Curtis's Blog

Mark’s writings tend to be to the point.  The book itself is the shortest among the gospels.  And while not one of the twelve disciples himself, Mark offers some valuable insight into the life of Christ including this little gem of a passage, recorded only in the gospel of Mark.

After the parable of the sower and the telling of its meaning to his disciples, Jesus goes on to further explain what the kingdom of God is like.

²⁶ He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. ²⁷ Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. ²⁸ All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. ²⁹ As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.”   (Mark 4:26-29)

As we learned earlier in the chapter, the seed is the Word of God.  When it’s spread on the path, rocks, or among thorns it produces no fruit.  But when it is spread on the good soil it produces a crop that can be a hundred times what was sown.  The passage teaches how the word will be received.  Verses 26-29, however, teaches the power of word, and consequently the importance we have to sow it.

The symbolism between sowing and reaping is used repeatedly in the Bible.  The idea of planting a seed and producing a crop is an elementary truth.  In other words, you don’t have to be a farmer to understand it.  Even a small seed can lead to a large crop (The parable of the mustard seed is only a few verses away).   The key, though, is that it needs planted!

There is power in the word of God, power to start small and grow into a large harvest.  When we share God’s word we are planting a seed.  That seed has the power to sprout and grow entirely on its own.  Sure, it’s a good idea to make sure the seed doesn’t get snatched up by the birds, or to make sure the seed is properly rooted, or that it doesn’t have to grow up among thorns.  But, ultimately, when it comes to actually growing the seed does it on its own.

The same is true with the word.  We are called to make disciples, and we’re to do that by sharing God’s word… by sowing.  We sow the seed, and God’s word will do the rest.

In the past, I’ve written about God’s will and God’s plan and what I thought to be the difference between them.  It’s important to stress that these are merely my thoughts.  I can’t say beyond a shadow of a doubt that I know what I’m talking about.  And I think that’s allowed.  We’re talking about the God of the universe here.  He created everything you see just by speaking… I’d say he’s allowed to have a few secrets.  However, with that being said, I think it’s safe to say that God does in fact make certain aspects of his will very clear.

I remember reading Ephesians 1:4-5 recently and seeing a clarity to it that I’m sad to say, I missed so many times in the past.

For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love  he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—

I know there’s a fair amount of confusion and discrepancy when it comes to the topic of predestination even among fellow Christians.  But then, I now don’t see how this verse can read any clearer.  Allow me to summarize:

Before the beginning of the world, God intended that every person in history would be holy and blameless; and according to his will, every person in history would be saved through his son Jesus.

When it comes to matters of doctrine I take a stand that refuses to take a stand unless I have a clear understanding of what I’m standing for.   I know, right?  I said “stand” a ton of times just now.  What I’m saying is that prior to my new found inspiration, I didn’t take sides on predestination.  But now it’s clear and I know where I, for lack of a better word, stand.

And it makes sense doesn’t it?  If we say that God is a god of love, and we say that God is perfect, how can we still say that God predestines only some of us.  That doesn’t sound very loving if you ask me.  How can you have a perfect love and only love some of the time?

So if God predestines everyone, why doesn’t everyone go to heaven?

Good question.  I think this goes back to how much God loves us.  God created us to have a relationship with him.  Above all else, God desires love.  He choose to love us enough to send his own son to take the penalty for our sin… to take the penalty that we deserve.  In return he simply asks us to choose love.  If we love God, we accept his gift, and his salvation.  On the other hand, if God were to sit in heaven controlling us like little puppets and forcing us to “love” him… well that wouldn’t exactly be love would it?  Love is a choice.  And God loves us enough to let us make that choice.

So, my advice?  Choose love.  After all… it is God’s will. 

