QT
8.27.2007
Tiger Game
Bruce, Chris, Mark, Micah and I went to the Tiger game Saturday night ... what a crazy time? I drove up and saw them going into HockeyTown Cafe ... was so excited that when I parked I locked the doors with the van still running ... at least I had it in park ... about an hour later had a tow truck there to break in to my van ...
8.23.2007
This is a sweet picture of (from left) my brother Bruce, my brother Andy, and me ... the cute blond kid ...
yep ...
yep ... 3.20.2007
Riverview vs. Trinity Basketball
NoelJesse - Riverview vs. TrinityRiverview faced off against Trinity Church tonight in a basketball game to raise money for Shared Pregnancy (http://www.sharedpregnancy.org/). Luckily, in this news clip they didn't talk about how badly we got spanked.http://www.youtube.com/?v=GdcAsXEWekI
2.26.2007
February 26, 2007 - Acts 9.26-43Saul in Jerusalem
When Saul arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to join the followers. But they were all afraid of him, because they did not believe he was a true follower. Then Barnabas helped him by taking him to the apostles. He explained how Saul had seen the Lord and how the Lord had spoken to him. Barnabas also said that when Saul was in Damascus, he had spoken bravely in the name of Jesus.
Saul moved about freely with the followers in Jerusalem and told everyone about the Lord. He was always arguing with the Jews who spoke Greek, and so they tried to kill him. But the followers found out about this and took Saul to Caesarea. From there they sent him to the city of Tarsus.
The church in Judea, Galilee, and Samaria now had a time of peace and kept on worshiping the Lord. The church became stronger, as the Holy Spirit encouraged it and helped it grow.
Peter Heals Aeneas
While Peter was traveling from place to place, he visited the Lord's followers who lived in the town of Lydda. There he met a man named Aeneas, who for eight years had been sick in bed and could not move.
Peter said to Aeneas, "Jesus Christ has healed you! Get up and make up your bed." Right away he stood up. Many people in the towns of Lydda and Sharon saw Aeneas and became followers of the Lord.
Peter Brings Dorcas Back to Life
In Joppa there was a follower named Tabitha. Her Greek name was Dorcas, which means "deer." She was always doing good things for people and had given much to the poor. But she got sick and died, and her body was washed and placed in an upstairs room. Joppa wasn't far from Lydda, and the followers heard that Peter was there. They sent two men to say to him, "Please come with us as quickly as you can!" Right away, Peter went with them.
The men took Peter upstairs into the room. Many widows were there crying. They showed him the coats and clothes that Dorcas had made while she was still alive.
After Peter had sent everyone out of the room, he knelt down and prayed. Then he turned to the body of Dorcas and said, "Tabitha, get up!" The woman opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she sat up.
He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet.
Peter called in the widows and the other followers and showed them that Dorcas had been raised from death. Everyone in Joppa heard what had happened, and many of them put their faith in the Lord. Peter stayed on for a while in Joppa in the house of a man named Simon, who made leather.
The Year of the Bible is available on the web at http://yob.gospelcom.net/reading.php
2.06.2007
1.12.2007
Direction: The Christian and Civil Disobedience:
"Nevertheless, the scripture passages quoted at the beginning make it clear that we are to be subject to the governing authorities. How is it that one is subject to government, yet refuses to obey it? That would appear to be a contradiction. John Howard Yoder offers an explanation:
It is not by accident that the imperative of [Romans] 13:1 is not literally one of obedience. The Greek language has good words to denote obedience, in the sense of completely bending one’s will and one’s actions to the desires of another. What Paul calls for, however, is subordination. This verb is based on the same root as the ordering of the powers by God. Subordination is significantly different from obedience. The conscientious objector who refuses to do what his government asks him to do, but still remains under the sovereignty of that government and accepts the penalties which it imposes, . . . is being subordinate even though he is not obeying.4"
For the sake of the gospel followers of Jesus will refuse to obey men.
We should also recognize that the current North American governmental systems are set in place with civil disobedience as a valid method of speaking to government. A quotation from the Declaration of Independence of the United States is instructive on this point:
. . . We hold these truths to be self-evident: That all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; that, to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; that whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it and to institute a new government. . . .
