more than really fancy apes, however there
is a decided difference, and if you can’t see that then you probably need to
re-evaluate your personal standards.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Mankind stands apart from animals because have a bit of God in us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He breathed life into us directly, giving us
a soul, giving us something that sets us spiritually and intellectually above
the animals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now what we choose to do
with that, that’s a different matter altogether.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’re actually going to come back to that in
a bit.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">God created a massive flood.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Genesis Chapter 6 pretty well covers this, but you probably know the
basics: Noah, rain, ark, animals, massive flood etc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most scholars would push this story aside as
an allegorical tale, a myth, but there’s more to this story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You see, all across the globe people have
stories about a massive flood, one that wiped out or massively altered life as
they know it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All…across…the globe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now again, this could be passed off as “Floods
are a big deal, of course they’re myths of it…” but all these stories date back
to about the same time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They all came
into records a little less than 2000 years before Christ.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Additionally there is physical evidence
showing these floods happened.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, you
say “floods”…I say “FLOOD”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eotgXZTw0-U/WCOObvpz61I/AAAAAAAADgw/v6KN-_PTR6UpN_WWOD8A4il0FrOw7eglgCLcB/s1600/the-flood.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="101" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eotgXZTw0-U/WCOObvpz61I/AAAAAAAADgw/v6KN-_PTR6UpN_WWOD8A4il0FrOw7eglgCLcB/s320/the-flood.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Jesus is real. I mean, historically speaking there is
evidence that “Jesus, who is called Christ” is in the historical record.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>1<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">st</span></sup> Century Romano-Jewish
historian Flavius Josephus, who is a scholarly credible source, makes repeated
references to the actions and activity of Christ in his historical record.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Finally…you have a soul and it transcends what you are going
through.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>According to Dr. Robert Lanza,
voted 3<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">rd</span></sup> most influential scientist alive by the New York Times,
quantum theory proves consciousness moves to another universe after death.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What we interpret as the universe is our
senses informing our brains of what reality is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Naturally we are locked into thinking this is all there is because this
is all the input we receive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In
interpreting the data Lanza states that the body receives consciousness from an
outer source, a source that defies the conventions of space/time, and that when
the body dies, the consciousness moves on to a different concept of
reality.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His theory is a bit involved,
but it points out that the universe was fine tuned for life, something that cannot
happen randomly, and therefore must have an intelligence driving that material
creation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">http://truththeory.com/2015/12/05/quantum-theory-proves-that-consciousness-moves-to-another-universe-after-death/<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This is a highly respected scientist reaffirming that you
have a soul that transcends your body, and the universe was purposefully created
by intelligence beyond our understanding.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Take from this what you will, sometimes having an outside
source reaffirm your faith helps, sometimes it just feels like a life jacket
while you float in the middle of the ocean, you’re not drowning, but you don’t
feel like you’re in a better place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God
has a plan and a purpose for everything, and we sometimes just have to ride out
the storm under a better understanding comes along.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Thanks for reading.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Michael Bauchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16954610300702060634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2591433484028324482.post-51887156345805535852016-11-01T09:38:00.001-07:002016-11-01T14:00:12.410-07:00Looking for Lost Books...<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">This week I want to address something that has weighed on my
mind for a long time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When Martin Luther
kick started the Reformation, what became the Protestant church (which included
those that followed Luther, called Lutherans) removed 9 books from biblical
cannon, because they claimed they weren’t cannon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, 7 or 9, depending on who you’re asking.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">So the books that came under question were Tobit, Judith,
Sirach, Baruch, the Wisdom of Solomon, Maccabees 1 and 2, the Prayer of
Manasseh, and some chapters of Esther and Daniel.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Incidentally the confused numbering is “Do you count
Maccabees 1 AND 2 or just Maccabees all together, and can you really count
editing Esther and Daniel as a “book”?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">My answer is, 1 and 2 are separate books for a reason, and
yes, Esther and Daniel count.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">The question that bothers me and what brings about today’s
discussion is “Why?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I’m not particularly a fan of historical censorship of any
kind, I personally believe we need to have access to it all no matter how good,
bad, or ugly it is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, as it turns
out, these books weren’t censored because of content, but rather timing and a
lack of historical data.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When Jesus
came to Earth, the tome of scriptures included the books I just listed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They were cannon at that time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then 70 AD came along and the Romans
destroyed the Jewish temple due to the large number of Christians popping
up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Jews then decided to get their
house in order and part of that was to determine what was scripture and what
wasn’t.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They…THEY were the first ones to
edit out the big 9 (or seven if you want) because they questioned whether these
specific books were ever written in Hebrew.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>When the Catholic Church put together their Bible based on a lot of
criteria, they included the books again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Then Luther came along and since he felt there was no
historical data to support these books in the first place, he put them
basically as “extra reading, but not required”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Then this happened:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">The Dead Sea scrolls were found and over the last fifty or
so years have been translated, validating the existence of several Old
Testament books in their original Hebrew…including parts of Tobit and other
Sirach.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Over the last few decades, these
books have been surfacing in historical data supporting that they were valid
the whole time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">So are they pertinent?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Are Protestants and Lutherans really missing anything?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Well yes, and I could go on and on about that, but I’d
rather you find out yourself by checking out these lost books.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Now what about the books that were almost lost?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Martin Luther had a very low opinion of the Paul’s letter to
Hebrews, the books of James, Jude, and Revelation, all of which he wanted
removed but eventually relented to placing in the back of the Bible, placing
more focus on what he considered the core text.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">So why does this matter to me?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, I was born and raised Lutheran, and I
know there are those of you reading this who will say “You weren’t born
Lutheran, you may have been raised, but you weren’t born Lutheran.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Which I respond with: The point is I am a
cradle Lutheran so I never questioned the Bible as it was presented to me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is a big thing in the Protestant church
and its practically a battle cry for Lutherans “Sola Scriptura” or “scripture
alone”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That means that you base your
faith solely on the Bible and what it says and not based on anyone’s
interpretation of that scripture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was
okay with that for the longest time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Bible
says it, I believe it, that’s it.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You’ll
hear that in any Bible study, but now I have this problem: How can you talk
about what scripture says if you can’t question what scripture says?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Further, how can you believe in “sola scriptura” if you have
“inabsolutus scriptura”, incomplete scripture?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That’s the equivalent of saying “I believe you are a person, except for
your hand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Your hand is a chair, or at
worst doesn’t exist at all.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Just something to think about.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: "calibri";"> </span></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Thanks for reading.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Michael Bauchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16954610300702060634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2591433484028324482.post-42457142288043156822016-10-26T06:33:00.002-07:002016-10-26T06:33:38.566-07:00Deconstruction of the Godly Family by Television, or Time to Step Up Dads!
