Jesus saves, and also recycles

Since I'm not going to post 1,000 words for you, let's just get this over with.

There. This is the world-renowned Christ the Redeemer statue in Brazil. And yeah, it's green. Not like an M&M, not like the Grinch, but more like Al Gore (without the slimy haircut...).

Jesus turned green after the Rio+20 summit in Belo Horizonete, Brazil. At this summit, Jerusalem's deputy mayor for planning and environment, Naomi Tsur, suggested that such religious icons worldwide could be utilized as vehicles to push the "eco-agenda." In addition to the above statue turned lime jello, Bethlehem, Calvary, and the grave of King David were discussed.

Before one of you start verbally-pummeling me for hating the Earth, that is not the case. I am adamantly against littering, wastefulness, and other nature hating behaviors. I recycle when I can, and usually bring my own coffee cup to refill at gas stations. Also, I only shower once a week to conserve water. Okay, the last part isn't true... You're welcome.

I would even go as far as to say that it is my duty as a Christians to be a good steward of the planet that God has given to me, but that is where the bus stops. This is going to far. While I would be willing to bet that if Jesus were walking the earth today that He would recycle, I don't think He'd spend much time pushing the issue. Rather, He would be preaching the gospel to the lost and encouraging and building up His people to do the same. He'd be healing the sick, raising the dead, and setting the captives free. As they say, He's got bigger fish to fry, and I think using Christ to push an environmental agenda (or any other agenda for that matter) is an attempt to cheapen God Himself.

I've heard that Jesus is a Republican. I've also heard He is a Democrat. However, the Bible says that a double-minded man is unstable in all of his ways, so Jesus can't be both. Some of us (probably all of us) are wrong about His politics, although I know He would've been good at them, because He was always kissing babies. I've seen bumper stickers that tout Jesus as a Denver Broncos fan. After all, aren't sunsets orange? Depending on who you ask, Jesus was gay. He was also straight, and married with children. Jesus is better than super heroes, drugs, and Santa Claus, but He isn't as tough as Chuck Norris (if you ask the right, or wrong people).

You know what? Jesus is the Son of God. He was born of a virgin, lived without sin, died on a cross so I wouldn't have to, and offers us life everlasting. Jesus is so much more than a political tool: He is King! Jesus isn't green. He is God. Any attempt to turn Jesus into something that He isn't is an affront to Him and is a surefire way to prove that you don't really know Him all that well.

Ryan Saffer
Community Site Coordinator

Unlocking the minivan, just like God would

It has often been said that, as a father, it is my responsibility to portray the image of God to my children. While this may sound like a blasphemous statement to some, that really isn't the case. Quite contrary, in fact! It is my duty to exhibit unconditional love, patience, justice, and mercy at all times with the utmost fairness. No doubt, this is a tall order, and apart from the grace of God, an impossible task. But sometimes, whether we know it or not, we are doing just this very thing for our children.

Not long ago, my family and I were preparing to leave the house, I told my five-year old daughter Rachel to go out to the van and get in her car seat. And as children that age often do, she protested. But to her credit, her protest was thoughtful and quite reasonable. She told me: "But Daddy, the van is locked!"

In this great big world, a five-year old can feel pretty small sometimes. And as if to add insult to injury, my daughter is small for her age. To tell her to gain entry to the locked minivan would be the same as telling me to go climb Mount Everest in Bermuda shorts: a desperate impossibility for several reasons. As I often do, my daughter struggled to get her perception beyond herself. Her focus was on her problem, and when viewing it in light of her ability, she was faced with a grave impossibility.


But she failed to recognize a third piece of the puzzle. She did not even begin to consider the intervention of her father. The conversation went much like this:

"Rachel, just go out to the van."  

"But it's locked!" 

"What did I say for you to do?" 

"But it's locked!!"

Our discussion went much like this as I followed her up the stairs, out the back door, down the driveway, and right up to the van. You can probably guess what happened next: Daddy, superhero extraordinaire, unlocked and opened the door for the pint-sized damsel in distress.

I won't try and convince you that I can provide for my family in the same way that God can, but because God provides for them, I too must provide. And I'm not going to say that I can lead my family better than God can, but as God shepherds us, I too must shepherd my family to the best of my abilities, continually trusting Him to equip me for the task.

Sometimes as fathers, we struggle to see the big picture. When the bills are piling up, we don't see God’s provision. When the kids are acting up, we don't see the fruit of patience in ourselves. When the pressure is on, we ignore the presence of God and trust our own judgments to overcome, or at least get by. More often than not, we focus on the problem, but ignore the solution. But just as Rachel neglected to see that her father held the keys, so often we forget that our Father is also holding the keys.

Rachel learned a valuable lesson that day: a loving father will never send you do that which is impossible, but will always provide the means to finish the task. In the same way, your Heavenly Father isn't going to ask you to do that which is impossible for you to do, but only what is impossible for you to do without Him. After all, if all we do is act in our strength, God is never glorified, but we are. But we know that God will get His glory, so He wants us to depend on Him.


