Since I have not yet found a presidential candidate that represents my own personal interests and values, I have decided to put all other trivial matters aside and begin searching for the ideal candidate for such a prestigious job.

Without boring everyone with all of the details and tireless efforts I put forth, let’s just say that I left no stone unturned.  And after countless hours of painstaking research in my quest for a candidate that I’d be willing to wholeheartedly support, my journey came to a pleasant conclusion when I finally found a strong and worthy candidate.

Now that I’ve discovered my ideal candidate for office, it coincidentally occurs to me that the local media has picked up on my personal findings and has suddenly jumped on the political bandwagon as well by backing this fresh, new contender.  This praise and endorsement has caused quite a stir along with massive doses of controversy, hype and frenzy.

See for yourself what all the fuss is about here.  Hopefully, you too will be convinced (like I was) and your vote can be counted on in November.

Momento Votori Conscentsium = Remember to vote your conscience.

Isn’t interesting that the more questions we ask someone, the more answers we tend to get?  When there is agreement, we tend to be pretty happy and satisfied with one another.  But when there are disagreements in beliefs or opinions, we tend to make judgments and attach stereotypes (some accurate and some inaccurate).

Listening to this 2-minute humorous audio of Pastor Erwin Lutzer of Moody Church reading “Baptists on the Bridge” makes my point.

Now don’t get me wrong, I am not against making moral judgments.  We all make 100’s of them every day.  What to eat?  What to wear or not to wear?  Who to associate with?  How to spend our time and money?  And the never-ending list of decision-making judgments could go on and on as we make it through an average, ordinary day.

But I have always found it interesting that when someone is caught in the act of doing something wrong, they immediately become Biblical scholars by quoting Matthew 7:1 and go on the defensive by saying, ”Who are you to judge me?” or “You’re not perfect either!”  And as a result, most people (especially Bible-illiterate Christians) suddenly cower into a speechless fear as they don’t want to appear self-righteous or act perfect themselves.  So more often than not, the conversation is abruptly over and the wrongdoer goes on their merry way in a victorious strut (still in their sin) as they fended off someone who was trying to help them (in some cases) by correcting their behavior.

Well, if being perfect is the standard for correcting others, then nobody would ever be able to point out sin or mistakes in any other person’s life whatsoever.  Because there are none perfect, nor righteous, no, not one.

And to further the matter, Jesus wasn’t against making judgments, as long as they are made righteously, as He would (John 7:24). 

Or as F.F. Bruce rightly puts it:

Judgment is an ambiguous word, in Greek as in English: it may mean sitting in judgment on people (or even condemning them), or it may mean exercising a proper discrimination. In the former sense judgment is depreciated; in the latter sense it is recommended.

From the New International Version Study Bible notes, it goes on to say that:

The Christian is not to judge hypocritically or self-righteously, as can be seen from the context. [But] Scripture repeatedly exhorts believers to evaluate carefully and choose between good and bad people and things. The Christian is to use judgment and test everything, and hold onto what is good. (1 Thessalonians 5:21-22).

The bottom line is that it is totally acceptable from a Biblical standpoint to judge behavior (our own and that of others) by the fruit (good or bad) that one’s life produces.  But one should not make it a practice to damningly condemn or judge other people’s eternal destination.  It’s best to leave that part up to God because He always seems to get important things like that right…

Momento Judgimus Rightori = Remember to judge righteously.

C. S. Lewis wrote this book [The Great Divorce] in 1945 in response to an author named Blake who wrote the “Marriage of Heaven and Hell”.  Lewis’ book is a response to that error.  Blake’s error is the philosophical belief that all roads lead to God.  They view the roads of life like radii of a circle.  If we keep going down any path we will eventually end up in the middle.  This argument will eventually even make evil into good.  Lewis is arguing against this philosophy.  Read the rest of this essay from The Great Divorce here.

