Is Smoking a Sin?

I was asked the other day; "is smoking a sin?"

A: No! I have yet to find a scripture that says, "Thou shalt not smoke Marlboro, or any other cigarette, thus saith me (the Lord)"

Now I am sure there are people out there who will say, "the bible does says that our bodies are the temple of the holy spirit and ... ya da ya da..." And yes you are correct! And I agree with what that verse says! The question is; are we really obedient to it? But the question was - is smoking a SIN? And if you are going to say yes on the basis of the harm smoking inflicts on the health of "your temple", then NOT exercising is a SIN, Coffee is a SIN, Ding Dongs are for sure a HUGE SIN! NO more Krispy Kreme for you! Oh, "but that is different Timmy!" No it is not!

We as Christians are often accused of being hypocrites ... and you know what, we are ... and for this very reason. We say stupid stuff like, "if you want to be a Christian you must first stop smoking ... because it is a sin to smoke."

Now, maybe you are wondering ... "Timmy do you smoke?" Nope, remember I am a health nut ... so I tend to stay away from anything and everything that is bad for me. (at least I try to) Though I do have the occasional cigar with my buddies (but you do not inhale cigar smoke ... at least I don't ... I am not that tough!)

My only issue with smoking is the harm it is to your health ... if you are a grandparent, father, mother, friend, child ... why would you do something that is definitely going to shorten your life, or at least it will affect the quality of your life? But that's just me! I want to not only live a long time, but I want to be ALIVE while I am living.

Disclaimer: Of course this blog entry is not in anyway condoning smoking! I am totally against smoking. But it's not a sin, it won't send you to hell ... you'll just smell like you've been there! Ha! (sorry, couldn't resist! Old church joke!)

God is Nearer Than You Might Think

I am reminded that, like this famous picture about painted on the ceiling of the Sistine chapel by Michelangelo of God and Adam reaching out toward one another, God is nearer than you might think.

My first thought goes back to the Old Testament stories of the children of Israel and how that even when they had forgotten God - He was there, waiting for them to return to Him.

How about you, have you been too busy for God lately? Does God seem far away? Do your prayers seem to hit the ceiling then fall to the ground? I am here to be God's voice to your heart by saying, "The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing." Zephaniah 3:17

Challenge: Look for God in your life ... in the beauty of the trees, in the glimmer of a baby's eye, in the loving touch of a spouse, in the kind word from a friend, in the encouragement from your pastor, in the laugh of a child ... God is there! See Him?

Suicide

I received a message on facebook from someone asking me; Will a Christian (in this question she qualified the "Christian" as someone who loved God, believed in Jesus, went to church, etc) who commits suicide go to heaven?"

Answer: Absolutely YES!

Romans 8:38-39 "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the LOVE OF GOD that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

I am sure there are some people who will disagree ... just FYI, they are wrong! LOL! I am actually being funny ... I am always open for people to disagree.

Why I answered YES. Simple really. It's logical. Suicide isn't the unpardonable sin, is it? No it's not. So, to say that a person who commits suicide wouldn't go to heaven is saying that the sin of suicide is greater then the love that God showed us in sending His son to die on the cross for our sin. Suicide is not greater than Christ's love is it? No, it's not!

John 15:13 "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."

Plus, if you say that committing suicide keeps you from going to heaven then you must also say that saying a lie, or cheating or stealing right before you die also means you don't go to heaven ... because you didn't have time to "repent."

How I understand God's salvation plan is that it's not sins (plural) that keep us from going to heaven, it's the sin (singular) of rejecting Jesus.

I believe that once a person makes a decision to follow Christ, or confesses Christ as savior, or prayers the sinners prayer, or enters into a relationship with Christ, or decides to follow God, or gets born again, or gets saved (there are so many ways to do this as you will see in a short exchange Jesus as with a thief)... they are good to go "their salvation is secure!"! And even with that there are things I wonder about; for example - the thief at Jesus side said "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise." (Luke 23:42-44) That seems a lot easier then we've made it out to be these days.

The thief didn't walk an isle, raise his hand, confess Jesus as Lord and Savior, and he defiantly didn't have time to run down to the Jordan River to be baptized ... and Jesus said in essence, "Your good to go!"