Couple Ordered to Stop Holding Bible Study at Home Without Permit – Local News | News Articles | National News | US News – FOXNews.com

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Wow.  What is this country coming to?  The Pastor is absolutly right.  Our forefathers would be in shock to see that any sub-governing body of the United States is directly prosecuting a person for the free practice of their own religion.  Not to mention this is free practice in that person’s home.  Our nation was founded on the basis of free religion.  In fact, it was so important to this nation and it’s forefathers that it holds the first clause of the United States Bill of Rights:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; …

The county in this article  is in direct violation of the United States Consititution, and I ask again.  What is this country coming to?  Where do we get off prosecuting people who live under the freedoms this nation was established with.  If we can’t back on our constitution, then what good is our government.  I mean, the only reason I can even write an article like this is because of what the very next line of that first amendment reads:

[Congress shall make no law]… abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; …

I promise you if any person or organization were to attempt to bring back slavery, he or it would be crushed under Amendment 13 instantly.  However, because we’re dealing with religion, and more specifically, Christianity, it’s almost as if we forget why our country even became a country in the first place.  Time and time again we see Christians being persecuted within our own borders.  Kids are getting in trouble for praying or trying to hold religious functions in schools.  We hear arguments that something “violates the separation of church and state,” often from people who have no clue what that separation even means.  The idea was always to keep the government out of church.  It was never to keep the Church out of government.

This country is slipping down a dangerous slope by forgetting its foundation.  It’s something we as Christians need to be praying about.  I think too many times, we hear things like this couple being forced to cease their Bible studies, and we lose more and more hope for our nation.  I for one am standing firm… God wants to bless and he wants to revive… but he also wants us to believe in him for it.

God Bless America.

For those who know me well, you know that the title above is not something I would ever say unless of course I was about to write a post about why I would never say it.  For the record, I can’t stand cliche, so much so that I set my alarm clock to 6:09 just because it’s not a normal time that most people would use.  Consequently, lines like “everything works out the way it’s supposed to”  or “if it’s meant to be it will happen” , or “everything happens for a reason” just tick me off.  You want to know why?  But of course you do.

First of all, I want to start off by saying that I serve an omnipotent God.  He can do whatever he wants however he wants to do it.  But that doesn’t mean that he’s going to take over and make things turn out exactly how he wants them to.  (If I’m making you mad already, just stick with me)  I guess there are a few attributes about God that one should understand for this to make sense.  Number 1:  any attributes that God possesses, he must possess them 100 percent.  So if we say that God is love, then God must be 100 percent love.  If we say that he is graceful, then he must be 100 percent graceful.  After all, how can you have a perfect God if he only has partial qualities?  Number 2:  God is good.  And based on the deductive logic of number 1, if God has 100 percent of all his qualities, and God is good.  Then God must be 100 percent good.  There can be no bad in him.

The next thing that you need to understand for this to make sense is that sin is the opposite of good.  If we take that into consideration along with what we know about the attributes of God, then we can deduce that God has no sin in him.    So when someone says to me, “If God wants it to happen, then it will happen.”  This couldn’t be further from the truth.  Lets look at an example that I think we’re all familiar with.  Adam and Eve.

We all know the story of Adam and the fall of mankind.  Adam sinned by eating from the tree which God had commanded him not to.  It was simple, but it changed the earth and the human race forever.  Now let’s look at what God wanted.  It was never God’s desire for Adam and Eve to disobey him because that would mean sin, and why would God desire sin?  (he’s 100 percent good)  It was God’s desire for Adam and Eve to subdue the earth and fellowship with him.  But that didn’t exactly go to plan.  So please explain to me that if God wants it to happen, then it will happen.  This is true for any of the above statements.  “Everything works out the way it’s supposed to.”   Again, Adam and Eve were to subdue the earth and fellowship with God.  But that didn’t happen either.

There are two things that one needs to understand, and they are often overlapped, but they are two very different things: God’s will and God’s plan.  I believe that God has both for our lives, and I also believe that in an ideal situation they should overlap as much as possible, but it’s important to remember that they are not the same.  First off:  God’s will.

God’s will is what God desires of our lives.  For example, God wills for us to be holy.  His will never ever ever ever includes us sinning, nor can we blame sin or it’s consequences on God’s will.

God’s plan on the other hand is a reflection of God’s grace and his ability to grow us through our acceptance or divergence of his will.  I believe that God’s plan never requires us to sin either.  Let’s look at another example:

Let’s assume that there is only one person out that there God wants us to end up with, (marriage-wise, that is).  Let’s call our perfect, God-planned couple Bill and Sarah.  Now lets say that Bill and Sarah end up dating and get engaged and plan to live happily ever after.  But then, sin sets in, Bill cheats on Sarah, gets Maggie pregnant, and ultimately ends up marrying her instead.