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">If you had asked me, say five years ago, if I thought there
was anything detrimental to the American family on network television I would
have responded “Probably not.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Unfortunately I had, at that time, the luxury of ignorance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now, as a husband and a father, I can tell
you first-hand that there is a lot wrong with the way both groups are
portrayed, and it has a direct effect on our culture.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">You don’t have to wander far down the channel listings to
find the problem.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just tune into
regularly aired reruns of “Married with Children”, “Everybody Loves Raymond”, “Home
Improvement”, “King of Queens”, “Family Guy”, “South Park”, and a slew of
commercials depicting the same thing: The stupid, doofus man-child father and
the smart, savvy, always practical wife waiting to clean up the mess.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Few and far between do we see the smart man, the dad actively
participating in his children’s lives, and the attentive husbands.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even the best of shows like “Blackish” always
draw the husband back into the “man child” role making him learn a moral lesson
by the end of the episode.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">If we’re lucky they learn a moral by the end of the episode.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So why are these problems?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Isn’t it just an entertaining story trope, the funny man to the wife’s “straight
guy.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The problem is that this flies in
the face of God’s plan for the family, and delivers a gift wrapped message of irresponsibility
to generations of young men.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">If you polled a group of teenagers to determine who among
them baby sat non family children, you’d find by an overwhelming margin that
girls are the baby sitters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Young men
are expected to be out mowing lawns, doing yard work, and helping out with
heavy duty projects.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Girls are
instructed to stay inside and watch the children or learn to cook.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You’d like to believe that since we are far
away from the nuclear family of the fifties that we’d have pushed aside these tropes,
but all we really did was dumb down the men.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Statistically speaking fewer and fewer young men know basic
domestic skills like laundry, cooking, and home upkeep.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This places those men at a social
disadvantage because when they get married they depend on their spouse to take
on these roles, which places an unfair burden on her making her a servant in
her own home, and placing an unnecessary strain on the marriage in general.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Television, such as the shows I listed above,
tells us this is ok.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Husbands and especially fathers need to have these skills,
and not just use them, but teach them to their families.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They need to have the savvy to lead their
families in all manners of life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If the
husband doesn’t know something that the wife does, it behooves him to learn
that skill or that ability so that she is not the sole person responsible for
this task.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yMIt1KGk95w/WBCwafqhjgI/AAAAAAAADLw/ht6heJu2v5YIbyFLaHMMs5Ifyqy46LqfgCLcB/s1600/God%2527s%2BUmbrella%2Bof%2BProtection.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">As it was designed in marriage and in the book of Genesis,
and is brilliantly illustrated in “God’s Umbrella of Protection”, seen below.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yMIt1KGk95w/WBCwafqhjgI/AAAAAAAADLw/ht6heJu2v5YIbyFLaHMMs5Ifyqy46LqfgCLcB/s1600/God%2527s%2BUmbrella%2Bof%2BProtection.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yMIt1KGk95w/WBCwafqhjgI/AAAAAAAADLw/ht6heJu2v5YIbyFLaHMMs5Ifyqy46LqfgCLcB/s320/God%2527s%2BUmbrella%2Bof%2BProtection.jpg" width="225" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">As you can see, God protects and cares for the family with
direct instruction to the husband to protect and care for the family starting
with the wife.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The wife protects and
cares for the children.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When we upset
this dynamic we upset the foundation of the family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When you place the wife in a leadership role
over the husband, you have made him weak.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>When the husband places the wife between him and God, he has placed the burden
of leadership onto her.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The husband and wife share the responsibility for the
household, but the leadership, per the church, rests on the husband’s head and
altering this dynamic can lead to laziness on the husband’s part, an
unjustified sense of entitlement, and indirect instruction to the children that
the husband is subordinate to the wife.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>This is
the dynamic that is intended, however it still also has to be maintained and
sometimes earned.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you look at the
dynamic on the diagram, the husband is over the wife, the wife over the
children, and God over all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Any basic
business class will tell you that whoever is in charge needs to be able to do
the functions of all those they oversee.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>God, obviously can do anything.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He’s God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the husband cannot
rely entirely on the wife for the care and upkeep of the household; he needs to
be able to perform these functions as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It’s called “Leading from the front”, and it goes along with “lead by
example.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I used this example a few
posts back but it bears repeating: the dirty kitchen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If the husband wants the kitchen cleaned, he
shouldn’t demand his wife do it, he should do it himself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s not the husband’s job to sit on a throne
and order the family around, he needs to be in the “trenches” as it were, with
them, performing the same tasks as they are, no matter how menial.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Sons will follow the paths blazed by their fathers,
sometimes to the same detrimental results.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Working in law enforcement I witnessed a father and his son come into
jail at the same time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The father was
subdued, ready to receive the outcome of his choices.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The son, on the other hand, was boisterous,
verbally combative and disrespectful of the staff.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As I was fingerprinting the father, I
recalled the report and asked if that was his son.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With a great deal of regret he said “yes.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Too late the father realized that his son had
followed his path.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Fathers, both current and hopeful, what path do you want to
blaze for your children?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is where
we lead by example, by taking on the chores and responsibilities as they need
taking on, and in doing so leading.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then
as your children come to an age appropriate to handle these task, you teach
them how to do it so they can then carry on that life skill and that mindset
that fathers are the first, and sometimes most important, teachers their
children will ever have.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Yes you will be tired.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Yes it will be a long process.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But
that is where prayer for patience and strength come in, and pray those prayers
with your children, not in spite of them, because as you are struggling to
teach, they are struggling to learn.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Going back around to television, again what we see on the
screen in many American sit coms is not what God intended, and while it’s
played for laughs it actually shows the beginning of relationships that will
tear themselves apart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our benchmarks
should not be “Well at least I’m better than Peter Griffin.” They should be “At
least I’m better than I was, and with God’s grace I’ll be better than that
tomorrow.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Thank you for reading.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Michael Bauchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16954610300702060634noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2591433484028324482.post-8178336214480175272016-10-20T10:14:00.001-07:002016-10-20T10:14:05.346-07:00Tending Your Spritual Garden or "Retraining Your Jerk Brain"...