Bottom line: If someone you know has committed suicide and they had a relationship with Christ (a Christian) you can be at rest at knowing they are in Heaven with Jesus right now.

A Message

All of our lives, whether you know it or not, are communicating a message ... or we could say that we are preaching or proclaiming a message, if you will, with how we live! So, here is my question; What message is your life communicating? A message of "hope?" A message of "who cares about God?", or "My life is more important than God?", or "I love anything and everything more than God?", etc.

Just like Jonah painted here in the Sistine Chapel (pictured above) he was called by God to preach the message of message of Repentance to the people of Nineveh. Which really was a message of God's Grace and Love to save the people from the wrath of their sins. Their sin was going to destroy them (that is what sin does) so God in His infinite love and mercy sent Jonah to preach to them. But Jonah ran from that calling. Are you running from God's calling today?

If so, you are in for a rough ride ... I recommend you turn around today!

How You Treat Your *Waitress...

...Says A Lot About What Kind of Person You Are!

*Maybe a more appropriate name would be Restaurant Server (waiter or waitress).

My Point:
Jana and I were in Red Robin today with Jana's Dad, his wife Lorena and our two kids. There was a table behind us that looked to be a father, mother and 3 kids eating there as well. (I people watch and often ease drop ... so I heard the whole thing) when the waitress brought their food to them they rudely told their waitress some "things" were not to their liking, like their cheese sticks, which we supposed to be an appetizer, came out with the meal, their Ketchup bottle was empty and something else silly wasn't up to their standard. There was a part of me that wanted to empty the bottle of Ketchup on their head ... but then I realized that wouldn't be right either. LOL! Seriously, so your Cheese Sticks came out a few minutes late ... is it that that big of a deal really? I mean come on ... in light of world hunger, child prostitution, Aids, and poverty ... is it something to fuss over, and act like a buffoon? If so, you've got issues!

Now, first of all I don't have a problem with asking for things to be done right or even expecting things to be right ... like cooking it to your specifications, or maybe even reporting to the manager that things were "not satisfactory." Because this can help them do better in the future! And I can even understand being frustrated that things weren't how you ordered them... I get all that!

But what I do have a problem with is when people are rude, and just down right mean or snooty to a waitress/waiter. The parents were terrible examples to their children on how to treat people in this situation. I personally think people who are mean to waitresses/waiters have issues of pride and stupidity (it's a spirit of superiority that stinks and is nothing like Jesus whatsoever!)

Listen, if you are a Christian (or call yourself one) then be nice to people, especially those who serve you ... don't be a jerk! And if you can't control yourself, then don't go out to eat ... ever!

What is the Wise Thing to DO?

Proverbs 28:26 “He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, but he who walks wisely will be delivered.”

I think this is a great question to ask ourselves when we have a choice to make. It may even be the best question to ask.

So many times we don't want to give the answer to that question because we knwo the answer and we do not want to do "that" which is the "wise" thing. Come on, let's be honest, often times we know just what we SHOULD do, but we do what we WANT to do instead. Then when it's bits us in the tush we get mad! Why are we mad? Because we KNEW IT! And did it anyway.

Okay, maybe its just me ... anyone else out there guilty? LOL!

Okay, so here is the challenge: When you are making a decision, ask yourself; What is the WISE (or right) thing for me to do? Then have the guts to DO THAT!

More on this later!

How Far is Too Far

I am asked, "how far is too far" as it relates to sexual intimacy between singles almost weekly. So I figured I might as well share my response here.

This is not an easy question to address ... and definitely not an easy ANSWER to live. I wish I could say that I never went too far in my dating days, but unfortunately I did ... and I do regret it. (many times pastors won't tell you that ... they just say "don't do it ... wait til you are married... which are all good things to say I suppose, but a touch hypocritical don't ya think when they do not add, "I couldn't or didn't save myself for marriage." Anyway ... a personal frustration for me.)

I too believe that saving yourself for your ONE TRUE love ... your wife/husband.

But let me answer the question; How far is too far? with a question.

How far would you want your future wife/husband to go with whoever they are currently dating? I know, I know, that question bits! And it should!

Do you want your future husband/wife to have gone to 4th base with every person he/she dated? How far would you want them to go?

