Profound and Sometimes Preposterous Ponderings of Pete

Lately, I have read from a few Christian writers as well as multi-media posts and blogs, condemning homosexuality.  Is it a sin?  I believe that the Bible is specific that it is. Rom 1:24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.  26 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; 27 and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. I will come back to that in a minute.  The thing that bugs me is why homosexuality is singled out by Christians.  I have heard it said that there is an applicable gradation to sin i

1 Cor 12:24 But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, 25 that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. 26 If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. I have so many times hesitated to ask for prayer because my needs seemed so much less than those who seemed to be "truly" suffering.  How can I complain about my pain when there are brothers and sisters in my local church who are confined to a wheel chair, or a walker, or etc?  Or how can I cry about my bills when there are people who are struggling to feed themselves or their children? Are you seeing my predicament? Well I have been in almost all of those places.  Not fun.   It never, I will say it again, it N E V E R feels good to experience the suffering.  There are many scriptures about suffering, some of which you have read or heard quoted to you.  In the interest of time, h

Common Christian laments: "They are trying to take Christ out of Christmas!" "With all that commercialization it is no longer a holy day." and still my favorite, "Jesus is the reason for the season!" Guess what? He is not the reason.  His word even says so.  Let's go see: John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. Not convinced?  OK.  Let's look again. Luke 2:8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths an

We finished our study on Ephesians in church today and Pastor Ira did a great job wrapping it all up. I was privileged to be able to preach/teach along side of 2 of my dearest sisters in church last week and the week before last.  Pastors Jodi Van Rhee and Kuulei Lee.  I love, admire, and respect these 2 ladies deeply.  They have shown so much love to my family, not just on Sundays, but beyond the church walls and service times.  We discussed with the church what God has shown and taught us about the full or whole armor of God as stated in Ephesians 6:10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be

There are so many things for which I am thankful.  I would not be able to list them all. But here are a few of the big ones. 1. John 3:16 2. Rom 5:8 3. All of Rom 8 4. Prov. 18:22 5. Psalm 127: 3-5 repeat 12 times then again 13 times 6. Phil 4:19 7. Prov 18:10 8. 1 Cor 15:35 - 41 9. Psalm 23 10. John 16:33 No spoilers. If you really want to know, do the work.  Turn the pages, or Google them. Happy Thanksgiving!

 2 Cor 12: 7 So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations,a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. I was reading, but to be perfectly honest, I was listening to 2 Corinthians 9 - 13 and when I came to this passage I was deeply convicted. To tears. I had to truly think about what it meant to have a thorn in my flesh to keep me from being conceited. I thought, was I proud and arrogant about my physical condition that God disabled me physically? I do

James 1:27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. Last night I heard that children in the slums of the Philippines are being murdered often. Not much is done about these crimes because they are labeled "slum kids" and as such, the loss of their lives is not worth investigating.  Recently, in one of the big slums, a young girl refused to have sex with a man and he came back and shot her dead. This is not a rare story but an often occurring one.  The cultural insensitivity and long standing prejudice against the slums and the people who survive there makes it very easy to overlook heinous crimes such as this.  The current drug enforcement policies has made the "justified killings" increase and applicable towards children. The thing that infuriates me is the inability to help or do anything but pray.  Yes, our God is greater than any governmen

In the book of  "Jeremiah" in the Holy Bible , God mentions 5 times that Israel will be His People and He will be their God. One of the more popular worship songs by Hillsong is Oceans .  There is a line in it that states "I am yours and you are mine" in reference to a relationship with God.  I could spend a lot of time listing the multitude of songs with similar lines in it. I have been a Christian for over 26 years and I have come to a strong understanding of being His.  I understand surrender and yielding to God and more importantly how much and how often I need to do so. The book of James talks about being a bond servant/ slave to God and what that entails. Again, belonging to Him.  I love hymns and a favorite is I Surrender All. So, I think I have a good foundation of Christ giving all to me and so I belong to Him.  No problem.  My life is so much better because of it.  But here is what hit me between the eyes.  The other part.  The part that I have yet