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I know! It’s been…well it’s been a heck of a week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes yes I missed my “Monday” schedule…and
Tuesday…and Wednesday however it’s not for the same reasons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This time it’s been completely work related.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So let’s talk about gardens.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Now last week I quoted Father Mark from OLMC and his veritable catch
phrase “If we’re a jerk at home, we’re a jerk.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I followed that up with stating “So stop being a jerk.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I realize that’s a very blanket response to a problem that’s
probably deeply rooted which is why I wanted to talk about gardens.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>See what I did there?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My wife did and she’ll probably throw
something at me for the pun.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Totally
worth it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Our souls, our personalities, our lives, our little nuggets
of the world are, basically gardens.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They grow what we let grow there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>What we plant in our lives take root and become something larger.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So how do we fix this “jerk” garden?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>First we have to take out all the garbage,
all the weeds, all the detrimental bugs and so forth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’re going to need a new planting area, new
dirt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So what’s causing us to be jerks,
what are the weeds?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">They are probably our focus on the wrong things, addictions
if you will.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People have addictive
personalities, whether we like to admit it or not. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Addictions aren’t limited to drugs or alcohol;
they are anything that pulls us away from the important things in life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Food can be an addiction, sex, pornography,
even collecting specific items or even just the act of spending money can be an
addiction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Basically addiction is
anything that sets off pleasure centers in our brains, giving us fleeting
moments of pleasure without offering sustainable joy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Those are our weeds and they need to be pulled.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The first step in pulling them is
acknowledging that they are in fact there, that we have these problems and that
we need to address them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We pull them by
talking to our priests, our counselors, our families and friends, whoever can
help us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s going to be a long, dirty,
unpleasant process but the end result will give us something we haven’t had in
a while.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">A place to plant the good things, the things that will offer
us sustainable joy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We start by laying
down new soil through prayer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We turn our
attention to the things we want in our lives, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the things that are actually important,
family, children, life goals, and we pray about them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If we have trouble with prayer, we should
reach out to our fellow Christians, those we think have it all together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They will be happy to help us learn how to
talk to God about our new goals, our new focuses.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Then we take action.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Reading the Bible, we use Christ’s love for us as a guideline for our
love for each other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is the hardest
part, from what I can tell, because it’s so intangible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We, as human beings, like tangible things,
things we can see, that we can hold and we can look back on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But this is retraining our brain, our hearts,
and our souls, things we can’t physically touch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here is what I would recommend, a
journal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No, wait for it, just hear me
out.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Keep a written journal, you can usually find them in the
stationary aisle at your local “something” mart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As you go through your day to day routines,
and you find yourself in situations where you are struggling, write that moment
down, and pray on it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then, you kick it
up a notch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We all have problems, and I
promise you the people in your little circle, your nugget of the world, are
dealing with personal issues that you probably know about.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Write them down in your journal, and pray for
them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even if someone isn’t having a
problem, maybe they’re having a great deal of success, write it down and thank
God for their good fortune.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When you
become cognizant of the problems of others, when you thank God for the
blessings of others, you start retraining your brain from the egocentric person
that you used to be, egocentric meaning “self-centered” and you start becoming
the exocentric person God wants you to be, meaning you place others as a
central priority.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Then you start to understand the nature of Christ.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Michael Bauchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16954610300702060634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2591433484028324482.post-12266242504201355222016-10-11T12:57:00.001-07:002016-10-11T12:57:02.698-07:00Ephesians 6:4, or Stop Being a Jerk...
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So yesterday was kind of a pill.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You’ll note that I didn’t post anything
yesterday, despite my defacto “Monday” schedule.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, as one would expect, life kind of got
in the way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was hard getting out the
door to work with my oldest son, and work as more than a little hectic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was just a very frustrating morning/early
afternoon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sometimes I think rough times
get you so God can send you a message along with it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now I know the old adage is “Why can’t God be
clearer with his messages?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s not
like we get a burning bush or a pillar of fire or a talking cloud, no we have
to, a lot of times, look for God’s words in our daily lives.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Then some days he just sends it straight to you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So I downloaded a Catholic Bible app for my
phone, and it does this thing where you get a “verse for the day” kind of
thing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Remember how I said a big
stressor yesterday was my son?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well,
today’s verse was Ephesians 6:4 “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Fathers,
do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction
of the Lord.</i>”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Sometimes when we get God’s word directly in our lives, it’s
something that lifts us out of a funk, something that reminds us that no matter
how hard it is, He’s there.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Sometimes it’s a stark reminder that we need to toe the line
more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So the verse got me thinking about
yesterday morning with my son and how I could have actually handled it a lot
better.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think if we all look back to
our more frustrated moments, we might find that we all could be handling it a
lot better.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Kids can be frustrating, adults can be frustrating, work can
be frustrating, chores can be frustrating, and life in general is, well, frustrating.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sometimes we don’t have time to process our
frustration and channel that energy into a more constructive way to deal with
the problem, but most of the time we do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We just don’t TAKE the time to channel that energy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes, our kids can be frustrating, but that
doesn’t mean we should allow ourselves to get frustrated with them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What does that teach them?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That if you find yourself in a tough
situation that you should just get mad?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“…do not provoke your children to anger…”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If I allow myself to be frustrated I will
probably provoke the child to anger, and that will greatly exacerbate the
situation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I think Father Mark, our priest at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel,
says it best when he says “If you are a jerk at home, you’re a jerk.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Let’s say, for example, I got frustrated with my son and I
said things to him that made him feel less than excellent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then I go to work and I say encouraging and
uplifting things to my clerks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would
be a jerk.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Period.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is a jerk thing to do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I may be charming as all get out at work, but
if I cannot lift up my own child, then I am nothing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So, if you are a jerk at home, you’re a jerk.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But this isn’t an absolute.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This isn’t a fixed point in the
universe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is a warning sign.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The flip side of that is to stop being a jerk
at home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Stop letting frustration and
negative feelings get the better of you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“…bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the
Lord.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Stop being a jerk.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You know when you’re slipping into that role.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You know it when you start deflecting and
defending.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You start blaming outside
stressors for the problem.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Well, if he
would just do what I said, and she would just do this, and the dog would just
stop barking, and…”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All of the sudden we’ve
blamed our mood on other people, like they control a knob on our backs that
switch us from happy to sad to angry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Now, I’ve checked all over my back and I have no such switch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m also 100% sure my kids don’t hold a
remote control that changes my mood the way we flip through channels on the TV.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">No, the only one in control of your mood is you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You choose to feel this way or that way, you
choose to let this outside stimuli dictate what kind of mood you are going to
be in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But that’s just us dumping responsibility
for ourselves onto others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So how do we
deal?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, in “Armchair Quarterbacking”
the issue, the easiest solution would be to think “If someone came in right now
offering to help, what would you ask them to do?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then you do that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because doing that teaches your family how
these kinds of situations should be handled.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">My wife gave me a perfect metaphor years ago, when I was
having difficult times at work with multiple responsibilities rearing their
heads all at once.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She said that when
you are doing a spin, the way to keep from getting dizzy (ie letting all your