While not so blatantly stated, the Canadian Constitution has a similar underlying presumption. In a modern western democracy a good citizen is one who calls the government to account for its actions and who, through the political process, works to make the government better. How does Christian civil disobedience fit into a system where, through the political process, everything is “up for grabs?”
When the government acts in a way which violates Christian conscience under the tests set out above, Christians have several ways to work with the situation. They can seek legislation which changes that which they abhor, they can use the courts to determine whether the law actually applies to them in the way it seems to, they can use the courts in an effort to overturn the law as being a violation of the Constitution, or they can submit to the government while refusing to obey the law. All of these {29} methods have been used by Mennonites in this century on the issues of conscription and of the paying of taxes which go for war purposes. The Amish have successfully obtained exemption from Social Security by these methods, and the concept of conscientious objection to military service came into existence in this way. What is also true of these instances is that what turned the political tide was the willingness of Christians to do Holy Obedience, and their quiet willingness to go to jail rather than to obey the government. Mennonites active in the fight against conscription have said again and again that it was the willingness of Mennonite boys to go to jail which turned the hearts of the people in government to make possible the exemption of conscientious objectors from military service.
Mike's thoughts: This is all very interesting stuff. I have many questions on this subject. My current question: Are you sin if you are speeding or not obeying the speed limit? I know it sounds petty ... but it is more a question of the heart ... is my conscience seared as with a hot iron when I do not feel bad for speeding? Or is it not sinning ... am I being a conscience objector to a law that I think should be changed ... I should be allowed to go faster ... which stated above is part of our political process. I am not sure ...
A bigger question is disobeying a law because you feel a person could have a better life ... like the people who helped Ann Frank in Nazi Germany ... were they sinning because they were not obeying there government and telling the solders where the Jews in hiding were ... on the flip side were the solders who participated in these raids not sinning because they were doing there job. Some could claim, they did not know for sure that these people would in the end be murdered by the Nazi's.
What about the people who came to America for religous freedom? Were they sinning because they did not obey their government and instead fled to america.
Is it ok for me to disobey the law for the mear statement of trying to make the world a better place. To do the right thing per say.
I think about Tiananmen square ... was it sinning for the guy to stand in front of the tank?
http://bieniosek.com/gallery/albums/album15/tiananmen_tank_1.sized.jpg
"Nevertheless, the scripture passages quoted at the beginning make it clear that we are to be subject to the governing authorities. How is it that one is subject to government, yet refuses to obey it? That would appear to be a contradiction. John Howard Yoder offers an explanation:
It is not by accident that the imperative of [Romans] 13:1 is not literally one of obedience. The Greek language has good words to denote obedience, in the sense of completely bending one’s will and one’s actions to the desires of another. What Paul calls for, however, is subordination. This verb is based on the same root as the ordering of the powers by God. Subordination is significantly different from obedience. The conscientious objector who refuses to do what his government asks him to do, but still remains under the sovereignty of that government and accepts the penalties which it imposes, . . . is being subordinate even though he is not obeying.4"
For the sake of the gospel followers of Jesus will refuse to obey men.
We should also recognize that the current North American governmental systems are set in place with civil disobedience as a valid method of speaking to government. A quotation from the Declaration of Independence of the United States is instructive on this point:
. . . We hold these truths to be self-evident: That all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; that, to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; that whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it and to institute a new government. . . .
While not so blatantly stated, the Canadian Constitution has a similar underlying presumption. In a modern western democracy a good citizen is one who calls the government to account for its actions and who, through the political process, works to make the government better. How does Christian civil disobedience fit into a system where, through the political process, everything is “up for grabs?”
When the government acts in a way which violates Christian conscience under the tests set out above, Christians have several ways to work with the situation. They can seek legislation which changes that which they abhor, they can use the courts to determine whether the law actually applies to them in the way it seems to, they can use the courts in an effort to overturn the law as being a violation of the Constitution, or they can submit to the government while refusing to obey the law. All of these {29} methods have been used by Mennonites in this century on the issues of conscription and of the paying of taxes which go for war purposes. The Amish have successfully obtained exemption from Social Security by these methods, and the concept of conscientious objection to military service came into existence in this way. What is also true of these instances is that what turned the political tide was the willingness of Christians to do Holy Obedience, and their quiet willingness to go to jail rather than to obey the government. Mennonites active in the fight against conscription have said again and again that it was the willingness of Mennonite boys to go to jail which turned the hearts of the people in government to make possible the exemption of conscientious objectors from military service.