6 months ago today, one of the most influential men in my life, Eric Van Rhee, died.  I tried writing a poem about it but the words failed.  He was not just my pastor and mentor, he was my friend.  He was my brother in a very deep and true sense.  He stood next to me while my daughter died.  He and his wife Jodi, who is very dear to us as well, sat with us as we had to make the decision to let our Rachael die.  He gave me vision.  He encouraged me. He restored my confidence in myself as well as my love for the Word of God.  He trusted my gifts.  Today, I was reminded of how much he meant to me.  A lot. Too many hurts and betrayals has made me trust others very cautiously.  I trusted Eric implicitly and without hesitation.  Never blindly.  At the movies the other day, the previews showed a remake of the classic Western, "The Magnificent Seven."  I was excited and the first thought that came to my head is Eric and I need to see this one.  (I kind of got him into Westerns and w

  John 6:53 Jesus said to them,  “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.  60 On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?” 61 Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you? 62 Then what if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! 63 The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life. 64 Yet there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. 65 He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled them.” 66 From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. A hard teaching indeed!  Especially if you take it only at face value.  Sounds like cannibalism and vampires to me.  How a

Eph 2: 8  (ESV) For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.   (Some versions state good deeds in verse 10) I often use this passage with new Christians, Christians suffering from low self-esteem, or Christians who were feeling depressed because of recent and/or past mistakes.  But that is not where I am going with this post.  Good works.  What is meant by good works?  Can we think of some folks, perhaps in more recent times than those in the Bible that can be associated with good works? Wesley Brothers, Charles Spurgeon, Oswald Chambers, William Seymour (Asuza Street Revival), Billy Graham and let's not forget Mother Theresa just to mention a few.  I would also include Eric VanRhee and my son Kevin, but I am somewhat biased where they are

John 17: 9 I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. 10 All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. 11 And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. 12 While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. 13 But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. 14 I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 15 I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17 Sanct

In Church we have been doing a sermon series on the book of Ephesians in the New Testament of the Holy Bible.  Today, Pastor Ira, gave one of his best sermons ever.  He spoke of how the apostle Paul, at the end of chapter 1 and beginning of chapter 2.  Mind you, when he wrote the letter, he did not have chapters in it. Anyway, Paul wants us to remember who we were before we accepted the gift of our salvation from Christ. Ira, explained that in order to accept the gift and understand how great that gift is, we need to fully understand what the condition of our souls were before we had accepted it.  He used the example of a "sinful woman", possibly a  prostitute or an adulteress, some scholars believe she may have been Mary Magdalene, washing Jesus' feet at the house of a pharisee named Simon (not Peter). The event is told by Luke in chapter 7 verses 36-41. You can read it yourself.  But she washes his feet with her tears and dries them with her hair and then anoints them

Recent death has opened scars, Loved ones left to join the stars. Every year a purple mist, but this year especially, more on the list. How much can a heart be rent? How many tears must be spent. I would not ask for they to come back, But why dear God did you open the crack. Eight years for one 5 months for the other, A daughter, a mentor, a close friend and brother. Recent death, has opened scars, Tears have spilled from broken jars. Yes they are in a better place, Yes it will be shortly to see their face. But we who are here endure the pain, We who are here still cry in the rain. We love, we mourn in life's emotional wars, Recent death has opened scars.

I see her face I hear her voice. The tears I  am shedding are hot. I am sorry I sent you out that night. I am sorry I was not there to stop you. I am sorry I did not take your place in front of that car. I did not and could not protect you. Now I have to wat to see you again. Will I see you as a little girl? Will you see me as the broken old man I have  become? I do not know. I will spend eternity with you but not until my eternity here is spent. Until that time, a million tears must fall.

The 18th is 2 days away and I am starting to feel it.  It is weird how a 2 week period each year can cause odd emotions to spring forth.  Rachael was hit June 18th 2008. It has been 8 years.  She died on the street that day and they revived her.  Sort of.  Her brain was gone.  We then spent the next 2 weeks on a roller coaster of is she alive or did she die.  Toughest 2 weeks of my life.  Praise God he carried us through it.  Praise God, Eric and Jodi Van Rhee walked with us as well. Her death caused an explosion in our lives that initiated a series of events that ripped through and tore our family apart.  It remains apart still.  A half a year later, I almost died from meningitis that has left me disabled. So the 18th is back again. Father's Day is on the 19th. It still brings tears.  My birthday is on the 25th and the actual death day is July 2.  Her birthday was July 26.   The grief is not as sharp but it is still there and it hangs over me this time of year.  I find myself a

My 2nd gingette is getting married, Her dear old dad is getting harried. What is a daddy supposed to do, When giving away his Bekah do. A good thingthat he likes the guy, who is the apple of her eye. Even though a US Marine, his Godly heart is easily seen. So while a daddy loses one, In the end he gets a son. Bekah and Nick you are a pair, And while I think it is unfair, Your dad will be here in his rocking chair, Waiting for grandbabies with locks of red, diapers changed and tummies fed, My songs will send them into sleep, Yours and their souls God will keep. And when I die and leave this place My Bekah and Nick will dwell in grace.