negative emotions overwhelm you) is you find something to focus on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everything else will fall into place, as long
as you keep your focus on one goal.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Being a parent, being a father, means teaching your children
the best way possible to do things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Sometimes it’s the best way possible on how to hammer a nail; sometimes it’s
how to deal with their frustrations in a healthy manner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So when your world, as a parent starts to
spin, focus on Ephesians 6:4.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Michael Bauchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16954610300702060634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2591433484028324482.post-1774770690814891172016-10-03T07:36:00.000-07:002016-10-03T07:36:28.950-07:00To Be Better than we Are
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I may not be good, but I’m better than I was.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s what we tell ourselves, but are we
that much better, or are we messaging the truth a little?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I think it’s important to for us, not just as people, but
specifically as followers of Christ, to reflect on ourselves and determine just
what kind of follower we’ve been.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We all struggle with sin, it’s a fact of our world, and
nobody is above it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A lot of times we
find ourselves in exactly the same predictiment over and over again, committing
the same thing over and over again, to the point where our priest can probably
accurately guess what we’re going to confession for before we even open our
mouths.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are humans and humans are
creatures of habit, even if those habits are hindering our own progress.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Now there is this thing in the professional world called a “Performance
Evaluation”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It breaks down into about
12 or so categories and asks a specific question, asking for a numeric
evaluation and a written response from the evaluator.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Basically low numbers indicate you are doing
poorly in that specific areas while high numbers mean you are excelling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nine times out of ten the evaluator is your
instructor or your supervisor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was
thinking about this and I recalled an episode of the show “Scrubs” called “My
Fifteen Minutes”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In it, Dr. Cox is set
to evaluate the young doctor and defacto narrator of the show J.D.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>J.D. gets upset when Dr. Cox tells him to
fill out his own evaluation and stands up to him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dr. Cox points out that he wanted J.D. to do
his own evaluation so HE could see where he stands, HE could ask HIMSELF these
hard questions and come face to face with his own answers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">That, I think is probably the best analogy for how we
Christians need to evaluate our own lives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Those around us should know we are Christians not because we tell them,
but because we show them in our lives, our actions, and our interactions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So, I worked a little something up. It has 10 categories:
Have I been charitable, have I been forgiving, have I been a good listener,
slow to anger, slow to judge, kind with my words, generous with my praise,
faithful in my prayer, a humble servant, and finally have I defended God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The last one in particular I want to make special note of,
because that’s one we tend to overlook.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He’s God, he doesn’t NEED us to defend him, but on the other hand there
are those that attack God on a regular basis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They demean our faith, and often we just sit there and say nothing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They basically trash talk God, much in the
same way they did in Jesus time by turning the temple into a shopping
mall.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus got MAD and drove off those
that would defile the house of God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was
100% right to do so, and if anything, anyone who called themselves faithful
should not have just been beside him in doing this, they should have led the
charge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’m sure we all know someone like that, or we’ve seen it in
the media, where Christians are played as fools and treated as idiots.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But what does that say when we say nothing in
response?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We aren’t witnessing, we aren’t
defending, and by not doing either of those things, we are saying that faith in
God doesn’t really matter to us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We give
lip service and do the bare minimum and that’s it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So please, take some time, whether you do it strictly on
your own or you use the form I attached, it does not matter to me, but please
take some time and reflect on the kind of Christian you are, because knowing
where you are at will help you focus on where you want to be.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Here is the evaluation:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">My Personal Evaluation<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Have I been
Charitable?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">1 <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>2<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>
3<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span> 4<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span> 5<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span> 6<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span> 7<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>
8<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span> 9<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span> 10<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">What can I do to
improve?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Have I been
forgiving?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">1 <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>2<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>
3<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span> 4<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span> 5<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span> 6<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span> 7<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>
8<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span> 9<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span> 10<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">What can I do to
improve?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Have I been a good
Listener?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">1 <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>2<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>
3<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span> 4<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span> 5<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span> 6<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span> 7<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>
8<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span> 9<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span> 10<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">What can I do to
improve?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Have I been slow to
anger?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">1 <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>2<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>
3<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span> 4<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span> 5<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span> 6<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span> 7<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>
8<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span> 9<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span> 10<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">What can I do to
improve?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Have I been slow to
Judge?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">1 <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>2<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>
3<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span> 4<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span> 5<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span> 6<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span> 7<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>
8<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span> 9<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span> 10<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">What can I do to
improve?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Have I been kind with
my words?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">1 <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>2<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>
3<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span> 4<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span> 5<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span> 6<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span> 7<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>
8<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span> 9<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span> 10<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">What can I do to
improve?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Have I been generous
with my praise?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">1 <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>2<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>
3<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span> 4<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span> 5<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span> 6<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span> 7<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>
8<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span> 9<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span> 10<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">What can I do to
improve?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Have I been faithful
in my prayer?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">1 <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>2<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>
3<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span> 4<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span> 5<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span> 6<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span> 7<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>
8<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span> 9<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span> 10<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">What can I do to
improve?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Have I been a humble
servant?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">1 <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>2<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>
3<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span> 4<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span> 5<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span> 6<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span> 7<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>
8<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span> 9<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span> 10<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">What can I do to
improve?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br clear="all" style="mso-special-character: line-break; page-break-before: always;" />
</span>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Have I defended God?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">1 <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>2<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>
3<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span> 4<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span> 5<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span> 6<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span> 7<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>
8<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span> 9<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span> 10<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">What can I do to
improve?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
Michael Bauchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16954610300702060634noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2591433484028324482.post-54495262238474372052016-10-03T07:32:00.002-07:002016-10-03T07:32:29.874-07:00Who do you say He is?