My challenge to you is this: Ask God to open your eyes to see something that He wants you to do, and when He reveals it, don't look at the problems surrounding your situation. Focus on your solution. Don't say "I can't do anything without your help, Jesus." Instead, settle yourself down, take a deep breath, and say: "Jesus, I can do anything you set before me when I trust you to strengthen me!"


"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." --Philippians 4:13



Ryan Saffer
Community Site Coordinator

Thorns of lust

First, an update. In my pursuit of Jesus, I'm through Matthew and partway into Mark. It has also come to my attention that Jesus said a lot more in Revelation than I had previously thought. I knew about the seven letters at the beginning, but there is quite a bit at the end, too. Check it out!

And now, a question. Will men ever be free of sexual sin this side of Heaven? I would guess that anyone who has ever struggled in sexual sin has asked this question, and usually asked it in a moment desperation. A man reaches that point where he feels like there is no hope, and sometimes like there is no God. We turn to Scripture and find little comfort. While there are those who suggest that this sin is our "thorn in the flesh," we find no peace or rest on a God who wants us free but keeps us bound (presumably for humility's sake).

Man, if this is you, be comforted. No sin will ever be your thorn in the flesh, just as no sin could have been Paul's thorn. How does a man say that he no longer fulfills the lusts of the flesh subject himself to that same flesh? While I do not know with any amount of certainty what Paul's thorn was, I am most certain of what it was not: sin.

As a man who has walked that dark road, I know that it is not merely practicing sin, but is rather walking under the bondage of sin. And Christian, if you are a child of God, you ought not to serve two masters. Now before you click me off, I'm not saying that anyone who struggles with sin of any kind is not truly saved. That would be stupid. But I'm telling you this: You do not have to be bound up in your lifestyle. While I am talking specifically here about sexual sin, the same can be said to the alcoholic, to the hot-tempered, or to the gossip. You are no longer required to be a slave to that sin.

I know it's not always popular to say so, but it isn't God's fault that we struggle. Most of our readers here would not question Christ's victory over sin, so let's follow that line to it's logical end. Christ wouldn't expect you to stay under an enemy that is already defeated. Jesus has set us free. Our chains have fallen to our sides in clanging heaps, our long-sealed prison doors have begrudgingly creaked open, and our cruel warden has been bound up by our King who has pardoned us. So what do you do? It is within your power to remain in jail where you will receive "three hots and a cot" just as you always have, but it is also in your power to stand up and walk out of prison and into the freedom which has been provided for you. Sounds simple enough, doesn't it? Trust me when I say that it is.

Yes, I've shifted all the blame from God onto you. Hurts, doesn't it? I know. But look on the bright side. While you may say that I've placed blame, there is also responsibility. And where there is responsibility, God has given you and I the authority to deal with our problems. So the question isn't what is God going to do about our sin, because He already did all that He could on the cross. Instead, what are we going to do about our sin? Allow me to offer a bit of practical advice.

1. Call it what it is. Don't make any more excuses for it. You do not sin because you are a man. It is not merely a natural response to your increased levels of testosterone. It is sin, such as will separate you from God. It is activity unfit for a Christian to participate in, and it's a cancer slowly eating away at your soul. Yes, you are tempted, and yes the pressure is great. But greater is He that is in you than He that is in the world, and God will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you can bear. Do you know what that means? You are stronger than you think. As I have, you have probably felt like you "had to" sin at some point. I don't buy that anymore, and I don't think you honestly can either.

2. Don't tolerate it, don't accept it. While we can often minimize our aberrant behaviors as "normal" or "not that big of a deal," we cannot deny that sin is sin. Remember Dr. Seuss's elephant Horton? "A person's a person, no matter how small." Sweet sentiments, but let's make it nasty. "A sin is a sin, no matter how small." How much manure will you tolerate in your pie? What about just a little bit? I promise you won't even taste it! Disgusting!! And yet we treat sin the same way. Only a little bit, no one will notice. Or maybe a lot, as we've gotten used to it. Treat sin as that manure pie: spit it out and don't touch it again. Doubtless you don't like to admit it, we oftentimes enjoy sinning. That has to change.

3. Knock it off. Simple, right? Like I said, it can be. When Jesus healed the blind men in Matthew 9, He asked them "Do you believe I am able to do this?" Their answer, of course, is "Yes, Lord." So He said to them "let it be according to your faith." Basically, He said "I will give you exactly what you are expecting to receive from me." The same is offered to you. If you question whether God wants you bound in sin or not, read the Bible. I am sure that you will see a God who has provided for our absolute freedom, if only we would accept it. Proverbs 23:7 says that "As a man thinketh, so he is." If you think you are a slave to your sin, you are correct. But the get that Bible in you. "When the Son of Man sets you free, you are free indeed!"

So will men ever be free of sexual sin this side of Heaven? Men will be as free as they want. The question I ask instead is "Will men ever want freedom more than they want sin?"


Ryan Saffer
Community Site Coordinator