I just clicked on one of those Walmart photos things that Facebook sometimes post links.  I thought it would give me a nice laugh.  Instead, it made me quite sad.  Some of the photos you could tell were taken on Halloween but most of them were what people chose to wear and how they presented themselves.  There was no humor.  Not even disgust. although some could be classified as such.  No I felt a deep sadness that these people had such a low opinion of themselves that they would go out in public looking like they should be committed to a mental institution.  Maybe, they feel that they are so unworthy to be part of society that they separate themselves by appearing as outlandish, in their minds, as possible.  I don't know.  I just felt really sorry for them.  Not embarrassed for them, not ashamed for them, just grieving for them. You see, at a point in my life, before I was redeemed by Christ, I too, was extremely lonely, full of self hatred, and low self worth.  My outlet was s

Gifts of the Spirit and fruit of the Spirit.  Is there a difference? You betcha!  Let's see how God explains them. 1 Corinthians 12 English Standard Version (ESV) Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2 You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led. 3 Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit. 4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of he

I am going to touch on a subject here that is extremely controversial.  I would ask that if you read this, please read it carefully, regardless of your position.  I am a Bible believing born-again Christian who believes that the Bible is the truth and that it clearly delineates sin.  I am also a redeemed sinner.  I believe that God is the judge and not me nor you. I believe that homosexuality is a sin.  That does not mean that I hate homosexuals,  I do not hate adulterers, porn addicts, thieves, liars, etc.  All of which are sins too.  I do not judge them.  Again, that is God's job not mine. All that being said, I read today an article about the United Methodist Church "Coming Out" and it saddens me to see main stream protestant Christian churches allowing people, who are openly and proudly practicing homosexuality, to be leaders in their churches.  The Bible, which these denominations state they believe, is clear on the matter and is very clear on how the church memb

"Don't judge me"! That is a rallying cry, For many who debauch, steal, and lie. But as with many a popular prate, the guilt weighs heavy upon their pate. I do not judge but observe with clarity, the criers of bejudgement dwell in desparity. Deep down they know what they do is wrong, But absence of God is their freedom song. So at them too do I finger point? If so then where does love anoint? We are taught to always love one another, to treat our neighbor as sister or brother. I prefer to leave soul seeing to God, and not beat people with a Bible rod. But I will tell you if what you do is sin, regardless of your belief, or liberal din. Not because I think that I am better, but because of love found in red letter. He died not just for me to be free, but also for you if only you see. Judgement is God's and God's alone, and not for my self righteous hone. So cry not aloud that you I judge, when speaking to you love free from grudge.

A mighty oak falls, Nesting birds fly to new homes, Acorns left to grow.

Pastor Jodi Van Rhee of the Adventure 4 Square Church in Draper, Utah gave a wonderful sermon today which God had give to her to give to us. For those of my readers who don't know, her husband of 28 years, Eric, died 2 weeks ago.  We deeply loved Eric and Jodi, still do, and are mourning the loss.  Jodi told the congregation not to apologize for grieving the loss of Eric.  There were other things that God had for us but I am not addressing those here.  I remember when our daughter Rachael died, several people told us that they felt that they did not have the right to grieve about her.  The right?  We told them that grief is not a right but a part of being human. It is a part of life. It is a gift.  Rachael touched people who were and were not related to her.  They loved her deeply as did we, her family.  How wonderful for us to know that our daughter was the kind of person that would evoke a deep grief in those she left behind.  It means she loved and was loved.  So too, Eric.  We

Ever been drowning in a sea of debt? Some of it built by you, and much of it due to circumstances beyond your control?  No matter what you do, it does not help and you can't seem to climb out of the hole. You are in danger of losing everything - your house, your vehicles, your utilities, things that are necessities.  You want to scream and shout and at times, maybe you do?   You go through the processes (sometimes lengthy and often tedious) of getting disability, food stamps, and government assistance all the while feeling ashamed because politically you have spoken against the abuse of these systems and feel like a hypocrite even though you legitimately need to use them. Yet somewhere deep down inside, there is a tiny spark of hope that it will all be OK? Or maybe you are disabled, can't work, you want so much to provide for your family but you can't. If you are a man you feel as though you failed to be who and what you were raised to be and maybe as a woman your abilit

