Horse Story

This amazing piece was sent in by one of my readers. 

"I had this experience yesterday and your rat blog inspired me to write it down. 

While I have worked with or around various animals, the horse has always seemed uniquely special.  Yesterday, as I was getting ready to ride, I paused as I stood next to one whose back I couldn’t even see over.  I stopped, lay my hand on his smooth side, and breathed in the stillness.  Peace washed over me as a spring rain clears away fall’s dead leaves.  I gently pushed on him and he respectfully stepped away from me.  He towers over me, could kill me if he wanted to, and yet was a mountain that moved quietly away from me.  His eye turned to mine with the long lashes slowly blinking and with just a look, asked what else I wanted.  Remembering time, I resumed grooming him, saddled, and rode away from the barn. 

We’ve been together six months now.  When we first started, there were lots of disagreements about which direction to go, how fast to go, when to go home, and his back must have been sore as I was returning to riding and had lost all my muscle tone from years previous.  But today we were a new creature together.  I sat atop and yet flowed with his every movement and motion.  We had no arguments and enjoyed the journey together.  Somewhere around the curve of the river, I realized through layers of cloth and leather that I was feeling his every muscle contract and expand and could tell exactly what his footfalls were.  No sight, simply feeling, and yet more than feeling because I could tell what the next move would be and we made it together.  I was thunderstruck with the spirituality of the moment: to be two and yet work as one to the joy of each.

In that heartbeat, I knew that’s how it can be with God.  He in us and we in Him.  The horse and I place trust in each other, get out on the trail, and through time and trials, connect with each other.  An experience is born that neither of us could have without the other.  I place my trust in God and in turn He entrusts Himself in me.  He is glorified and I receive a fullness I never could have otherwise.  The longer the horse and I work together, the more responsive to each other we become.  He obeys my direction on the faintest of cues and I no longer jar against his movement.  How the horse and I combined reflect what the Father wants to do with me!  To get on His narrow path no matter how hot or exhausting the day, to yield to His directions, to no longer chaff against the propelling forward is to arrive at destinations I never would have otherwise and see the wonders of His nature I never would have otherwise.

When horse and man unite it is an experience that can only be understood by those who have likewise done so.  When God and man unite it is also only an experience that can be understood only by those who have done so.  But the sacred scrolls are full of the histories of those who gone before us and they are waving us forward, even warning us to get up and go.  May I read the warnings are change course and may I hear the encouragements and charge forward."

The Gospel According To Buzzfeed.

So this is the gospel according to Buzzfeed. Watch the video and read the transcript below for added effect.

I'm a Christian but...

1. I'm not homophobic
2. I'm not perfect
3. I'm not closed-minded
4. I'm not unaccepting. 
5. I'm not uneducated
6. I'm not judgmental
7. I'm not conservative
8. I'm not ignorant
9. I don't place myself on a pedestal. 
10. I don't have all the answers. 

But what are you?

1. But I am accepting. 
2. But I am queer. 
3. But I am gay. 
4. But I am a feminist. 
5. I am a feminist. 
6. I am definitely a feminist. 
7. But I do believe in science. In fact I think that science makes god really cool. 
8. But I'm not afraid to talk about sex. 
9. But I'll love me some Beyonce [whatever that means]. 
10. But I love wine. 
11. I do believe in monogamy before sex, but will give sex advice. 
12. But I do go to church on Sundays. 
13. I was a young life camp Councillor. 
14. I do listen to Christian music. Christian rock, rap, T-Mac, all the cool kids.  
15. I have friends from all walks of life from different religions. And I love them all. 

What Do You Want People To Know About Christianity?

1. We're all kind of not crazy. 
2. We shouldn't be judged on just the people you see in the media or the people you meet in your everyday life. 
3. Every Christian is different and we deserve the chance to explain ourselves. 
4. Alot of people think that Christianity ruins people, but to me I think it is people that is ruining Christianity. You never really see the good that happens, you only see the hypocrites and the people who put themselves on a higher pedestal. 
5. That at it's core, it is really about love and acceptance, and being a good neighbor. 
6. Just because we prescribe to a faith that has some terrible people in it, doesn't make all of us terrible. 

I wrote the transcript out because I wanted you, the reader, to see with your own eyes what is important to these "Christians". If we were to do a Precept Inductive Bible Study and pick out the key words of this transcript, what do you think we would find? Would I be wrong to say that it is the words "I, I'm, We, Us"? See, the problem with American Christianity is that it is all about me. Its about me, myself, and I. Its about my feelings, my beliefs, my lifestyle, my wine, and my music. That's not what Jesus taught. Its about God and others. He said in Mark 12:28-31 that we are to love God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength, and to love our neighbors as ourselves. 

Not only that, but how do these people define themselves? Not just as Christians, but as open-minded Christians, gay Christians, queer Christians, educated, and not ignorant Christians. And they really want to be called Feminist Christians for some reason. Do you notice these words that come before Christian? These are what they really align themselves with. This is their true identity. And not Conservative? What does that mean? Does it mean that they voted for a political party that agrees with the murder of innocent babies through Planned Parenthood? Does this mean that you are a card-carrying member of the ACLU or Equal Rights Organizations? This video teaches me nothing about Christianity. It is just a video promoting the homosexual / feminist agenda.  

And when asked what Christianity is all about?  Well, its about love, acceptance, and not being judgy or crazy like those who do nutty things like share the gospel or talk about Jesus and go to bible studies [emphasis mine]. But as stated by the Gospel According to Buzzfeed it's not about Jesus or the Holy Spirit. What about holiness, righteousness, forgiveness, and repentance which is turning from sin. What about dying to self, putting off the old man and putting on the new? You talk about loving others, but how about loving your neighbor as yourself (now that's a kooky crazy idea huh)? What about acts like fasting and prayer; bible study and doing good for others so that God gets the glory. 

