Disclaimer: These columns may sound like the rantings of a mad man and may not be intended for you, so do not take offense. I'd advise you read the following in a sarcastic tone. 


Let's exorcize the Jack-o-Lantern! ! ! !

Why, have you not heard? Halloween Satan’s big day. It really is. October 31st was just an ordinary day not too long ago (made by God), but Satan came and took over that day. In fact, someone gave me a pumpkin to put on my desk the other day and I threw it away, because they are owned by the devil too. The person was shocked so I told them that I do not celebrate Halloween and they should not dress their kid up to go trick-or-treating because it is an evil day. If the fun-sized candy has Halloween wrapping, it is sin-sized candy, do not eat it or you are living in sin!

So instead of teaching your kid about having fun, or redemption, grace, etc. just freak them out and make them scared of Halloween.

“Why are you acting this way?” you ask. Because Halloween is Pagan. You see if you go to Wikipedia and research like me you will see that Halloween has pagan roots and we should not be a part of that.
So let’s go with that line of thinking. . .

Let’s start by throwing out Christmas Trees. Did you know that Christmas Trees and greenery have pagan roots? What’s worse is that some churches have a “Hanging of the Green” service. That is just not right, they ought not to live like the pagans. Christmas Lights have to go too.

I have stopped recognizing the month of June (Juno). Did you know that they made a movie about a pregnant teenager name Juno? Not only that, Juno is a Roman god.

And Disney, don’t get me started. Do you know they have a wicked witch in their very first full length movie? That is EVIL.

EVIL, that reminds me. If you add D to Evil you get Devil. If you take the D off you get Evil. You take the E off you get Vil as in Vile. If you take the V off you get Il as in this and Halloween make me Ill!
So I recently learned that anyone born BC would not be called a Christian. In fact even after Jesus was born it would be more than 30+ years before anything would be considered “Christian.”  That means that if they were no Christians that they were not regular attenders, they did not have accountability partners, they were not plugged into a small group.

NEWS FLASH! ! ! Satan really doesn’t care about Halloween, nor does he even care if you believe in him. What he wants is for you to believe in you. He wants to you worship yourself and think that you are all powerful, think that equality with God is something to be grasped. He wants you to think that you have control over the weather. He wants you to be consumed with your judgments, your problems, drama, rules, legalism.

It’s all about you anyway. You’re so special and so important. The world will fall apart without you and everything God is doing will stop without you.

So as a call to end all pagan rituals I say we get rid of Jack-o-laterns, Christmas Trees and lights, birthdays, and all the gifts and treats that come with those holidays!

Can you do me a favor though? Can you please, just please, wait until next year? I want to have one more Halloween, Christmas and Birthday. I know after all the evidence, but please? Thank you.

*This post was for all of you that take yourself and live too seriously. Yes I do have fun on Halloween (Pumpkinfest, dressing up, Halloween parties), no I do not care about where Christmas Trees and lights came from (because I love Christmas), and I enjoy a good birthday party. It's fun. Stop YOUR rules, and lighten up*

I was born on September 20, 1982. A significant day for me, because I was born. On May 25, 1984 something happened that would change my life forever that I would not realize until 21 years later. Rebecca was born on that day. 21 years later I would ask for her hand in marriage. God had created my companion and best friend, but I had not a clue. “God demonstrated this goodness by creating us male and female. . .who were made to be together and to find ourselves as we give ourselves away.” (Justin Taylor)

I believe whole heartedly that a great spouse is not found accidentally without guidance from God. You see a great spouse is a gift from God and does not come, as some imagine, in answer to our planning and sizing up. (Paraphrased from Martin Luther)  From day one we see that God purposefully creates Adam and Eve for each other, perfectly suited for each other. Which lets me know that if God made my wife, Rebecca, he must be in love with me.

What is interesting in this thing called marriage is that we truly find ourselves when we give ourselves away completely. Completely and unselfishly we are to give ourselves to each other. For a marriage to work it has to be all or nothing. Thomas Howard explains in the mystery of love, as God planned it, “No one can ever figure out who is doing the giving and who the receiving.” Real lovers, “know that giving and receiving are a splendid and hilarious paradox in which, lo, the giving becomes receiving, the receiving giving until any efforts to sort it our collapse in merriment or adoration.”

So giving, receiving, being unselfish, what does it means to echo Eden? I can't really explain the mysteries of marriage and love, but I have a hint of what the echoes of Eden include. It includes what I have written above and so much more.

The echoes of Eden are apparent when I kiss my wife and I still get weak in the knees, it's her touch, her smile that picks me up and gets me through. It's that gleam in her eyes. It's the slow dances, the candle light dinners. It's when I am away I miss her, it's when I feel down because she is down. “These are the echoes of Eden, reflections of what we were created for, hints of the passion and freedom, that awaits on the other side of heaven's door.” (Steven Curtis Chapman)

True echoes of Eden come when you are completely and unselfishly committed to the one you love. That is where the passion and freedom comes from. It all amounts to this, “The quality of life does not consist in the number of experiences on has, but in the depth of commitments.” (Ben Patterson)

Part one of “Hopes, Expectations, a New Direction” was written on Inauguration Day. That day is probably the most non-partisan day of the year. It’s a day when everyone celebrates our republic and celebrates our political process. Now we have come to the second day of a Presidency. The non-partisan talk has been put aside.

For those who have known me for a long time you know that I have always been interested in politics and you have known where I have stood on many issues. For those who know me, you know that my faith is a big part of my life.

Every four years we come to a wonderful tradition in America called the General Election. For the past decade I come to a point in the voting booth where I find myself pausing and rethinking my vote. The reason is very complicated. Mainly because of social issues. For those who believe in God the same issue should probably face you too.

There is a conflict that stirs every four years in me. A lot of that has to do with the attitude of the church as I was growing up. As a kid, you learn that the only way to vote is a certain way. If you do not vote a certain way then people question your faith. This weekend at church, our pastor said that he had heard a statistic that 40% of America wants President Obama to fail and he went on to say that he hopes that that statistic is not true. Why would we want the leader of our nation to fail? I disagree with some of his policies, I agree with others. I disagreed with some of Bush’s policies, and agreed with some. We should never wish our President to be a failure.

A man said on the radio the other day that people had sold out their faith and their country by voting for President Obama. That comment nearly made me sick at my stomach. I am sick an tired of people using their faith as a political tool. I am sick and tired of politicians using faith to get elected. You believe in God, then show us by the way you lead not your rhetoric. I’m tired of people leading us that are not authentic. “Nothing is more transparent than inauthentic expressions of faith. . . some politicians come and clap -- off rhythm -- to the choir. We don't need that.” (President Obama).

“So we all have some work to do here. But I a  m hopeful that we can bridge the gaps that exist and overcome the prejudices each of us bring to this debate. And I have faith that millions of believing Americans want that to happen. No matter how religious they may or may not be, people are tired of seeing faith used as a tool of attack. They don't want faith used to belittle or to divide. They're tired of hearing folks deliver more screed than sermon. Because in the end, that's not how they think about faith in their own lives.” (President Obama).