When Christians Use The "S" Word

I hate it when Christian’s use the “S” word. By “S” word I mean sovereignty. If any of you thought that my last post on Christian music was taking things a little too far then some of you will probably want to take me outside of the city and stone me after you read this. I’m not purposefully trying to stir up trouble but I feel like the issue of God’s sovereignty is one of the most misunderstood subjects in Christianity.

God’s sovereignty is probably one of the most talked about subjects in churches and among Christians today. I think the reason is because there are so many things that happen in this life that are unexpected and that we didn’t see coming and sometimes it’s hard to handle those things when they come our way. I mean things like sickness and disease, murder, rape, natural catastrophes, etc. More often then not the response you will hear from Christian people will be something like this, “Well, God knows best.” Or, “God is in control.” “It must be God’s will or it wouldn’t have happened that way.” I’m going to have to say that I disagree with these reasons.

Old Testament scripture is what people usually sight as “proof” that everything, good or bad, comes from God. Passages from Job are often quoted. We have to keep in mind that Job did not have a full revelation of who God was as we do now. And also at the end of the book of Job we find Job repenting and admitting that he “uttered what I did not understand.” One very important thing that we need to remember that I believe would change our understanding of these things is this: We must run everything through the cross. It acts like a filter. God did not change; but, His way of dealing with people changed after Jesus died on the cross. This is the good news of the gospel, which by the way, literally means “good news”.

The question we always hear from people is, “Why does God let bad things happen to good people?” You’ve heard that one right? The answer is really simple. God gave Adam and Eve a free will in the garden of Eden. They choose poorly and sinned and as a result we are living with the consequences of that. All the bad stuff that happens in this world is not a result of God not caring or not knowing what’s going on. It’s not a result of God willing or allowing bad things to happen to teach us a lesson, bring us closer to Him or even so that He will get the glory. What God allowed was man to have a choice in the beginning and we’re living with that choice still.

People often say “God can do anything He wants.” But that’s not true either. God cannot and will not break His word. It’s not an option. So if His word tells us that He is a good God and that He is a giver of good gifts then He cannot turn around and give bad things. He has limited Himself by His word. The truth of the matter is that people like to think that everything that happens is God’s will and we don’t have any say in the matter. It somehow is a comfort to them. There’s a feeling that if I can’t do anything about the situation anyway then I’ll just trust that God knows what he’s doing.

At the end of Matthew and Mark right before Jesus ascends back to heaven he gives his disciples authority in this world to go and make disciples, heal the sick, etc. A transfer of power took place in the garden of Eden. Man gave Satan power in this world when they sinned. Jesus came as the perfect sacrifice and atonement for sin and He’s now given the power to back to us. We as Christians need to realize where the bad stuff comes from and use the authority that’s been given us in Christ and stop blaming everything that happens on God’s sovereign will. I don’t think God likes to be blamed for doing something He hasn’t done anymore than the rest of us do.

Jesus tells us in John 10:10,
“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”
I don’t think it can get any plainer than that. But in case you’re still skeptical try James 1:17 which says, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.”

You can remember it this way. If it’s good, it’s God. If it’s bad, it’s the devil. God is not guilty. Why do we blame God for bad things when the Bible plainly tells us that God is a giver of good things and it’s the devil who is behind the bad stuff? I love how James says it, there’s not even a hint of God changing. I choose to believe that God’s word is true and if it is then the bad things can’t possibly come from Him.

In Matthew 7 Jesus says this:
“Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!”

I don’t have kids but I have two beautiful nieces and a nephew on the way that I love very much. And I know that as much as I love them it can’t possibly compare to how much God loves us. I wouldn’t cause my nieces and nephew pain just to get their attention, even if they were doing wrong. I want good things for them. I want them to have the least amount of heartache and hurt as possible. And as an Aunt I would never, ever even consider hurting them in anyway just to teach them a lesson. So why do we think God who loves us even more would ever do those things to us?

We are also told in Hebrews chapter 1 that,
“God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in times past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom He also made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person…”

The Bible is telling us that Jesus is the “express image” of God the Father. If that’s the case then everything Jesus said and did was a reflection of what God the Father wants for us. Jesus went around healing people and setting them free not bringing bad things upon them so that they would be taught lessons. Everything Jesus did was good.

Acts 10:38 says
“how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil for God was with Him”

He healed all; not just some. Not just those who deserved it or the ones He felt like healing. He healed them all. And notice it says that it’s the devil who was oppressing them. I think it leaves a bad witness to the world when we as Christians tell unsaved people the reasons bad things are happening to us or to them is because God has caused it or wants it that way.

Why on earth would anyone be remotely interested in a God who wants bad things to happen to us? You’ve got to be kidding! No thank you! Try telling a rape victim or someone who has cancer, “Well God must be trying to teach you something or else this wouldn’t be happening to you. God’s trying to get your attention.” If I was unsaved and a Christian told me that I think I’d run as far in the other direction as I possibly could. Why then are we so surprised when people don’t want to have anything to do with Christianity when this is what we tell them?