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So in RCIA this week we talked about that famous line in
Matthew 16:13-20, when Jesus asks the disciples “Who do you say I am?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now the Sunday School/RCIA answer is “Jesus
is the Messiah, he is the Christ Savior, and he is God incarnate.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In short, Jesus is God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">But I got to thinking about this, what does that mean to
us?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Specifically to each and every
individual, what does that mean to us?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Who do we personally say Jesus is?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I kind of look at it from the perspective of many people
knowing one individual specifically.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Say
Brian is the most popular football player on the team, because he’s a genuinely
nice person so everyone in the school knows him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everyone has had some interaction with him,
but everyone has, by the fundamental nature of any relationship, a different,
very specific interaction with him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Maybe he helped one with an assignment, others he helped during a
difficult time, another knows him from math class, another knows him from
drama, and so on and so on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everyone has
had a specific interaction with him, but everyone knows him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Now the Church, we know Jesus by the relationship we just
talked about, he’s the Messiah, the Christ Savior, God incarnate, the way the truth
and the light.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But those are very broad
answers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Who do YOU say Christ is?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What do these titles mean to you?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Who is the Messiah?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Who is the Savior? Who is God incarnate?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>What do those mean to you?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">There was a Christian singer, Carmen, who produced a song “Lazarus,
Come Forth” back in 1992.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know this
because my mom had the audio cassette and when I was waiting for her to get out
of work I would listen to it, and a few others, to pass the time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Again…1992.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The point is, in the song Lazarus passes away and arrives in
Heaven with the Saints of God, basically the movers and shakers of the Old
Testament.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This part is basically a “who’s
who” of Sunday School.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You have Abraham,
Isaac, Jacob, Solomon, Ezekiel, Job, Sampson, Shadrach, Meshach, Abendego,
Jonah, Daniel and David all sitting around while Moses conducts a meeting and
asks for a witness for the Lord.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Each
one tells a little blurb about how they knew God during their lives, and what
he did for them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lazarus adds in his
bit, about how he knew God as Christ Jesus, walking with him, talking with him
and witnessing his teachings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everyone
had a personal relationship with God, and while many of the beats were the
same, each one was different. All the others knew the Father, while Lazarus
knew the Son. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The Savior and Messiah to me may be a different dynamic than
the one to you; each of us has our own personal relationship with Jesus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There really isn’t a hard answer here, just
kind of something to personally reflect on:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">If Jesus were to come to you right now and say “Who do you
say I am?” what would your response be?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Michael Bauchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16954610300702060634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2591433484028324482.post-85509945657844140582016-09-26T13:53:00.000-07:002016-09-26T13:53:02.176-07:00What my Children Taught Me about Grace<div class="fb-wrapper">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">James 4:10 "Humble yourself before the Lord, and He will exalt you."</span></div>
<div class="fb-wrapper">
</div>
<div class="fb-wrapper">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">When we try to teach about grace, mercy, and compassion, we sometimes forget that we all still have a lot to learn about those very subjects.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s the beauty of teaching really, as you learn you teach and as you teach you learn.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The more you show your kids about a Christian lifestyle, the more you learn because they are looking at the same picture from a different point of view.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This really came to head for me last night, into this morning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This past weekend, we did a bit of changing up, moving my 3 year old into my oldest son’s room, and gradually moving the baby into the nursery with his older sister.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This obviously is a huge change for everyone in the house and it was met with a few difficulties.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not many, over all the whole process went pretty smooth, but last night was…interesting.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">My 3 year old had played pretty hard during the day and had taken an impromptu late nap, which I’m sure any parent will attest to; late naps lead to being awake late at night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So he’s in his room, with his older brother, being a general nuisance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now anyone reading this that’s had a roommate can probably relate to this very problem, you’re trying to sleep and your roommate wants to do everything BUT sleep.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Naturally my oldest boy was not getting the amount of rest he desired, but here is where things got interesting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He did not complain.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">He is a creature of habits, of routines, more so than most people, and often when routines are disrupted, this can lead to some really bad moods on his part, but he didn’t complain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We talked about it as I was taking him to school this morning and I told him how proud I was of him not getting upset with his little brother’s behavior.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He said “He was going to go sleep eventually.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sure enough he did, but to have that kind of patience, for most adults, is a very difficult thing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think it’s difficult for us because we have this desire for the illusion of control in our lives.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The fact of the matter is none of us are in control.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not 100% of the time, not 10% of the time, there are so many outside factors that can alter the course of our day, our week, our month, our entire lives that the best we can hope for is exerting some illusion of control, tricking ourselves into thinking we have inflicted our will upon the world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What my oldest son did was something that I myself struggle with.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let it go, let things play out as they will.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Trust that someone who has authority over the situation is handling it, even if we can’t see the results immediately.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My son trusted my wife and me to handle the situation, we were the authority here, and it we were working on it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He trusted us so much, that he let himself go to sleep despite the disruptive behavior of his brother.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">That directly leads to our relationship with God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God is our parent, our authority, the one in control of situations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When things go caddy-whompus on us, we need to take it to God, and ultimately ride it out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes, we look for solutions, but through prayer we let ourselves be let to the solution God wants for us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It may not be the easiest solution, it may not be the solution we want, but it’s the solution God wants for us. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes, my son had to “ride out the storm” but he trusted that the best solution to the problem at hand was coming.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Michael Bauchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16954610300702060634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2591433484028324482.post-78682975790771103672016-09-19T08:15:00.002-07:002016-09-19T08:15:19.416-07:00Do we Friend-Zone Christ?
