Profound and Sometimes Preposterous Ponderings of Pete

Before you start gathering the bundles of wood and gasoline, let me preface this with, I am not in any way being blasphemous nor mocking. I do have your attention, though.  So let's look at the word sex and the almost subconscious feelings of taboo the word brings  to those who have been culturally raised in the west.  If you are honest, even as a mature Christian, just mentioning the word has an underlying feeling of guilt, naughtiness, etc.  I know it does for me and I do not consider myself mature. It was never meant to be that way.  Let me repeat, IT WAS NEVER MEANT TO BE THAT WAY!  We are fallen and the word, its true meaning/purpose, has been corrupted. I know you know that, but still, again if you are honest, you will admit that my title brought up, at the very least, feelings of annoyance, and for many, feelings of outrage and righteous indignation.  Hopefully, at the end of this post, you will chuckle. I need to talk about God prior to talk...

June 18, 2008 Rachael Emily Kligmann was hit by car while riding her bike. 2 weeks later, July 2 2008, after removing life support, she went home leaving me, her mom, her 7 brothers and 4 sisters, in a state of grief and devastation. About 2 weeks later someone gave me the book, The Shack , to read.  I read it.  It was really hard for me to read a book about a man whose daughter was killed. But I did.  The thing that really hurt about the book was when I found out that it was fiction.  I was incensed, maybe a little enraged. How could they present this as a possibility?! It took me a lot of digging to get to the truth too. I threw the book aside and never touched it again. Fast forward to 2 nights ago.  I dared watch the movie.  Mostly to see about what was all the social media fuss and religious indignation.  As far as portraying the book goes, they did a really good job with the casting and following the story line. So let's look at the story itse...

Starting June 14, a 5 week course on sexual addiction and porn addiction will be taught at the Adventure 4- Square Church in Draper, UT at 6:45 pm.  The statistics, based on admissions, state that 60% of men and youths in the church, have been exposed to or are addicted to pornography   The reality is that it is much higher.  I would, based on both my own experience as well as my experience as a pastor and a counselor in this area, would push that percentage to a much higher 98%.  That being said, if you suffer from this, have been exposed even once (I will come back to that), have sons that are ages 12 or higher, are married to a man, know of others who are married to men, have brothers, etc. you should urge they attend this class. Methamphetamines, is the most addictive drug out there. 25% of all who try it just once get immediately addicted.  Porn is worse. 1 exposure is an addiction.  The mind's camera does not get erased just because you think it wi...

1 Timothy 2: 12  I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. Due to the interpretation of that verse, over the past 30+ years, there has been a rise in debate amongst Christian churches, of whether or not women should be allowed to be pastors, leaders over men, and teachers of men in the church.  For the most part, the giftings, talents, and competency of women who do lead/preach/teach are not questioned, even by those who staunchly oppose it. It will be my attempt to show readers that there is strong evidence that the traditional interpretation of the passage is in error. When engaging in Bible study, the standard process amongst scholars, is to look at who was writing and who was the audience, the context of the passage, how it relates to the rest of the Bible (this would include other writings of the author, if any, and if New Testament, how it relates to the Old Testament), and finally how it was applied and h...

Sorry, I am not talking about marriage.  I am talking about grieving.  Why? Some of my dearest friends are approaching the first anniversary of the death of their father, friend, husband, son.  Myself included.  Eric Van Rhee was bigger than life in many ways.  He was a great father, a wonderful husband, and an irreplaceable friend.  He died February 18, 2016.  The hole he left in his family and his church was huge.  The hole he left in my family's life was huge as well. I have not spoken much about it for 2 reasons. 1. I did not want to diminish the grief of his family and closest friends and 2. we were not the only ones who were grieving him. That being said, I feel deeply moved to speak on this. Those who have lost someone very close to them know this. That first anniversary is extremely difficult.  It feels like it is happening all over again. The barely scabbed wound is ripped open and your heart starts bleeding again.  Why I am ...

So Donald Trump will be sworn in tomorrow. I did not vote for him.  Many of my friends did. I did not vote for Hillary Clinton either. My family might have. I did vote.  So my candidate did not win.  What now? Doomsday wailing? Should I riot?  Should I threaten the lives of celebrities and their families for considering performing at the inaugural? If I did any of these things, I could not consider myself a citizen of the United States of America. True Americans do not rebel against a duly elected president. True Americans do not riot and cause harm to innocent people in their neighborhoods because their candidate lost. True Americans don't threaten or harm those who supported the winning candidate. True Americans do not look for any excuse whether valid or not to slander the winner and his family. True Americans do not ignore the constitution or obey it when it does not or does fit their social and political agendas. True Americans do not hide behind lo...

Awaken church don't let our children perish, sacrificed at alters where deviance will flourish. Our Lord has cursed those who sway the pure, Who take the innocent where hate will endure. Don't still your voice in compromise, Don't let false peace become their demise. Always let unfettered love prevail, and strongholds of lies we must assail. Not so that we can always be right, nor self righteous judgement be our fight. But so that God's kingdom will on earth become, Our refuge, our haven, our only true home. So after the war, and the smoke has cleared, our lives will disproved what the world has feared. The wounded young will walk as healed, and God's full plan will be revealed. Awaken church and save our wards, not with anger nor with swords. But with all the love that He showed, on the cross where His blood flowed.