It’s 7am on September 11’th 2001, Jane wakes up to the sound of the alarm clock her best friend from elementary school gave her as a wedding present. Jane and her husband Brian have been married for 5 years now, almost to the day. As Jane heads downstairs to prepare the morning pot of coffee, as usual, Brian is still yawning his way out of bed. Jane works part time as a child care worker, she loves her husband with all her heart, and God has always been a significant influence in her life. As Brian finally stumbles into the kitchen, he reaches for his cup of coffee as Jane embraces him with a morning hug. It’s now 7:45am, Brian is running around the house frantically looking for his briefcase, of course, his wife comes to the rescue gripping the handle of the case in her hand reaching it outwards towards him. He releases a breath of relief and gives her a hug before he heads out the door. Brian’s commute to work is about an hour on a good day, he works in lower Manhattan in the north tower of the World Trade Center. Brian’s drive to the Lincoln tunnel from Paramus can be long in the morning rush hour traffic. Back home Jane is getting the house cleaned for their up coming anniversary evening together. She decides to fold the laundry while watching her favorite morning news talk show, Good morning America. About 45 minutes pass by and Jane has finished folding laundry when time suddenly stops as she drops the laundry basket to the floor and freezes in the spot she has sat in for the past hour. On the screen is a news break, reports tell of a jet airplane crashing into the north tower of the world trade center, and the images that enforce this are surreal to her. A mix of emotions pass through her as she contemplates the thoughts of never seeing the person she loves the most again. She frantically reaches for the phone pressing the buttons that correspond to Brian’s cell phone number, her hands shaking in fear of not knowing what’s next. Ring…….Ring….. Ring….

“Hello?”(the sound of her husbands voice from the bed of his “girlfriend”)

“Oh my God you’re OK” (Cries Jane)

“Of Course I’m Ok, I’m sitting at my desk in my office, what’s wrong with you?”….. (Apparently he didn’t know of what had happened)

…..Click……

This is not an uncommon turn of events in the world we live in today, the lack of foundation in relationships and marriages are often times overlooked or de-valued by the numerous doctrines of television and radio. The teachings that we incoherently learn from that drill into the minds of young men that women are nothing more than sexual devices for them to manipulate and later abandon in a puddle of deep sorrow and feeling lack of value. The teachings women incoherently learn from that they must act this way to be “loved” by a man. Marriage in the world today has been twisted in a way that it’s historical context is no longer relevant to most people, other than possibly the tradition of standing in front of a man in a suit and saying “I do” to a couple promises one might not take seriously anyway. Some people would argue that television and radio don’t teach people fundamentals or lack thereof in relationships, that people do what they do by their own choice. I would agree to an extent, but I would also say that commercials teach people to buy Oreos. In the same way, turn on the television, the sight of girls jumping up and down on trampolines in bathing suites teach men over time that this is something normal to expect, and it teaches women that this is something normal to practice. “It’s just the world we live in” some would say while rolling their eyes. How do we prevent ourselves from taking these things so lightly? How do we work towards preventing these things from happening in our own lives? How do we understand the historical context of marriage outside of just a man in a suit? Well, if you have a desire to build a house with your own two hands where do you go? To the book that teaches you how to build a house of course. The Bible teaches us beginning in chapter 2 of genesis that “It is not good for a man to be alone”, we see this in the 21’st century when we turn on the TV and left to our own devices desire women on trampolines. That’s why it’s not good for us to be alone. If we are mature and have been humbled enough as men we recognize that the book of redemption even teaches us why we need to be redeemed even in marriage. Christ says in Matthew 5 beginning in verse 28 that if a man were to so much look at a woman with lust for her he has already committed adultery with her in his heart. He goes on to teach that these things that make us stumble we are to cut off and throw from us because it would be better to live life without them then to burn because of them. Keeping this in remembrance helps us to turn off the TV with ease when we see things that teach us to stumble into the bed of another woman for which we haven’t made a covenant commitment to. Being grounded in such things brings consistency and discipline in our lives as men, women and even children. Everywhere we go in our daily lives someone is attempting to purchase us, weather it’s through cigarette ads, television commercials or a friend telling us that it’s ok because “everyone is doing it”. Being grounded in what is right helps build integrity, humility and strength as we go about our short time on earth. Christ in his life as a man gave up everything so that His people may be brought into a place without wickedness teaching us how to break the hearts of those that love us the most, our responsibility as Christian people is to be disciplined enough to practice the things He taught with humility and fear for what is right while still being here on earth. So I ask myself and the person reading this right now; Where will you be on that morning your Jane calls, scared, heartbroken and devastated? Will you be in the bed of the adulteress in chapter 5 of proverbs? Or running home to the woman in the 31’st chapter of proverbs, the woman you committed yourself to through a covenant before God? This is the historical context of Marriage.