I will leave you with this thought. I once heard a preacher say something that I’ll never forget concerning the sovereignty of God. And while it makes me laugh, it’s so true. He said this, “The next time someone starts talking about God being sovereign; slap them. And when they get all mad and ask you why you did it tell them that it must have been God’s will otherwise it couldn’t have happened!”

Think about that next you time you use the “S” word and give God the credit for something. It might not be any of His doing.

When Christian Music Isn't Christian

The following thoughts have been going around in my mind lately and then I talked to my brother and he was having some similar thoughts so I decided to write about it.

How many times have you heard Christians talk about listening to only Christian music? You may have heard any of the following statements: "I don't listen to secular music because it doesn't glorify God" or "I only listen to Christian music because it edifies me and secular music doesn't." Part of both of these statements can be true. But, I would like to pose a question. What about when Christian music isn't Christian?

Before I go any further let me say that I'm not writing this to bring down any particular Christian artists or the radio stations that play them. I won't be mentioning any artists names. I believe they have the very best of intentions but I also believe at times they are very wrong.

So, back to my question, what about when Christian music isn't Christian? Some of you are probably thinking that that's not even possible. Sometimes I think we get into trouble by assuming that just because something is labeled "Christian" then it must be theologically correct. We tend to swallow everything hook, line and sinker without stopping to think what the Bible has to say about the subject.

Do we do that with preachers? I hope not. I think that most people would say that when they hear a new preacher or teacher they are careful to weigh what is being said against the counsel of scripture. Hopefully we do that all the time even with those that we hear on a regular basis. Why then don't we do the same with Christian music? It's a valid question.

I know many people who don't listen to secular music or allow their children to either. That's their privilege and I think there is a time for that. When my brother and I were younger we were not allowed to listen to much secular music either. I know that their is a lot of bad music out there but I think there is a lot that is good also that falls under the "secular" label.


My point is this: Why refuse to listen to a song simply because it is labeled "secular" when a "Christian" song you are listening to may be biblically inaccurate and may be shaping your views and opinions about God in a way that is damaging to your faith and not glorifying to God?

When asked why they believe a certain way I have heard people say, "Well that's what that one song we sing in church says." In other words, we don't know our Bible well enough to know if what we are singing is accurate or not. The songwriters have now become the final authority instead of the Bible.

This should be a challenge to those of us who write songs to make sure that what we are writing is correct. When I was a worship leader I tried very carefully to only sing songs that I believed were biblically accurate and because of that there were some popular songs that we didn't sing when I led.

I find that I get more and more disgusted when I turn on Christian radio. It's more discouraging than it is encouraging. If I listen to it for very long I find that I have to remind myself of the reasons why I don't believe all the things I've just heard. That leaves me wondering what the point was in even listening to it in the first place.

The bottom line in my mind is that we shouldn't discredit something just because it's labeled "secular" in the same way that we shouldn't assume that everything we hear in "Christian" songs are gospel truth. We should know God's Word well enough to be able to tell when something doesn't line up. And if we're not sure then we need to be willing to take the time to read and see what the Bible really says. Just some things to think about the next time you turn on your radio.

Tulip Color #'s 3 and 4!

Today is the perfect first day of May! It's 70 degrees and sunny which is so different from the weather we've been having. I think that is part of the reason the rest of the tulips have finally popped out!

The first two pictures are of the third and final variety that I bought in Holland. It is called "Gavota" and is a darker purple than the "Negrita" and has a yellow stripe on the edge. The third picture is a tulip from one of the $1 pots that we bought at Wal-mart and even though it looks somewhat red it's actually pink.

The last picture is the view you see when coming up the driveway. I still say it's looks like candy! There is one tulip left that hasn't bloomed. We had a lone red tulip in our orchard that we transplanted along the driveway and I'm not sure if it's going to bloom this year or not. It's smaller and it may be a later variety or we may have just traumatized it too much! Time will tell.

More Tulip Pictures

Just thought I'd share a few photos of the tulips from the last day or so as they have really opened up. Color #3 started opening today so by tomorrow I should be able to post a picture of that one. Tulip Festival starts 1 week from today!!! I'll have lots of pictures to post after that.

Tulip Color # 2...

Yesterday when Mom and Dad got home from town, Mom had a surprise for me. She had found potted tulips leftover from Easter on clearance at Wal-mart for $3! So this first picture of the yellow one is one of those. There were 6 or 7 bulbs in the pot so we divided them up and planted them alongside the others. The yellow really makes the purple ones stand out!



The picture below is the second tulip to bloom of the ones I bought in Holland last year. This variety is called Apeldoorn Elite and just started opening today. Now we're just waiting on the third variety to bloom. They look like candy and it's really hard to not want to pick them!

Impatiently Waiting....

I have a thing for tulips. Besides roses they are my favorite flower. So you can about imagine that I went crazy last year when I went to the Tulip Festival in Holland, Michigan. I bought 30 tulip bulbs, 10 each of 3 different varieties. They arrived in the mail last fall and Mom and I planted them in 3 different groups along the driveway and 1 group in front of the mailbox.

