I’ll be signing copies of my book, “52 Paths To Heaven” 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. this Saturday, Nov. 22 at Logos Bookstore in Kent.
I’ll also be breaking away to a meeting room to give a brief talk, “How Far Will God Go to Reach You?”
The Record Courier published a feature story about the event.
Please stop by if you’re in the area or let me know if you have friends who might be interested.
Could good causes around the globe benefit from just a share of your normal Christmas spending?
How much did you spend on Christmas last year or the year before? What’s your budget this year? Could you cut it by 25% or half and give the money to people or organizations that serve the poor?
Know anyone out of work? Would those you love really love you less if you gave them fewer presents?
It’s a challenge for me. After all, I want to give good gifts to my wife and children.
The notion of cutting back is being championed by the Advent Conspiracy. Check out the bold message.
How can you love those closest to you as well as strangers this holiday season?
Why do we sometimes play fast and free with life, money and time? I know I do.
It’s way too easy to lose track of the fact that who we are and what we own belongs to God; He expects us to be excellent stewards of His resources.
President-elect Barack Obama would do well like me to pay attention to God’s Word. Got Questions Ministries has a great piece about the parable of the talents and how the Lord expects us to act wisely with what He gives us.
Obama’s attitude is wrong from the start. In debates, he knocked the war. Like others, he was too quick to suggest that the $10 billion-plus per month spent on the Iraq war could be better used domestically, including repairing our infrastructure.
I’m sorry, but shouldn’t that money be off limits if it’s not tied to war at some point? It’s borrowed money. The nation is so knee-deep in debt that we should be paying down what we owe, not going on a spending spree. We can’t afford the war, but we’re stuck there for now so nothing will happen soon.
If we need to help poor people or pay for aging bridges, we have to cut spending, raise taxes and/or convince people to donate in one fashion or another.
Playing loose with $10 billion or more - and thinking it’s there for the grabbing - just reflects a poor mindset that’s oblivious to the rising debt.
Maybe God wants us to go into more debt. But it doesn’t seem like a responsible direction.
Do we really want keeping owing China, Japan and other countries? This U.S. Treasury table is staggering.
After all, the famous Durst Organization national debt clock in New York City actually ran out of digits - the $10 trillion debt is just that high.
Maybe Obama was just noting that we have other pressing needs. In time, if the war tones down and troops leave, I hope Obama and Congress focus on paying back what we owe while finding new and more responsible ways to cover priorities on the homefront.
Hopefully their solutions will honor God. While that’s happening, I hope I can do a better job myself.
What about you?
I’ll be the first to admit that some family sites sometimes make movies seem worse than they are on screen.
I saw the new Hulk movie the other day and didn’t even recall the women with low-cut tops and short shorts. Maybe they were on the screen for a second - in the background.
But I have to give these sites credit - they often do provide an honest assessment of the vulgar language, sexuality, gore, etc. Many of their observations are dead on.
Before deciding on a movie, check out a few of these resources. For example, Mike Myers and Adam Sandler have some so-called comedies out this summer. The problem is that they’re loaded with sexual jokes and sight gags. Do I really want to go to a movie with my 12-year-old son Eric (or let him go to the movies with his friends) just so he can see people cheapen and mock sexuality and intimacy?
I read and paraphrased the entire description of one movie for Eric. I think he finally got the point.
The problem is that youth don’t use enough discretion. So I have to be, well, a parent. I’m sorry he’s embarrased to tell his friends he can’t go. Well, maybe I’m not really sorry. I keep telling him to let them know he doesn’t want to see it - that would be a more mature way to address the issue.
Anyway, here is a handy list. Check out a couple before drawing conclusions. In some cases, take in a movie first and then act like a responsible parent before allowing your children to see what Hollywood suggests they view.
Focus on the Family’s Plugged In
www.pluggedinonline.com/
Kids-In-Mind
www.kids-in-mind.com
Christian Spotlight on Entertainment
http://www.christiananswers.net/spotlight/home.html
ChristianityTodayMovies.com
www.christianitytoday.com/movies
Screen It
www.screenit.com
Parent Previews
http://www.parentpreviews.com
As my book points out, one of our paths to heaven may be a scene from a movie that touches our heart. You still need to be careful about your selections.
It’s probably a good thing that we have such intense debates about capital punishment. Our humanity may be lacking if it were easy to kill someone for killing someone else.
The Bible isn’t clear about when it’s OK to apply capital punishment. In Genesis 9:6, God pretty much sounds like it’s OK to repay blood for blood. And in Romans 13:1-7, we’re pretty much told to honor government and authorities.
Ex-cop Bobby Cutts Jr. made the national press for killing his wife and unborn baby. In the end, the jury decided to spare his life and allow for a lengthy prison sentence. Personally, I think he deserves to die. We’re not talking about a vehicular accident. He took his rage out against her and the child.
When does mercy apply? After all, in John 8:7 Jesus is all for sparing a woman caught in adultry (not sure where her spouse is). The jury had more mercy than I have to offer. I guess I’d have more mercy if Cutts was on the phone admitting his mistake seconds or minutes after his attack. Instead, he allowed days to lapse while pretending he didn’t do it.