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So I was sitting in RCIA yesterday and a song came to
mind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The group is Vertical Horizon and
the song is “Everything you Want”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“He's everything you want<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">He's everything you need<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">He's everything inside of you<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">That you wish you could be<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">He says all the right things<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">At exactly the right time<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">But he means nothing to you<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">And you don't know why”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It occurred to me that, I’ve always taken this as to be the anthem of
the guy in the friend-zone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For those of
you who have no idea what that is, it when a person has a crush on another
person, but the person they have a crush on treats them only as a friend…at
best.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It applies to men and women
equally.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now I’ve loved this song for
years, because it really does nail that dynamic between the two parties…but
like I said, it occurred to me during RCIA.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>So I jotted a note down really quick so I could get back to the class,
but it’s been sitting there in the back of my head until it finally occurred to
me…and the revelation has probably already hit you by now…this could easily
describe our relationship with Christ.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“But Michael…” I hear you say “That’s just the chorus of the song.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Surely the who song can’t apply to our
relationship with Christ.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Wanna bet?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Somewhere there's speaking<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It's already coming in<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Oh and it's rising at the back of your mind<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">You never could get it<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Unless you were fed it<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Now you're here and you don't know why”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I am really trying not be sarcastic here, so I’ll just say it straight…this
applies to everyone going through existential crisis, trying to find meaning
and direction in life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“But under skinned knees and the skid marks<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Past the places where you used to learn<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">You howl and listen<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Listen and wait for the<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Echoes of angels who won't return”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Every single time we call on God during a crisis we feel his presence,
but then we wonder why His presence isn’t there 24-7, solving every single
problem we encounter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How many times do
we make the same mistake more than once?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It may seem like the angels won’t return, but we’ve seen the solutions…we
just need to acknowledge that God has given us the answer we just need to stop
making the very specific mistake.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“You're waiting for someone<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">To put you together<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">You're waiting for someone to push you away<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">There's always another wound to discover<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">There's always something more you wish he'd say”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Sometimes we live off conflict, we project our pushing God away as Him
pushing us because then we can validate our problems, feel defined by our
struggles because we want the solutions to come to us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“But you'll just sit tight<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">And watch it unwind<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It's only what you're asking for<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">And you'll be just fine<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">With all of your time<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It's only what you're waiting for”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We have a tendency to ignore problems, even though we could be taking
actions to resolve them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A popular one
is money, where we are out of a job and waiting for an opportunity to land in
our lap, but in fact we need to put in effort to find opportunity and figure
out a solution in the meantime.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How many
are out there waiting for the right job, when they could have taken over a
dozen “right now” jobs?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Out of the island<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Into the highway<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Past the places where you might have turned<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">You never did notice<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">But you still hide away<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The anger of angels who won't return”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Just because you are angry at a situation or a problem, doesn’t mean it’s
a problem you should be angry at.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
mentioned this on Facebook yesterday, which a lot of life’s problems are like
clothes tangled around a washing machine agitator.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If all we do is tug as hard as we can on the
part of the problem closes to the top, ie the most convenient part to reach,
all we are going to do is frustrate ourselves and cause that coiling knot to
get tighter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We get frustrated at life’s
problems because we want the solutions to be easy, but they rarely are.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pretty much every one of life’s problems can
be resolved by calmly getting to the root of the problem, which may be
uncomfortable and hard to see, but its there.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I am everything you want<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I am everything you need<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I am everything inside of you<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">That you wish you could be<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I say all the right things<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">At exactly the right time<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">But I mean nothing to you and I don't know why<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">And I don't know why<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Why<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I don't know<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Christ says “Come to me, I am here for you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can help you.” But we are resistant for
reasons that defy logic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe, again it’s
because we feel defined by our struggle, like it makes us important, but Christ
already thinks we’re important and wants to carry you to a resolution of those
problems.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Basically, we friend-zoned Christ and we are poorer for it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Michael Bauchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16954610300702060634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2591433484028324482.post-16105409997865825152016-09-19T07:48:00.005-07:002016-09-19T07:48:35.192-07:00But What if I don't WANT to be Compassionate right now...?