A particular excerpt from Lewis’ book stuck with me:

There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, “Thy will be done,” and those to whom God says, in the end, “Thy will be done.”  All that are in Hell, choose it.  Without that self-choice there could be no Hell.  No soul that seriously and constantly desires joy will ever miss it.  Those who seek find.  To those who knock it is opened.

A recent news article was published based upon a survey of 35,000 adult Americans who don’t beleive that their chosen faith is the only way to eternal life.

Now, I’m no genius, but even someone as simple-minded as me knows of a little principle called the “law of non-contradiction” which states that:

No two contradictory statements can both we true at the same time and in the same sense.

In other words, A cannot be non-A.  Or put another way, if Person A says that their faith (X) is the only way to obtain eternal life and Person B says that their faith (Y) is the only way to obtain eternal life, it can be logically concluded that both Person A and Person B cannot both be correct at the same time.  Both could be wrong, but both cannot be right simultaneously.

And to take the matter further, if I believe in the leader (Jesus) of a faith (Christianity) who makes the claim that He is the way, truth and life and nobody comes to the Father except through Him, I must conclude that He is either right or wrong.  If He is correct, (that He is indeed the only way), then I’d better take Him at His word and ensure that I believe in Him to obtain eternal life.  If He is wrong, (and there are actually multiple ways to obtain eternal life), then why would I desire to subscribe to a religious/faith system where its leader is a liar or a lunatic?

In his most famous book Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis makes this profound statement:

A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher.  He would either be a lunatic - on the level with a man who says he is a poached egg - or he would be the devil of hell.  You must take your choice. Either this was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse.  You can shut Him up for a fool or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God.  But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher.  He has not left that open to us. 

In the end, it is all rather simple.  And while surveys or polls might say otherwise, it all still boils down to two kinds of people in the world: 1) Those who believe that there are multiple ways to obtain eternal life and 2) Those who know better. 

Momento Uno Wayica = Remember that there is only one way.

Here’s a couple of pieces of interesting trivia that I’ve recently been mulling over in my mind:

What U.S. city has the best-educated (per capita) population?  Seattle, Washington.

What U.S. city has the highest (per capita) rate of non-religious, non-churchgoing people?  Seattle, Washington.

What’s my point?  That education and religion do not necessarily go hand-in-hand.  And to extrapolate this point even further (from personal experience, anecdotal stories, cultural studies, etc.), it seems that the more college-educated a person becomes, they tend to become less religious by nature.

One has to wonder why it is that highly educated people tend to become unreliant upon God and a centuries-old book to guide their life.  Could it be that the smarter one gets that one becomes more skeptical or self-sufficient?  Or maybe education, along with letters after one’s name, gets mistaken in our culture for being credible and trustworthy?  Kind of like a religion in and of itself as it attracts many worshippers at the alter of academia.  Is it possible that many people are learning many things but not understanding of the main thing?

Mark Driscoll who is the pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, hints at how this might be the case with a recent visitor (not sure of their education level but taking a demographically based guess) at his church and their observation that his church is stuck on the same topic week after week.  Listen to his 3-minute commentary of this recent encounter here.

Momento da Uno Songica = Remember the One Song

Tim Challies recently posted a column on “planned neglect” and how each of us (to some extent or another), neglect certain things in order to accomplish other things we deem as more important.

It reminded me of a quote from Stephen Covey, which I discovered years ago in his First Things First book, when he penned that “the enemy of the best is the good.”  I’ve found that sentiment to be true in my own life.  There are a million good things out there (crazy busy items) that I could spend my time and energy doing.  But there are only a handful of things that really matter in the grand scheme of things.

The story of Mary and Martha in Luke 10:38-42 is a sobering reminder for me to keep the main things the main things as Jesus pointedly separates the trivial from the necessary.  While I sometimes wrongly buy into the popular notion that “busy-ness is next to godliness,” I realize that it is in my Mary-like moments (worship, meditation, prayer, Scripture reading, relationships) which bring me the most peace and lasting satisfactions in life.