Since then I have been keeping a close eye on them hoping that we had planted them correctly and they were going to grow properly. I also was watching them closely since we are overrun with rabbits who love to munch on them! I bought some spray that is supposed to keep the rabbits and deer away from them and so far they have stayed away.

Since September I have been impatiently waiting and finally today I was rewarded with the first one of the tulips to open so far this spring! This is the Negrita variety. I'm anxious to see what the other two varieties look like.

Today in 1775

"Listen my children and you shall hear

Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,

On the eighteenth of April, in seventy-five;

Hardly a man is now alive

Who remembers that famous day and year."

I remember hearing this poem as a kid and picturing it in my head. Who knows how or why we get mental pictures the way we do but I remember seeing it all play out in my head whenever I heard this poem. It was so surreal and yet very real all at the same time. There's something about this first verse that to this day still sends chills through me.

On the night of April 18, 1775, silversmith Paul Revere made his famous ride to Lexington, Massachusetts to warn Samuel Adams and John Hancock that the British were marching from Concord to Boston that night to arrest them and to seize military supplies.

Contrary to Longfellow's poem, lanterns were not hung in the tower of the Old North Church to signal to Revere how the British were moving, "one if by land, two if by sea"; but rather Paul Revere ordered the signal to warn other Patriots in the area.

After Revere reached Lexington, successfully warning Samuel Adams and John Hancock of the coming danger he got back on his horse and set our for Concord although he never made it. He was captured by the British along the way but a companion of his escaped and road on to Concord where he alerted the Patriots there. Paul Revere was later released by the British and he accomplished what he set out to do as word travelled from town to town warning the minutemen to be ready.

We need to be modern-day Paul Revere's. We are on the brink of losing the freedoms that these men and women risk their lives to give us. We need to be the watchmen on the walls, modern-day Patriots, ready to run with the warning when we see danger approaching. When I was in Boston in 2008 I was able to go to the Old North Church which is now in the Little Italy section of Boston. I went inside the church, sat in the pews and took the picture that you see here. I was also able to go to the Old Granary Burial Ground which is one of the oldest graveyards in Boston and it's where Paul Revere is buried. I kept pinching myself all day long thinking to myself how amazing it was that I was actually standing where these very things happened. They're not just pretty words out of a poem. These things actually happened. They are very real and as Americans they belong to us. The future of the nation was in their hands. Now it's in ours. It's time to ride.

A Few Strings Attached

I have a new guitar! However... there are some strings attached. It's not mine and I can't keep it.

This week my brother called and said he had found a guitar on Craigslist here in Michigan. He wanted to buy it in order to resell it and make some money. Since he lives in Colorado he wanted to know if I would go pick it up for him and ship whenever he sold it. I said I would.

This guitar was a steal for the price. It's a Fender American Deluxe Telecaster and it's in mint condition. I think I've said in earlier posts how I have a "thing" for Fender guitars... well I've always wanted a Telecaster and having this one around the house just makes it worse. I've been playing it but it's so cold upstairs right now that my hands started hurting and I finally quit. I decided to take a picture of all the Fender guitars under our roof (the other two are mine) while this one is still around. They're just so pretty to look at.


The bass is the one that I wrote about in an early post this fall. It was the one I had to wait for since it was on backorder. I like it a lot just like I knew I would. I'm trying not to let myself get attached to the Telecaster because I know I can't keep it. :( And to make things worse this guitar is the exact same model that Merle Haggard is holding on the cover of his autobiography Sing Me Back Home. *BIG SIGH*

I think I should get some sort of compensation for the emotional distress this whole process has caused me!

10 1/2 Inches Later

Well, the totals are in and looks like we received
10 1/2 inches of snow on our back deck from the storm. I think it probably would've been more if we had measured in the yard but I wasn't going to wade out there to check.

We did get out of the house for a good portion of the day today and it felt so nice to have the sun out.

Blizzards and Coyote Hunting

I haven't blogged much lately because there hasn't been much to blog about and because it's so hard to get pictures to load that unless it's something really important, I don't feel like messing with it. We are bracing for a huge winter storm here in southern Michigan. It started snowing about an hour ago and visibility has been greatly reduced. The wind is blowing and it's very cold. We decided to stick a ruler out on the deck and continue to measure the snow. The picture is a little misleading because there's more than 1 1/2 of snow on the ground. This picture was taken on the back deck where there isn't as much snow as out in the yard. So, we'll see by tomorrow how much more the deck has on it.

Dad took advantage of the snow that was already on the ground by going coyote hunting; one of his favorite things to do in the winter. Today he got one and even though you can't tell by the picture; it was stiff as a board by the time he got home with it.

We have gone to the library and stocked up on movies to watch since we probably won't get out of the house until Thursday. They are calling for as much as 20" of snow in some parts of Michigan. Up until now winter hasn't been all that bad. I guess that all ends now! Stay warm.

Happy Birthday to me and the Soap!!!