death by re-definition

R.I.P. 1930 - 2006

in case you missed it, there are now only eight planets, as it was decided this week that "pluto", does not qualify.
what changed about pluto that would cause this trauma to science teachers everywhere? nothing.
absolutely nothing.

what did change, was the definition of what a planet is and is not. and by "change", i mean, there wasn't really a definition to begin with. but now that there is, pluto didnt make the cut.

pluto, a planet since 1930, got the boot because
it didn't meet the new rules, which say a planet
not only must orbit the sun and be large enough
to assume a nearly round shape, but must
"clear the neighborhood around its orbit."
that disqualifies pluto, whose oblong orbit
overlaps neptune's, downsizing the solar
system to eight planets from the traditional
nine

for more information, read here.

its amazing that something as constant as;
teacher: how many planets are there?
students: nine

could be overturned by about 3oo scientists who come up with a definition.

praise god that he cannot be downgraded by being redefined. he is self defined and has made himself known to us.
as believers, our salvation is secure, and our status before our father is not in jeoporady of being overturned or denied because someone changes the rules.

" you alone are the LORD you have made
the heavens,the heaven of heavens with all
their host,the earth and all that is on it,the
seas and all that is in them you give life to all
of them and the heavenly host bows down before you."
nehemiah 9:6

"by the word of the LORD the heavens were made,
and by the breath of His mouth all their host."
psalm 33:6

the heavens are yours, the earth also is yours;
the world and all it contains, you have founded them.
psalm 89:11

therefore there is now no condemnation
for those who are in christ jesus.
for the law of the spirit of life in christ jesus
has set you free from the law of sin and of death.
for what the law could not do, weak as it was
through the flesh, god did: sending his own son
in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering
for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh,
so that the requirement of the law might be
fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to
the flesh but according to the spirit.
rom.8:1-4

the number of planets may change, but the god who created the contents of the heavens knows all of his creation by name, no matter what definitions our textbooks may give.
people may deny, redefine, or adjust what scripture teaches concerning salvation, but the only salvation is through the repentance of sin, and faith in christ alone.

-stephen

the god who 'blings'

from msnbc.com...

Mary J. Blige says she has
found religion, but she makes no apologies for her earthly
materialism. In fact, she says God has willed her to wear bling.
“My God is a God who wants me to have things,” the singer
tells May’s Blender magazine. “He wants me to bling. He wants
me to be the hottest thing on the block. I don’t know what kind
of God the rest of y’all are serving, but the God I serve says,
‘Mary, you need to be the hottest thing this year, and I’m gonna
make sure you’re doing that’.”

so mary j. blige doesn't know what kind of god i am serving, if he doesnt want me to bling as hers does.
first of all, i am not out to make a judgement call on whether or not ms. blige is a born again believer in christ. rather, i want to address the sentiment shared by many, and unfortunately a large number of "preachers" that if you follow god, nothing but money, fame, and good fortune will come your way.

i wish i could ask people like ms. blige, t.d. jakes, joel osteen, and others what they do with passages such as :
matt. 5:10-11
10"blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake
of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11"blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you,
and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.

and john 15:18-21
18" if the world hates you, you know that it has hated me
before it hated you. 19"if you were of the world, the world
would love its own; but because you are not of the world,
but i chose you out of the world, because of this the world
hates you. 20"remember the word that i said to you, 'a slave
is not greater than his master ' if they persecuted me, they will
also persecute you; if they kept my word, they will keep yours also.
21"but all these things they will do to you for my name's sake,
because they do not know the one who sent me.

or how about this one...
matt.6:19-21
19"do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth,
where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break
in and steal. 20"but store up for yourselves treasures in
heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and
where thieves do not break in or steal; 21for where your
treasure is, there your heart will be also.

is having wealth bad?

no, not in and of itself. but when we start obligating god to bless us with material things or good health, or saying that being blessed by god is having good things happen to you, we trample over many passages of scripture that speak of the sufferings of followers of christ, and those sufferings are lauded as badges of honor!
did paul not have enough faith? is that why he was beaten and thrown into prison multiple times? were the first christians just bad believers, because they were persecuted and poor?

as believers, we are the most blessed of all, no matter what our social, or economic status, because we as sinners have been declared righteous by the one holy god, whose son suffered the fury of holiness having its way with sin so that he may be glorified in his justice and graciousness, and we may spend eternity with him, and worshipping him.

eph. 1:3-4 states:
3 blessed be the god and father of our lord jesus christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as he chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before him

we don't need to be blessed by health, wealth, or prosperity. we have "every spiritual blessing" in christ!


god didnt save us to "bling" us, he saved us to be "holy and blamelessbefore him"

romans 8:34-36
34who is the one who condemns? christ jesus is he who died,
yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of god,
who also intercedes for us. 35who will separate us from the
love of christ? will tribulation, or distress, or persecution,
or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
36just as it is written, "for your sake we are being
put to death all day long; we were considered as
sheep to be slaughtered."

of this passage, matthew henry wrote: (its lengthy, but worth the extra minute)

By the merit of his death he paid our debt. Yea, rather that
is risen again. This is convincing evidence that Divine
justice was satisfied. We have such a Friend at the right
hand of God; all power is given to him. He is there, making
intercession. Believer! does your soul say within you,
Oh that he were mine! and oh that I were his; that
I could please him and live to him! Then do not toss your
spirit and perplex your thoughts in fruitless, endless doubtings,
but as you are convinced of ungodliness, believe on Him who
justifies the ungodly. You are condemned, yet Christ is dead
and risen. Flee to Him as such. God having manifested his
love in giving his own Son for us, can we think that any thing
should turn aside or do away that love? Troubles neither cause
nor show any abatement of his love. Whatever believers may be
separated from, enough remains. None can take Christ from the
believer: none can take the believer from Him; and that is enough.
All other hazards signify nothing. Alas, poor sinners! though you
abound with the possessions of this world, what vain things are they!
Can you say of any of them, Who shall separate us? You may be
removed from pleasant dwellings, and friends, and estates.
You may even live to see and seek your parting.
At last you must part, for you must die. Then farewell,
all this world accounts most valuable. And what hast thou left, poor
soul, who hast not Christ, but that which thou wouldest gladly
part with, and canst not; the condemning guilt of all thy sins!


our god *is* a god who wants us to have things... himself.

-stephen

the only thing we have to fear is what we hear on christian radio...

singer/songwriter andrew osenga makessome brilliant observations on his blog about fear in the christian media. here is an excerpt, i strongly encourage you to read the whole thing at
http://www.andrewosenga.com/blog/2006/07/31/safety-is-illusion-2/:

What’s been really interesting is how the buzz word in all of these
advertisements is “safe”. This is a “safe” station, watch
our “safe” TV channel or use our “safe” web browser.
It even gets into things like “a ’safe’ place to buy
a car” or a “’safe’ online singles community” you know,
to meet that “safe” significant other when the Saturday
night service has dried up.
It’s been shocking to me to see how often this word gets used.
It’s obvious that marketing dollars are being spent to get this
word associated with products, and that only happens because
the market research shows that people are looking for that
identity with said product.
And I’m left with the question: what are we afraid of?
What is it that has us, or at least this demographic, so scared?
This is a radio station for believers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The one who told us to have no fear. “There is no fear in love”,
He said, “perfect love drives out fear.” Over and over, Jesus tells
us that we have nothing to be afraid of. We are held tightly in His
hand. Bombs may fall, disease may ravage, our innocence
will be plundered, our stocks will crash. These things don’t
matter. We are new creations with the living God within us.
Death has no sting!

Why, then, must our radio be “safe”??