Don’t get me wrong and think that I am advocating for some kind of monk-like cloistered living or pie-in-the-sky spiritual laziness where I just sit around and expect God to do all of the heavy lifting for me.  I need to work and be Martha-like on occasion or many of the menial/occupational/earthly/household things would never get done.  After all, the cultural mandate for all of us is to work, produce and subdue (Genesis 1:28)  I just don’t need to be worried, anxious or troubled about these temporal tasks which are for the most part good things, but not the best things.  God is not opposed to work, He just asks that our work and pursuits be focused on the right things and for the right reasons (Luke 10:25-28).

Momemto Marimus Bestimo = Remember to be like Mary and focus on the best thing.

Self-reliance is a vital key to living a healthy, productive life.  To be self-reliant one must master a basic set of skills, more or less making them a jack of all trades.  Contrary to what you may have learned in school, a jack of all trades is far more equipped to deal with life than a specialized master of only one.

While not totally comprehensive, here is a list of 50 things everyone should know how to do.

By the looks of it, I can’t/won’t/don’t know how to do at least 6 of them on the list.  Others who know me might say that there are way more than 6 that I don’t know how to do… but notice that the list does not say that the items need to be done well (for example I know how to #42: Type but am a two-fingered, hunt-and-peck typist at best). 

By the way, I think that my wife would be happy to know that I can’t/don’t do #35: Flirt Without Looking Ridiculous and #46: End a Date Politely Without Making Promises.

Anyone care to take a guess at the other 4 items on the list that I don’t know how to do?  I’ll bare my soul and post my 4 additional areas of ignorance in a few days for all to see if they guessed correctly.

Anyone care to tell the rest of us how many items (and which specific ones) that they do not know how to do?

In the opinion of other readers, is there anything else that should be added to the list of 50 as things everyone should know how to do?

Momento Mori.

As an avid reader, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the world’s largest bookstore is virtually right in my own backyard.  If that is truly the case, I’m now up to three reasons to ever have to travel to Wisconsin.

Anyone who says they have only one life to live must not know how to read a book.  ~Author Unknown

No man can be called friendless who has God and the companionship of good books.  ~Elizabeth Barrett Browning

There is a great deal of difference between an eager man who wants to read a book and a tired man who wants a book to read.  ~G.K. Chesterton

Momento Bookimus means: remember to read.

While I know that the sins of the father are sometimes passed down to future generations, it’s a good thing to also know that all of my bad habits, quirks, shortcomings, sins, and physical defects are not necessarily passed on to my kids.

This video illustrates what I mean.

Years ago, I heard a saying which went something like this: For Christians, the world we are currently living in will be the only hell-like experience that they’ll ever be exposed to.  And for unbelievers, this current world will be the only heaven-like experience that they’ll ever be exposed to.

So when I recently listened to an intriguing sermon from John MacArthur on the same subject, I was prompted to post it to my blog.  MacArthur based this sermon on a popular, best-selling book entitled, Your Best Life Now.  From what I understand, this book has been purchased and read by more people than any other Christian book in recent publishing history.  Here is an excerpt from MacArthur’s sermon exposing the deceiptful premise of the book: 

Out of curiosity, I want to know what’s in the book and so I found this on page 5, “God wants this to be the best time of your life.”  On another page it says, “Happy, successful, fulfilled individuals have learned how to live their best life now.  On another page it says, “As you put the principles found in these pages to work today, you will begin living your best life now.”  And that is absolutely true if you’re not a Christian.  This is it, you better get the book because your next life is going to be infinitely worse than this one.
 
This is your best life now.  In fact, it’s your only life because in the world to come, you will only exist in a perpetual state of dying with no hope, no satisfaction, no meaning, no joy and no future and no relief from eternal suffering.  That’s the worst life possible.  And this is your best life, if your next life is in hell. 
 