Then I suggest you follow the golden rule: do unto others what you would have them do unto you!

Have fun, just don't go too far!

Not a Day Should Go By

I am hearing more and more in counseling sessions that spouses are not "praising" or "complimenting" each other. This ought not be!

There's not a day that should go by that we as "loving" spouses should miss the opportunity to tell our spouse just how much we love them and how awesome they are!

I can hear a voice saying, "but my spouse isn't awesome!" Well maybe they have become just what you have told them they are for years ... or maybe, just maybe they never felt appreciated for all the things they were doing, so they stopped doing them. Maybe they wanted you to get your moneys worth for all the criticism.

Isn't it sad that we typically only give feedback when it's negative! You only hear how you are doing when you are doing poorly. This is very unfortunate and is a bad way to live ... especially in a marriage!

Challenge: Compliment, praise ... tell your spouse how great and wonderful they are ... hug them, kiss them ... come on, it won't kill you to do this! But if you don't do it ... it will KILL the relationship!

Dream Marriage

I have people ask me so many times; "what it takes to have a Dream Marriage?" Wow! What a HUGE question. I think there are so many factors to having the Dream Marriage.

1) Being the Right Person

2) Finding the Right Person

3) Constantly working on your marriage

4) Getting to know your spouse

Listen, a Dream Marriage doesn't just happen after you say "I do." That would be too easy ... marriage takes a lot of work, a lot of sacrifice, and a lot of love! And at the center of it all FAITH IN GOD.

The God Factor for me is huge, obviously being a pastor right, but honestly even if I wasn't a pastor God plays a major role in my marriage. And primarily because God plays a major role in my morality. I don't do whatever I feel like doing, or even say whatever I feel like saying because I love God, and I truly want to live in such a way that brings honor to Him. I'm not saying I am a model Christian ... trust me, I am just saying that my relationship with Christ has greatly impacted the life I live and the choices I make. And they would be much different if I wasn't a Christ follower.

So I am a firm believer in God being an important part of any relationship!

Before Your Dad Walks You Down

I truly believe there are two primary reasons marriages don't last "till death do us part" (that's a huge statement)...

1) No Pre-marriage Counseling - Jana and I did *6 sessions of pre-marriage counseling. We thought it was especially helpful to us because we had only dated 2 1/2 months before I popped the big question. Too many couples enter marriage with unrealistic expectations, and are missing some of the key elements to making a marriage last a life-time ... assuming that just the sheer "feelings" of love they have for each other will carry them through. Unfortunately too many couples loose that loving feeling ... and then loose the marriage as well.


*Jana and I teach 4 marriage sessions and you can watch them for FREE on our church site ... or listen for FREE on iTunes "Mercy Church KC" or you can order the (4) DVD SET for $10 and we'll mail it to you. Call our office: (913) 390-1200

2) They Marry for the wrong reasons - and yes this can mean you even marry the wrong person. This is why it's so important to do #1 ... to really make sure this person that you have chosen (that's what true love it: a CHOICE ... and every day after your wedding you must choose to LOVE EACH OTHER). When I say "marry the wrong person" I do not mean that there is THE ONE still out there and you must find him/her ... no! You just need to make sure that you marry someone for the RIGHT reasons and someone that you are compatible with.

Granted, this blog entry is primarily for the "BEFORE your Dad walks you down the isle" people ... not the ALREADY WALKED THE ISLE!

Because I am a huge proponent of "making marriage work", if you are reading this and thinking, "Timmy I married for the wrong reasons ... I married the wrong person ... I am unhappy ..." There is still hope ... IF, and only IF you are your spouse are willing to MAKE IT WORK! Think about it ... you must have loved this person enough to walk the isle, okay so yeah, maybe their not the most compatible person out there for you ... but you chose them, and you BOTH can make it work IF you are willing to put the hard work into it!

Now, to those this blog entry is truly for ... TRUST ME and the thousands of people who are reading this and can testify to the fact IT'S SO IMPORTANT TO MARRY THE RIGHT PERSON... DON'T SETTLE for anyone! MARRY FOR THE RIGHT REASONS.

FYI ... you don't have to marry your first kiss ...

MORE TOMORROW!