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each
other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” Ephesians 4:32 <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So I was mulling over what to talk about today, and this is
something that comes up on a very regular basis, especially when you are a
parent: How do you channel God’s grace when you really just don’t feel like it?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We, as God’s children, are called to use God’s love and our
savior Jesus Christ as an example, a gold standard of who to emulate on a daily
basis, but for parents that’s not always that easy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everyone can be kind and gracious when they’re
rested and unrushed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Its four o’clock in
the morning, when you’ve just finally drifted off to sleep after the 3:45am
potty-run, and now they just want to thump on the wall next to their bed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s when you’re late for work and there is a
line of cars, when you’re trying to exit a parking lot and the person directly
in front of you doesn’t want to budge for…whatever reason.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s when you’re in line at the cash machine
and you keep looking at the clock because you know if you start dinner ten
minutes late it’s going to throw everyone off their routine.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Wait…what was that word, routine?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People are, by and large, creatures of habit,
we like things to follow a specific pattern, and take comfort in that
pattern.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When that pattern is interrupted
we get frustrated because we fear the consequences of changing that
pattern.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or, if it’s four o’clock in the
morning, we are literally just too tired to function like a rational human
being.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our routine is broken and that
upsets us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Having our pattern changed throws us off of who we want to
be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We suffer under the pressure of the
world around us, because if you take a step back, it is less about how that
change up is affecting us directly, and more how it affects our interactions
with others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our kids frustrate us when
their schedule is thrown off, they’re either awake way too early or they are
fussy as all get out because they’re hungry and don’t have the social, mental,
or emotional maturity to address those feelings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Who has to fix that?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, we as the parents do, so now we’re
under more pressure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It’s when we just don’t feel like being compassionate that
we absolutely need to bring it out of ourselves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A quick prayer can sometimes do the trick,
taking a second to take a deep breath and focus entirely at the problem at
hand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You may not get back to sleep
right away, or at all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You may not make
it to work on time, or dinner might be ten minutes late, you probably aren’t
going to re align your schedule back right away, but we need to be
compassionate, forgiving and remember that nothing in life is perfect except
for God’s love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Again, this isn’t easy,
but nothing about being a follower of Christ is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Further, everyone who has ever studied human interaction can
tell you that if the parent is panicked and frustrated, the kids will follow
suit very quickly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s because we
steer the ship that is our households, and if we are on edge and angry, then
that is going to have a direct effect on the children.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Kids are basically a barometer for the “weather”
of the household.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Want to find out if
the household is functional?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Look at the
kids.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If they are moody and on edge on a
regular basis (not just from time to time as all kids are) then something may
be amiss in the home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s a good time
to offer some help, find out if everything is okay, as clearly something significant
is affecting the parents.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you notice
your friend who doesn’t have kids is on edge, they may need someone just to ask
“How are you doing?” because they don’t feel they have anyone to talk to. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The short of it is that we don’t know how we
can help those around us unless we actually ask.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Communication is the key to compassion and grace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The person in front of you at the cash
machine may be having some difficulty using it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The person blocking the exit of the parking lot may be having some
difficulty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Your short tempered friend
may just be tired and need some help.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But how does that help you, if you are the one offering the compassion.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">When we offer compassion, God works through us, the Holy
Spirit uses us to fulfil God’s will, and that actually has a massively calming
effect on us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We communicate with those
around us, meet their needs, and we are calmer for it, because we understand
that it wasn’t just someone trying to screw up our day, but rather someone we
could actually help, or at least we have a better understanding of the
situation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When we make it to work or we
get home, yes our routine is still thrown off, but we aren’t frustrated by
it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That calm we carry is then passed on
to those around us and we calm the house or we calm our work place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Kids deal with being off their schedule just
fine, when everyone is calm and cool about it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Back to 4am, staying has the same affect.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We may still be tired, but we aren’t burning
energy we don’t have on frustration, we are at an even level and can maintain
ourselves throughout the day a little better.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Staying calm lets the children also know that everything is fine, and
they may actually fall back to sleep because of it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Also, parents…tag team.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>God arranged it to where there are two of you, help each other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Case in point, let’s says one of you has to
get to work that morning, but you don’t leave until say…7:15, 7:20am.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You both get up; you get ready while the
other stays with the child, then when you are ready, tag the other parent out
so they can get back to sleep.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You’re
already awake, dressed and ready to go.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Then at 7:15, the other parent has gotten some more sleep and will be
better prepared to take over.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Cooperation, communication, compassion, grace, all of these
things come from God and work towards making our lives better.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Michael Bauchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16954610300702060634noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2591433484028324482.post-27705827862534166712016-09-12T09:04:00.002-07:002016-09-12T09:04:30.859-07:00Telling Old Adam to Shut Up…
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Being married is not easy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>If it was, everyone would do it and marriages would last forever.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And it does not matter at all what kind of
marriage you have, whether you are traditional or LGBT, you are going to run
into a conflict of egos.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So what is the ego?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Well, boiling away mountains of psychology, its “me, myself, and I”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Its where we focus on ourselves, our wants,
and our perspectives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Your ego will get
in the way of your marriage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s just
the way it is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So how do we counteract
that?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Well the starting point for understanding our ego is to go
back to Adam, in Genesis 3:12<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">12</span></sup>The man said, “The woman you put here with
me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Immediately we see the ego in action, where
Adam does the classic maneuver “defend and deflect”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What is “defend and deflect”?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is where we avoid responsibility for
wrong doing by claiming our actions were sound the actual fault for the
situation lies with someone else.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are
actively redirecting blame elsewhere.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In
this specific case we see Adam claim no responsibility because God gave him Eve
and she gave him the fruit.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Moving to verse 13, “<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">13</span></sup>Then the Lord God said to
the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived
me, and I ate.”” Yes, Adam pulled a jerk move by placing the blame firmly on
Eve’s shoulders but then she shifted that blame onto the serpent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s one long string of tattling on someone
else.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now through the eyes of the ego,
we wonder “Why are they getting punished?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Clearly they got bad advice from a talking snake.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Well, we get bad advice a lot, but it’s up to us to take
action based on our analysis of that advice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We make the decision on what we do with ourselves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Eve didn’t have to pick the fruit and eat
it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nowhere in scripture did the serpent
hold a weapon to her and force her to eat it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She did that all on her own.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Now Adam couldn’t have been that far away, because she doesn’t
search for him, she just goes to him and offers him the fruit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He knows what that fruit is, where it came