But, on the other hand, if you are a child of God and your sins are forgiven and you’ve come to embrace Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, this is not even close to your best life.  You can’t even comprehend what your best life looks like because “Eye hasn’t seen, nor has ear heard the things that God has prepared for them that love Him.”

Contrary to what is popular today, even in religious circles, even in quote/unquote religion circles, even in the name of Jesus, the Lord is not promising you here and now a full, happy, rich, satisfying, trouble-free life of health, wealth and success.  Oh He does promise that.  Absolutely…a full, rich, satisfying, trouble-free life of health and wealth and success and absolute joy and peace and perfection…but not now…not now.  In fact, quite on the other hand, our Lord has promised to those who know Him and love Him in this life…trouble, persecution, rejection, difficulty, trials, temptation, pain, suffering, sorrow, sickness and even physical death.

So, for Christians, this is our worst life now.  It isn’t that it’s bad, but comparatively it’s the worst when you think about the life to come, which is the best.  Your best life as a Christian begins when this life ends.  Christians through the centuries have understood this, certainly the early Christians understood it.  The Bible makes it clear.  You just can’t expect all the promises that God has made to you for heaven to necessarily show up here.  Any sensible Christian understands that.  Don’t expect more than this life can deliver.

Here are links to the entire sermon audio and the full sermon transcript.

If my hope is only in Christ for the here and now, and if I am currently experiencing my best life now, and this world is all there is, I should be pitied (1 Corinthians 15:19).

Anyone who has lived in this fallen world for more than 5 minutes has some kind of internal expectation that is grounded in the hope that whatever comes next has to be much better than what is now.

Momento Mori.

There’s an old addage which says that one can really know who their true friends are when it comes time to move from one house and into another. 

A true friend (or someone that sincerely loves you) will always say “yes” and be there to help.  And a so-called friend (someone who might say they love you but rarely demonstrates it very often) will likely have something else more imporatnt to do at the very time you need their help.

In other words, loving is interconnected to giving.  These two terms are virtually inseparable.  If one loves, they unselfishly give of their resources such as one’s time, insight, expertise or money.  This notion often reminds me of the Bible verse that almost everyone (both Christians and non-Christians alike) knows by heart:

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

It’s a rather simple formula: God loved… so He gave.  Simple sounding, yet so difficult to emulate in our busy, hectic day-to-day living.  It’s hard and inconvenient to lay aside our own personal time for the benefit of others.  But there is no greater way to demonstrate words of love than with the act of laying down one’s life (and packed schedule) for a friend (John 15:13).

I recently came across a simple yet profound folk-sounding tune on this subject.  It is by a little-known-about but talented musician by the name of Al Kooper (maybe a poor, distant cousin of the great Alice Cooper??)  The name of the song is You Never Know Who Your Friends Are and you can click the title to hear it and follow along with the lyrics below:

 You Never Know Who Your Friends Are

I wonder if you are really a friend of mine.
If I was dyin’ of thirst wouldja be my glass of wine?
Time goes by so slow ya know
You never really know who your friends are.

I wonder if you are really a friend of mine.
If I were buyin’ a house wouldja come and countersign?
Time goes by so fast ya know
You never really know who your friends are.

If you were down
Ya know I’d be there at your door.
I’d shower you with food and money
After all, what are friends for?
They’re really such a bore; knockin’ at your door
Askin’ for some more.

I wonder if you are really a friend of mine.
If I were lying in jail wouldja get outta bed and pay my fine?
Time stands still for everyone
You never really know who your friends are.

Time stands still for everyone
You never really know who your friends are.

On the same topic of being available and willing to lay aside one’s time for others, I’d like to thank Mike and my daughter Amber for coming over to stain the fence yesterday for us.  It turned out great!  And better yet, not a single blade of grass on my precious lawn was harmed in the process.  Here’s some photos of the two diligent workers.

Momento Mori means to remember your death.

Momento Cedar-Fencicus means to remember to keep your fence protected from harmful UV rays.