By: Michael Louviere

1. The denial of a deity

Atheism is the state either of being without theistic beliefs, or of actively disbelieving in the existence of deities. In antiquity, Epicureanism incorporated aspects of atheism, but it disappeared from the philosophy of the Greek and Roman traditions as Christianity gained influence

One thing common among Atheists educated and not is that they maintain the understanding in the absence of a deity or God. The error presented in atheistic denial of a deity is the argument that other religions cannot “prove” the existence of their God through a means of humanistic observance (sight, smell, touch, taste, hear). Atheists cannot disprove the existence of any given religional God under humanistic observance, therefore their original contextural argument against the existence only meets on a level of debate against their argument in itself.

C.S Lewis Says:

My argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust. But how had I got this idea of just and unjust? A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line. … Of course, I could have given up my idea of justice by saying that it was nothing but a private idea of my own. But if I did that, then my argument against God collapsed too–for the argument depended on saying that the world was really unjust, not simply that it did not happen to please my private fancies. Thus in the very act of trying to prove that God did not exist–in other words, that the whole of reality was senseless–I found I was forced to assume that one part of reality–namely my idea of justice–was full of sense. Consequently atheism turns out to be too simple. If the whole universe has no meaning, we should never have found out that it has no meaning: just as, if there were no light in the universe and therefore no creatures with eyes, we should never know it was dark. Dark would be without meaning.

2. Reliance on Science

Atheists often refer to scientific theories they claim “proven” throughout History. The “Big Bang Theory” is one often referred to by those that maintain the atheistic perspective. The “Big Bang Theory” is only a theory, It is a relatively new theory that dates back only to around the 1950’s and took the place of astronomers previous perspective titled the “steady state theory”.

In physical cosmology, the Big Bang is the scientific theory that the universe emerged from a tremendously dense and hot state about 13.7 billion years ago.

The error in atheists using this representation of how the universe came into existence, is the absence of their explanation of how the “from” in the “emerged from” came into existence to begin with.

In physics, heat, symbolized by Q, is defined as energy in transit. Generally, heat is a form of energy transfer associated with the different motions of atoms, molecules and other particles that comprise matter when it is hot and when it is cold.

Another error in this representation is the idea that the universe as we know it came into existence from large amounts of “heat”. If heat is described by scientists as being a “form of energy transfer associated with the different motions of atoms, molecules and other particles that comprise matter” one would simply ask how the “atoms, molecules and other particles that comprise matter” came into existence to begin with. The beginning of creation doesn’t start after the creation of the elements that identify any given creation, does it?

3. The Faith in non-existing Faith

Atheists commonly presume that the belief in God is only dependent on a level of psychosomatics. That those whom believe and have Faith in a deity do so on their own accord, “If you tell yourself you believe in God, You will believe”. This is actually probably true in many cases, however, not in true established cases of Faith. For faith is defined as “Aceptance of ideals, beliefs, etc., which are not necessarily demonstrable through experimentation or reason”. In order for an Atheist to examine the topic of faith as being psychosomatic they would have to possess a level of true faith in themselves in order to truly believe what they are saying is true, and to support their argument with logic they would have to possess actual faith in what they are believing and presenting as being psychosomatic. In conclusion, atheists presume true faith to be completely unobtainable by humans which would only claim they don’t believe what they themselves speak. Or, they would maintain that faith in something that isn’t able to be examined empirically (seen or touched) like God, cannot exist, which that statement also cannot be faithfully believed upon by an Atheist themselves, being that the statement in itself cannot be empirically examined.

There was a time in Christian history where the dominant doctrine among the Church was solely Christ. When did all of this change? When did the Church become more about man and less about Christ? I pray that it is God in me that reveals to the readers of this post, truth and light about the purpose of the Church according to Scripture.

I often times breeze through the newspapers or phone books searching for something particular. I then stumble across an ad for a Church and in this ad I see the phrase “Spirit Filled”. I have written previously that according to Scripture, when one becomes saved, it is Christ that prays for us (Christians) to be filled with the Holy Spirit forever, to guide us and always keep us directed towards the scriptures where the teachings of Christ lay.

John 14:16 “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever;

John 14:17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, {but} you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.

John 14:18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

John 14:26 “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.