Today, a good man, a godly man died.  Pastor Eric Van Rhee of the Adventure Four Square Church in Draper, UT.  There will be many people speaking or wanting to speak at his funeral and so I will speak my tribute here.  Eric was my Pastor, he was my brother in Christ, but most of all he was my friend and I loved him dearly.  He accomplished many things for God and in every way put God, his family, and his church family first.  There are 5 things that Eric did for me that I need to say here. 1. He restored my faith in the church. 2. He showed me that even as a Christian who screwed up royally, and I did, I can be used by God. 3. He taught me how to love the Word of God and how to study it. 4. He restored my faith in myself and helped me to see who I was in the church. 5. He stood next to me and watched with me as my daughter breathed her last breath. He did so many other things for God and for our church and for the 4-square church in America, but these are the things he did

One of the things I struggle with is worry. I wake up in the night with thought bombs and can't get back to sleep.  I know what Christ said about worrying and what Paul says about being anxious for nothing. I have jokingly said when nothing comes in I am anxious.  God has been working very hard with me on this point of late.  The problem is, that along with the revelation, he tests me.  I freely admit that I have failed these tests many times.  So he keeps schooling and testing.  I am up to a D+/ C-.  C-! I have a Masters in Physical Chemistry which is the Physics of Chemistry and yet, in the important stuff, God's school, the best I can do is a C-.  Which by the way, is an average. Believe me, it is not for a lack of trying.  It frustrates me, my wife, my family.  I get overwhelmed, and grumpy.  It is not something I like about myself, and honestly, without the Holy Spirit, a saint of a wife, and understanding children.  I would fail miserably.  Still, a C- average.  Not a ste

Why do I blog?  I only have a few followers of my blog and I get a few "likes" on Facebook. So why bother?  I ask myself this once in a while. Matt Walsh blogs and he gets thousands of followers, both likers and haters.  My wife, Corinne, blogs. My Life and Fortune Cookies (shameless plug for my wife). She gets hundreds of views and likes. I admit, my wife has more friends, is a better writer, speaker, and is much wiser than I. So why?  I started the blog shortly after my daughter Rachael died.  I needed an outlet to grieve. So I posted my poetry and miscellaneous thoughts.  Every now and then God gives me an insight that I share.  Those insights have become more and more my focus. Yes, I still use it as an outlet, but now I prefer to use it as a tool.  So what if no one ever reads it.  I know that a few will. Maybe I will impart some wisdom from God to them.  Maybe I will make them laugh, cry, or even enrage them against me.  I do hope above all else that my posts make a

Last week, St. Elijah's monastery in Iraq was destroyed by ISIS.  It was the oldest Christian monastery in Iraq.  It was about 1400 years old.  At first, I was outraged. "Another terrorist act by ISIS!!"  Then I was saddened by the loss of an ancient piece of archictecture. But my final emotion was laughter.  ISIS' hatred of Christianity led them to destroy a building.  A building.  Those of us who are true believers and followers of Christ know that He does not reside in a building but in our hearts.  ISIS is so uninformed.  Do they really believe that destroying an ancient artifact is the same as destroying the faith?  I would be saddened if there were people inside at the time.  If I was the government of Iraq I would be very angered.  Not only did they destroy a historical national treasure, but they also destroyed a tourist attraction which eliminates money from their coffers. ISIS may be shooting themselves in the feet. Our local pastors have often said that

     One of the big stinks now being shown all over Facebook again is breast feeding.  My wife has breast fed all of our children and breast milk has been established as the best food for a growing baby.  Even the misogynistic old school ob-gyn doctors agree on that.  What makes it even more amazing is God created women and their mammary glands in a such a way that the chemical composition of the milk automatically changes as the baby grows and his or her nutritional needs change.       So what is the big deal?!  My 12 year old daughter told me about a meme she saw where it compared almost naked Kim Kardashian and Miley Cyrus to a fully clothed blanket covered mother breast-feeding her baby asking the question why the former is OK but the latter is not.  So it came to me to what it boils down.  So obvious.  No one will call it.  Sex and jealousy.  Breasts are supposed to be for sex, in a man's mind.  Men are the ones most uncomfortable with breast feeding but women have bought in