Mike's thoughts: This is all very interesting stuff. I have many questions on this subject. My current question: Are you sin if you are speeding or not obeying the speed limit? I know it sounds petty ... but it is more a question of the heart ... is my conscience seared as with a hot iron when I do not feel bad for speeding? Or is it not sinning ... am I being a conscience objector to a law that I think should be changed ... I should be allowed to go faster ... which stated above is part of our political process. I am not sure ...
A bigger question is disobeying a law because you feel a person could have a better life ... like the people who helped Ann Frank in Nazi Germany ... were they sinning because they were not obeying there government and telling the solders where the Jews in hiding were ... on the flip side were the solders who participated in these raids not sinning because they were doing there job. Some could claim, they did not know for sure that these people would in the end be murdered by the Nazi's.
What about the people who came to America for religous freedom? Were they sinning because they did not obey their government and instead fled to america.
Is it ok for me to disobey the law for the mear statement of trying to make the world a better place. To do the right thing per say.
I think about Tiananmen square ... was it sinning for the guy to stand in front of the tank?
http://bieniosek.com/gallery/albums/album15/tiananmen_tank_1.sized.jpg
1.09.2007
January 9, 2007 - Matthew 8.5-8.27
Jesus Heals an Army Officer's Servant
When Jesus was going into the town of Capernaum, an army officer came up to him and said, "Lord, my servant is at home in such terrible pain that he can't even move."
"I will go and heal him," Jesus replied.
But the officer said, "Lord, I'm not good enough for you to come into my house. Just give the order, and my servant will get well. I have officers who give orders to me, and I have soldiers who take orders from me. I can say to one of them, Go!' and he goes. I can say to another, Come!' and he comes. I can say to my servant, Do this!' and he will do it."
When Jesus heard this, he was so surprised that he turned and said to the crowd following him, "I tell you that in all of Israel I've never found anyone with this much faith! Many people will come from everywhere to enjoy the feast in the kingdom of heaven with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But the ones who should have been in the kingdom will be thrown out into the dark. They will cry and grit their teeth in pain."
Then Jesus said to the officer, "You may go home now. Your faith has made it happen." Right then his servant was healed.
Jesus Heals Many People
Jesus went to the home of Peter, where he found that Peter's mother-in-law was sick in bed with fever. He took her by the hand, and the fever left her. Then she got up and served Jesus a meal.
That evening many people with demons in them were brought to Jesus.
And with only a word he forced out the evil spirits and healed everyone who was sick. So God's promise came true, just as the prophet Isaiah had said, "He healed our diseases and made us well."
Some Who Wanted To Go with Jesus
When Jesus saw the crowd, he went across Lake Galilee. A teacher of the Law of Moses came up to him and said, "Teacher, I'll go anywhere with you!" Jesus replied, "Foxes have dens, and birds have nests.
But the Son of Man doesn't have a place to call his own." Another disciple said to Jesus, "Lord, let me wait till I bury my father."
Jesus answered, "Come with me, and let the dead bury their dead."
A Storm
After Jesus left in a boat with his disciples, a terrible storm suddenly struck the lake, and waves started splashing into their boat. Jesus was sound asleep, so the disciples went over to him and woke him up. They said, "Lord, save us! We're going to drown!" But Jesus replied, "Why are you so afraid? You surely don't have much faith." Then he got up and ordered the wind and the waves to calm down. And everything was calm. The men in the boat were amazed and said, "Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him."
Today's Year of the Bible reading is available on the web at http://yob.gospelcom.net/reading.php
Thoughts:
I love the story about the solder, he was so humble and had much faith ... I wish I could be that ... our family has been having a star wars fest ... we watched the 5th one last night The Empire Strikes back ... this passage reminded me of when Yoda is training Luke to use the Force ... first Luke tries to lift his ship up out of the swamp using the force and he fails ... then Yoda does it to show Luke it can be done ...
Luke gasps, "I can't believe it."
Yoda replies in disgust, "That is your problem!"
I know the Force is a lot of New Age crap, but it reminds me of Walking in the Spirit and how we need to lean on God and not on our own understanding ...