Cutts is an enemy of society. Killing him is no worse than killing an opponent on the battle field. His horrific actions have consequences. One day God will deal with Cutts for all of eternity. Maybe I’ll hang out with him in heaven.
It’s a shame that I had to turn off a DVD the other day with puppets…
Jeff Dunham, an amazing ventriloquist, ruined our family evening with his crass humor. He had such a memorable act with some occasional PG humor. Sexual overtones weren’t necessary, but they were few and far between - sometimes over our kids’ heads (not always).
I’m kicking myself for not turning it off sooner when he brought out his new super hero puppet. In real life, the pervert would be in jail.
I finally did stop the DVD - enough jokes about the character’s nose looking like…
I gave up on comedy clubs long ago - way too smutty and cruel. You should see how far down the sewer Carrot Top went in just a few short years.
Few things are safe anymore…I have to work on my judgment skills - even with puppets. What a waste of good talent.
I’m impressed that my son has picked up a concept I touch on in the book. It’s about how we seem to forget that you don’t need to see something to believe it’s real. He’s challenging his teacher and students to realize that’s what faith is - not seeing but knowing something is real.
Scientists amaze me with their knowledge and discoveries. But like some scientists, many people grow frustrated when they can’t prove something exists. Therefore, it must not be real, right? Wrong. We can’t see gravity, but we respect its presence. We can’t see God, but we still have faith in Him. He’s more real to us than He needs to be - in that soft, still voice we hear in our minds and in our hearts, in an embrace of a friend or a stranger, in nature, in circumstances and in His Word.
Can’t see Jesus? Set aside your pride and His presence will be clear enough.
It’s late at night and the Oprah show is on. The focus is on Elizabeth Gilbert’s book called “Eat Pray Love.” It makes me shake my head. It’s all about “the light getting in” and your “spiritual path.” It sounds like the author hit rock bottom in her life and went on a spiritual quest overseas. Wonderful - if that’s what it takes to meet Jesus. But I haven’t heard her say anything about Jesus, so maybe her book is just a path on her journey to her real Savior. I guess it’s a best-seller or something. How sad. My book like hers should be secondary to God’s Word. Maybe you’re not reading the Bible and you read my book or hers. That’s OK, but give the Bible a try (get a study guide if you need to).
One audience member talked about how Gilbert’s book is her Bible. Wow…how sad. Apparently, she encountered some god during her journey. Maybe it was my God through some spiritual connection. But she clearly missed the point because only Jesus provides true, stable, lasting access to God. She refers to God as God “the perfection that absorbs.” Well, He’s perfect, but salvation isn’t about having some secret moment with God and all is well. God, she says, involves the “the divinity within you…that’s where God lives.” Yeah, whatever.
Books like hers and mine can be paths to heaven, but hell and heaven await us. Will we meet Jesus before we die or just go to hell? Will He matter given what He accomplished on the cross? He’s the source of our true peace. We get the Holy Spirit when we choose Jesus. I’m happy for her, being content, having simple pleasures. One day, I hope she meets her Savior and she uses her author status to give Him glory.
It’s OK to drink alcohol if you’re Christian and if you aren’t a believer in Christ.
I know many Christians disagree with this - that Jesus doesn’t want people getting drunk. And others say it’s better to avoid booze just because - kind of like you avoid the sin of being drunk just by not drinking in the first place. The same thinking comes from people who don’t think boys and girls should dance together because someone may get romantic. Or, they don’t want boys and girls to swim in the same lake because those bathing suits (or skin) may arouse someone.
Anyway, I drink now and then because I have a few drinks that I like. I don’t get drunk and drive home or kill people. In fact, plenty of references in the Bible (Old and New Testaments) talk about parties and drinking. In other words, it’s not necessarily a bad thing. But God clearly teaches against excess.
Here’s a twist: As Christians, we may want to consider not drinking if our behavior causes someone else to stumble. In other words, if your drinking makes someone else think drinking is OK for them (when it may not be for any number of reasons), maybe you shouldn’t drink either. Or, maybe you shouldn’t drink simply because someone else watching your Christian witness may be turned off because they see you with some hard liquor.
Stuff to think about, stuff that has little to do with whether you’re a friend of Jesus. Pride is a more serious issue.
As much as I fail to live up to what I know, the truth is, this is all about Him.
The Him is Jesus. He’s the ultimate path to heaven. You may go through a lot of things. You may meet a lot of people. In the end, it’s just you and Jesus or you without Jesus.
I made 52 Paths To Heaven to reflect my personal journey and touch on issues that may be foreign to me but not you (like abortion).
We like to think of prayers and preachers and the Bible as our guiding light. The truth is, the Holy Spirit is our light and He’s authorized to do whatever God wants to reach us - no matter how high we go with our pride or how low we go with our depravity.
You’ll be able to order to book soon. In the meantime, drop me a line if you’re interested in the book or the topic of what we do to get to heaven. I’m eager to know how you feel.
The book should be out December 10th or sooner.
–Mike