When I see a Church description consisting of the phrase; “Spirit Filled”, I wonder what that really means. Being that ANY and EVERY Christian Church is filled with the Holy Spirit. Suggesting otherwise would state that other Churches aren’t Christian Churches at all, rather in-fact Christ has never prayed for these people to receive the Spirit. I find this a dangerous speculation and statement. According to Scripture, there are no levels of the Spirit, We either have received the Spirit on behalf of Christ going to Father, or we haven’t. I sometimes witness people visit a Church service and as they leave I hear them speaking words like; “that church was dead” or, “I just couldn’t feel God’s love there”. At this point I realize that there is a direct human need that comes from some who attend a Church service. The Church must win these people over and then feed their emotional needs. This is where the false interpretation of “Spirit Filled” comes in. Is it that the feelings some humans require or expect to be supplied from the Church aren’t explainable in the texts, so this need is placed on the role of the Spirit? Is it that the Christian church has somehow become a show and must contain a certain level of entertainment? Is the modern Church one that Christ established, and Paul maintained? Or, Should a church in the 21’s century even resemble a 1^st century Church at all? I would answer this; If our own humanistic desires and cravings appear in the foreground, and the worship of God and the recognition of our desperate need of a savoir appear in the background, there is justification for sincere concern. Christ alone should fill our needs in every way, this includes emotional. Church service is for sinners to go and worship and glorify God. Church service is not identified in the Scriptures as becoming a place of human amusement, taking rides on emotional roller coasters and relies on “feeling” any sort of specific emotion. It is taught in scripture that our “heart” is deceitful, and we shall not follow it. In that context, “heart” is all of our being as humans. Also widely known and titled as our “flesh”.

Jeremiah 17:9 “The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?

Christians develop and evolve in their relationship with Christ through baptism, prayer, fasting, worship, fellowship, studying the scriptures and partaking of the Lords supper. We need to constantly remember Christ, who He was, who He became and who He will always be, that of which is God. It is then when we learn the error in our teachings that it is Us that brings people to the kingdom, Jesus said “The only way to the Father is through Me”. It is then when we realize the error in the teachings that we can somehow play an active role in our own, or someone else’s salvation, our role as Children of God is a passive role of obedience. When keeping this in remembrance, Church suddenly becomes a whole lot less about us and our needs, and a whole lot more about Him.

May this be a blessing to those who read it.

Amen

VERSES TO MEDITATE

Matthew 19:25-26

When the disciples heard this, they were very astonished and said, “Then who can be saved?” And looking at them Jesus said to them, “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible”

Acts 2:38

Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

From the NASB

There was a time in history where structure and fundamentals in everyday life was considered a valuable trait and a respectable way of living. The world has always and still today possesses only the inability of being able to separate itself from its own desires and cravings. James teaches that this is “the source of conflicts” among us in chapter 4 of his book. I would even speculate there is safety in saying that this relates to all man not solely Christian people, though in the context of James’s writings he was speaking specifically to Christians.

In this day Christianity is much so looked at by the outside world as somewhat of a corrupted political stance, or even a mystical, undocumented set of beliefs and practices. Christianity dates back some 2000 years and is well documented, though a level of mysticism in Christianity is visible in certain sects and movements in modern practice. May it be heard that this in itself plays no role in Christianity as established by Christ in the Holy Bible. Some Christians teach that the Bible resembles some sort of a romance novel speaking and teaching highly on the topic of love, some teach that it is about Jerusalem and the Jewish Temple and some teach that the scriptures reveal God and His glory as a self created deity. The bible covers multiple topics including the aforementioned, ultimately God reveals Himself in the scriptures in multiple ways, they all play relevance in their respective contexts.

Christians are often looked at by the outside world with an expectation of being “pure” and “without error”. If a person titled a Christian commits a humanistic error, unbelievers of Christianity often place that error in a category of excuses and reasoning of why Christianity in itself is of error. Christianity is knowledge, understanding, belief and trust in the teachings and entity of Jesus Christ. The bible teaches nothing of perfection brought about or within a human that accepts the teachings in scripture to be of truth and without error. Christianity as a practice is identified in the scriptures as an understanding of humanity in need of a savior and that of which is Christ. There is also an underlying difference between Christianity and Christian Salvation. Christianity is solely a title one gives to themselves to identify with Christ and his teachings in the Holy Scriptures. Christian Salvation is brought about solely by Christ as a means of removing the elect from God’s wrath and eternal damnation thus bringing about sanctification, this act is not brought about by ones own accord as man/woman but solely by the sovereignty of God. Paul teaches this in the second chapter of Ephesians and throughout Romans.