So what was God’s will in this situation?  Well, there are some things that are safe to assume about God’s will.  His will must reflect his character, for example.  So in this case, God’s will for Bill was for him to grow spiritually and live a Godly life, which ultimately would lead to a Godly marriage with Sarah.  God’s plan in the situation, on the other hand, was for Bill to marry Sarah.  However, sin got in the way, Bill made a choice, and now he’s married to Maggie.

Now some may say that God wanted Bill with Maggie from the beginning.  However, if the path to Maggie was formed from sin, and the path to Sarah was not, then it’s safe to assume that that’s simply not the case.  Remember, God’s will and plan NEVER require us to sin.

To follow up with what I said early, let’s continue the example just a bit further.  So now Bill is married to Maggie despite the fact that “God’s plan” was for him to marry Sarah.  Does God now want Bill to divorce Maggie so that he could be with Sarah?  Of course not!  That would mean more sin.  This is where God’s grace comes in.  God’s plan would NOW be for Bill and Maggie to have a Godly marriage together, free from divorce.  His will?  For both of them to grow spiritually and live Godly lives.  Notice that?  His will didn’t change, but his plan did… even despite Bill’s divergence from God’s will.

I’m not saying that we can necessarily know what God’s will or God’s plans are.  These are just examples.  What I am saying is that it’s safe to assume certain things about his will and his plan based on God’s character.  For example, if sin is in the picture, we can safely say that the sin isn’t part of his will.  I’m not saying he didn’t know it was going to happen, and I’m not saying he can’t use it for good.  I’m saying God doesn’t desire us to sin… ever… no matter what the outcome.

So, when someone says to me,  “if it’s meant to be, it will happen.”…   I politely say, “I disagree.”  If it’s meant to be, I still have the opportunity to mess it up.  Your thoughts?

I know the answer to this, but I’m going to ask it anyway.  Why does Christianity get singled out in today’s world?  Why do people try so hard to remove or get so offended by the words “in God we trust” in our government?  Rememeber when “one nation under God” was recited in elementary and middle schools across the nation and no one thought twice about it…. a mere decade ago?  Today, it seems that everywhere you turn, people are taking offense to hearing God come up in our everyday lives.  Our nation was founded and exists only because of God.  How quickly we try to discredit that.  I recently listened to Stephen Colbert’s audiobook, “I am America and so can you.”  While a lot of what he said was merely for humor, he made it very clear that we live in a Christian nation.  So, why has it come to this?  Why, if so many people claim to be Christians or claim to believe in God, do we find God being pulled out of government, schools, and airwaves?  Its simple really… That’s what satan wants.

Make no mistake, satan is not stupid.  His lies can twist solid truth into a heap of confusion.  But you’ll never see him attacking the Muslims or the Hindus.  He has but one target, the Christian.  I can see it, or rather, feel it in my own walk.  How I sometimes put off reading my Bible to do something of far less significance, or how make time to be late for church but yet arrive promptly for work.  While I’m no where near where I need or would like to be, if his pull is so strong on a “mature” Christian, then what kind of effect is he going to have on a nonbeliever?

Unfortunately, I’ve seen the attacks that the devil uses to lure nonbelievers and I can honestly say that it breaks my heart.  It breaks my heart to see someone who doesn’t have a clue get pulled even farther from the truth.  It partially because I know the consequence and partially because it makes me feel helpless.  How do you combat such an opposing force?  That one, I don’t know the answer to.

This may or may not be related,  but it’s stuck in my mind because of what I wrote above.  I was in church about… oh… maybe three weeks ago, and the pastor said this…  “You always have time for what you love.”

Yikes!  Think about that one for a second.  We may say we love God but we find reasons to put him aside to do things of no significance.  We find reasons to not read our Bibles, go to church, or do our devotions.  How can we say we love God when we dedicate hours and hours an hours to our jobs that have only earthly significance, but yet we give so little time to the only thing that has a heavenly and eternal significance?

And I suppose there’s the answer.  Give God the time he needs deserves, and he can and will help in the fight.  The attack is on, who’s side are you on?

I thought this was really cool and worth posting.

When you’re down to nothing, God is up to something.