from.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All he had to do was say no.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Further, why was he that far away from
her?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What was he doing while she was talking
to the serpent?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His job was to be her
protector and teacher.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She got
instruction about the tree not directly from God but from Adam who interpreted
God’s word.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This indicates that Adam, if
anything, had become complacent in his responsibilities to his wife.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He can blame God and Eve all he wants, but it
was his responsibility.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So that’s where we are on our ego, it boils down to
protecting ourselves by pushing the focus and blame elsewhere.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That affects our day to day married life
because there’s always something that rears its ugly head to cause conflict,
whether it be bills, discipline, scheduling, cleaning, it doesn’t matter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Something will cause a conflict at some time,
and our ego will tell us that it’s not our fault, that it is the other person’s
fault.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well I promise you nothing will
lead to a faster argument than blaming the other person.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let’s follow a hypothetical situation: The
kitchen needs cleaning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It hasn’t been
cleaned in a week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our ego says this is
the other person’s fault because we’ve had stuff to do, we’ve been busy with
work or school or a hundred other projects and the other person could have been
doing this.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">That’s us on the defensive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We immediately raise that shield to prevent being pegged for
responsibility for the problem.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now we
go to our partner and say “Why haven’t you cleaned the kitchen?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Already that question places the responsibility
for the problem squarely on one person’s shoulders.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Why didn’t you do your job?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Well, you’re partner has been busy with keeping track of the
kids, doing laundry, bills, a hundred other things that have taken focus and energy
away from the kitchen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They respond with
“Well, why haven’t YOU cleaned the kitchen?” and the responsibility has been
deflected back on us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Suddenly we have
this game of hot-potato going except everyone’s mad and nobody realizes the
game is actually taking care of the problem.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The kitchen is still needs to be clean.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Let’s go back to the beginning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The kitchen needs cleaning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Old Adam is reminding us that we’ve been busy
at work and all that other stuff, and we need to shut him up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Did we stop and think about what the other
person has been busy with?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If we have
enough time and energy to invest in arguing about a dirty kitchen, we have the
time and energy to invest in cleaning the kitchen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Marriage isn’t about deflecting responsibility,
it’s about sharing it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You don’t wait to
be asked to clean the kitchen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Children
have to be asked to do chores, married adults just do them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You and your partner are just that,
partners.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Partners share the responsibility
so that no one is overwhelmed by the things that the world throws at us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s not about assigning tasks; it’s about
working together to get the job done.</span>Michael Bauchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16954610300702060634noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2591433484028324482.post-88739121692326059972016-09-12T09:03:00.001-07:002016-09-12T09:03:49.944-07:00The First Big Step...
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The best way to kick this off is, I feel, to start with forgiveness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Really and truly its where we should all
start because it’s one of the hardest things that we, as humans, have had to
do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For some reason we like to hold onto
old hurts, to re-open old wounds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
think we’re validated by pain and regret so we hold onto when others inflict
pain on us and when we inflict pain on others and ourselves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For some reason it’s our thing and really if
you are going to move forward with life then you need to let all of that go and
forgive.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So, how do we forgive?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Getting down to the basics there are three forms of forgiveness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You have your conditional forgiveness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s where you say “You wronged me, and I
will forgive you, but you have to perform a certain task or make a specific commitment
first.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The second is transactional forgiveness,
which is close to conditional but much looser.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It states “I will forgive them, but they have to ask for forgiveness
first.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This can be problematic towards
reconciliation because the other party may not realize that they have wronged
you in the first place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Reconciliation
is the act of bringing two parties together to hash out what went wrong and
find a mutual starting point to heal their relationship.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If your forgiveness is dependent on them
coming to you and asking for it, and they don’t know they did something wrong,
well then reconciliation is going to be hard to come by.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Then there is unilateral forgiveness, and this is what
Christ calls us to.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He really does, he
calls us to it quite directly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One major
instance of this is when Peter asks him about the nature of forgiveness in
Matthew 18: 21-22.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Peter asks how many
times he should forgive his brother.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Seven
times?” Peter asks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus tells him not
seven times but seventy times seven.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Let’s break that down because it’s not as convoluted as it
seems.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Peter did not pull a random
number out of the air.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Peter was born
and raised Jewish, so he was quite familiar with the structure of the faith,
and he knows that seven is a sacred number, it symbolizes completeness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This goes back to the story of creation where
God created existence in 6 days and rested on the 7<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> because his
work was “completed”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You don’t stop
working on a project until you’ve completed it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>At least you shouldn’t.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The point
is Peter is asking Jesus “Is the number for completeness sufficient for our
tradition?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Jesus’ response is not a math equation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Okay, it is, but that’s not what he’s
saying.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus doesn’t say “You should
forgive your brother 490 times. But on when he hits 491...he's done.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He’s
saying you need to forgive beyond completeness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>You need to wash away the sins, clear the debt, move past the wrong
doing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The second time he addresses this is on the cross, in Luke
23:34.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He says “Father forgive them, for
they know not what they do.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Now out of our three forgiveness options, which one does
that sound like?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He didn’t say “Forgive
them if they ask for it.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He didn’t say “Forgive
them if they are willing to put in 200 hours of community service and wash your
car.” He said called for forgiveness even when the offending party was not
aware what they were doing was a sin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
literally asked for our forgiveness while he was being brutally murdered for
public spectacle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can’t speak for
everyone, but I know I haven’t been wronged THAT badly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">So we know that Christ calls us to unilateral forgiveness,
but what if the offending party is you?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>What if the one person you can’t forgive is you?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Same thing applies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Christ is calling you to forgive that person
in the mirror because as far as Christ is concerned, you are not beyond
redemption.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Who are we to put limits on
God?</span>Michael Bauchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16954610300702060634noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2591433484028324482.post-48784081630487662202016-09-12T09:01:00.002-07:002016-09-12T09:01:56.168-07:00What is All This AboutWell, my name is Michael Bauch. I've been blogging off and on for about two years now, and have a background in creating content for churches by way of on-line Bible Studies. Specifically I ran the Mobile Ministry for the Fishers of Family Lutheran Church based out of Portland, Texas. Well, since that church closed it's doors, I pretty much put all that content aside and move on. Its been more than a few years since I've done anything like that and I've since joined the Catholic Church, and started RCIA yesterday (9/11/2016 as of the date of this writing). With that in mind, I wanted to re-kindle those old fires and start talking about this new step, the continuing journey of my faith. So, in a very loose sense, I'm inviting you to join me on my journey. I share my personal revelations about faith and God's work in my life and I invite you to comment with your own experiences and even offer perspective on my musings.<br />
<br />
Welcome to my Journey Through Faith.Michael Bauchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16954610300702060634noreply@blogger.com5