True Christian practices throughout history have been at the expense of criticism, persecution, division and even death. Many men like Luther, Calvin and Edwards experienced some of the prominent examples of this in history. It is visible in their writings, sermons and is well documented in history books and Christian literature. The divisions in Christianity have become so far and widespread that the “Christ” taught amongst the divided has become almost two separate deities. One of which is a Christ chosen by man/woman of which possesses the free-will to do so (choose), and the other a Christ of self-creation in full control of the universe that allows all that is to be, to be solely because it is in His will. Christians themselves have yet to possess the ability to fully comprehend the sovereignty of God, therefore the unbelieving, uneducated would have an even more difficult experience doing so, being that the knowledge of God by man/woman comes only through the Holy Scriptures and as a result of God’s will.

The role of the Holy Spirit is to bring remembrance to Christians all things taught by Christ and to keep true believers directed towards the scriptures that reside in the inspired word of God. It is written that on behalf of the disciple, Christ goes to the Father and asks for a helper to be given forever. Christ Himself taught this and it is documented in chapter 14 in the book of John. Some Christian divisions or sects would suggest a level of human command over the Holy Spirit. This is a valid contributor to the visible level of mysticism identified as a Biblically unsupported practice.

So why is Christianity so misunderstood in the world as we know it? Atheists would suggest it is because there is no God or deity in full control and creation of the universe. If this answer is looked at carefully, it is the right answer given from an Atheistic belief system. Christianity IS misunderstood by the world because the world doesn’t believe in and has failed to place their faith in a deity, predominantly a specific one, the one spoken of in the Holy Bible which is Christ. Christianity is also confused by the outside world because of the visible divisional practices and the inconsistency of Christian theology amongst the division. What needs to be done in this situation if the person is truly interested in proper Christian education and practices would be to study the scriptures! There is underlying truth in the fact that there are sects of people labeling themselves Christians, yet their practices are not defined, documented or supported by the Holy Bible. This is not a topic Christ failed to speak on, this is something He warns of in the scriptures covering false prophets and false teachings throughout the New Testament. Unfortunately, it tends to be these groups/sects that the worldly media runs towards when they decide they would like to be educated on Christianity or represent Christianity in a topical story. It is also unfortunate that some unbelievers and or atheists choose to receive, believe and teach the Christian Theology presented by this same media, yet these same unbelievers and Atheists deny the truth of the Bible. Christ taught that he was to be crucified on the cross in order to fulfill scripture and in turn provide salvation to some of humanity from their own sin and ultimately God’s wrath. Christianity is misunderstood not only because it says it would become this way in scripture, but ultimately because God wills it so.

As the seasonal time of the year approaches yet again it causes me to reflect on this past year. What a journey. Often times when we reflect on our time put in on this earth; our depraved humanity tends to look at the negatives we have experienced. As if some higher power did us wrong and owes us an explanation or compensation. When we walk in the light we have the ability to receive blessings from situations we consider to be negative. Yet, if we recognize a blessing, was that experience really negative? We learn, grow and develop and understanding from these trials and tribulations that we endure. This year I consider one of the most difficult times in my life, nothing specifically happened physically, yet emotionally and spiritually I feel I have been through a war. Though I do know why I feel this way, because I prayed for strength and Truth, and that is just what I received. Strength doesn’t come without work, and Truth often doesn’t come without distress. I am very happy to be traveling back home to New York for a couple days to visit with my family. It is such a blessing to live in a country where we can go anywhere and do anything when we please. It is such a blessing to be able to freely choose a religion, or for some of us….. become chosen. Is this something we take for granted? Sometimes I need to remember why I am even here in this country. Our ancestors came here on boats and ships seeking a new land, a land of such freedom. They, much like you and I were free too, free to choose their religion, and free to make their way across the content. Sometimes I forget why I am able to study the religon of Christianity which I did not choose, but that which was given to me (Ephesians 2:8-9), that which was chosen for people like ME before the foundations of the Earth. So this year, I am not going to reflect on the woes of the world. But all the things that are a blessing, Like GOD, My family, friends, home and car. I could really go on and on. Honestly, No matter how bad I feel sometimes, when I am really able to separate myself from the flesh, I realize how blessed I am as a whole. To even have been given a chance! After all, when Eve ate the apple, God could have easily wiped the slate clean. Instead, he gave us a savior. So really ask yourself, “What am I thank full for?”. If you can’t at least come up with one HUGE thing, then I would love to have some time to sit and talk with You. The Bible says “every good gift is from above”. So always remember to give thanks for all things good. Remember that we are here for a reason, to love God and each other, and always give him the Glory for the things which we are thank full for.