But the crazy thing this video points out is that they are not those Christians who are terrible people who are hypocritical and put themselves on a higher pedestal...right? Guess what? Its the epitome of being hypocritical when you are a practicing, unrepentant homosexual and pretending to be a Christian when the bible (the book you are supposed to rest your faith in and believe totally) condemns such actions like sodomy and sexual acts with the same sex (Leviticus 18:22; Leviticus 20:13; Romans 1:26-27; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10).  Here's a thought Gay "Christian"...how about removing the hypocritical beam out of your own eye (Matthew 7:3-5) before you start calling me names. So a note to you hypocritical homosexual "Christians"...quit calling yourselves Christians and making the rest of us look bad. 

If I were to do a video, I would answer the questions like this...

I'm A Christian and...

1. Love the Lord and love others. 
2. Love bible study, prayer, and experiencing God's faithfulness every day. 
3. Love God with all my heart, mind, soul, and strength the best I can and when I fail I am not condemned because He saved me not by my works, but by His grace and mercy. 
4. I don't have to give, go to church, talk to at least one person a day about Jesus; but I get to give, go to church, and share Jesus with others. I enjoy it. 
5. I have a peace and a joy in my heart and the faith that I will be with my Father in Heaven. Not by what I have done, but what Jesus has done on the cross for me personally to erase my sins. 
6. I'm not controlled by my flesh, this world, or the devil, but by the Holy Spirit living inside of me. 
7. I make mistakes like everyone else and I'm not condemned by them but move on and try again. I stumble in my sin, but not dive into it. 
8. I'm a husband, son, brother, and friend. I babysit and can even change diapers. I'm also an electronics technician, educated, and teach Precept Inductive Bible Study. 
9. I enjoy watching sports, love to read, and exercise almost daily. And yes, I like ice cream. Especially Rita's Italian Ice. My ideal place to hang out is a quiet coffee shop with my Kindle. 
10. And I enjoy an occasional beer or glass of wine but don't need it to fulfill my life. 

What Are You?

1. Born again. 
2. Forgiven. 
3. Redeemed. 
4. Child of God. 
5. Sanctified and set apart. 
6. A work in progress.

What Do You Want People to Know About Christianity. 

1. It's life changing and exciting. If you are bored you are doing it wrong. 
2. Since I love Jesus and He lives in my heart, I love to talk about Him and introduce Him to people who do not know the Lord. It's the same as if you are pregnant and cannot but help to talk about the life that is inside of you and how excited you are. 
3. We are not better, just better off. 

Of course there is so much more to say but I don't want to make this post too long. Here are some helpful articles that explain what it means to be a Christian. 

What does it mean to be a REAL Christian?
What does it mean to be a Christian?
What is a Christian?

Nancy's Chosen Rats

This is Nancy. She is one of three kids that I occasionally babysit. Recently she wanted to show me her new pet rats who she named Tippy and Topper. Awww...ain't they cute? She bought a large cage with her own money and made it very comfortable for them.They have lots of toys and she takes great care of them. She loves them and as you can see they love her too.

But looking at these rats you can't tell that they are not just any ordinary rats. They are feeder rats. Feeder rats are rats that are specifically bred to be fed alive to snakes and other large reptiles for food. That is their relatively short life, with one purpose in being born...to be killed to feed other animals. Sounds like a terrible existence doesn't it? But Nancy, out of 100 breeder rats, saved these two, to live with her for the rest of their natural little rat lives in joy, peace, and free from harm. There was nothing special about these two, just that she chose them. That's so nice of Nancy. She's a sweet girl, isn't she?

Now we look at this story and think, "Wow, Nancy saved those two from certain death.  Man, she is really nice to take them with her, and how blessed those rats must be to live with her." And that is true, they are blessed. So then why didn't we get all bent out of shape about the other 98 that she didn't save, who are going to die by snakes and vipers? What about their lives? Why didn't Nancy save the rest of them? Why didn't any of you show utter disgust towards Nancy for letting the other rats die? She must be mean and cruel, right? I can't believe she would do that!

But you know...that's what most of you say about God when it comes to the doctrine of election and predestination, and how God predestines and chooses some, but not all people to be saved. How come its ok for little Nancy to do it, but when it comes to God, who Christians say is sovereign over all and created all things, they just loose their minds?  I hate to break it to you folks, but God IS sovereign over ALL THINGS, which INCLUDES US!

Years ago when I became a Christian I thought it was all my choice, I really did. It wasn't till I studied Romans inductively through Precept Ministries International that I began to have second thoughts. Verses like Romans 8:28-30 in that those who are called, predestined, are those who are justified and glorified. Those who are justified and glorified are believers. Also verses like Romans 9:10-13 where God calls Jacob and not Esau according to God's purpose and no one else. Notice too that He called Jacob not according to his works or anything that he had done, because He called him when he wasn't even born. He had done neither good nor evil. God just called Jacob according to HIS OWN WILL. It is not because I was so great or good that God saved me, or that I wanted to be saved so bad that I beg and plead and He couldn't take it anymore and He saved me. (Romans 9:16). It is not about us. God is not unrighteous. He will have mercy on whom He will have mercy, and will have compassion on whom He will have compassion (Romans 9:14-16).

I claim not to have all the answers, and actually I can't say that I fully understand it. But what it boils down to is that first and foremost, we are His creation, and he can do whatever He wills with our lives. Our free will does not trump God's. If that were the case, God was in the wrong for trumping Jonah's free will, along with Soddom and Gamorah, everyone who (with the exception of the eight members of Noah's family) was killed by the flood, and the list goes on.

As I read Romans 9, I was blown away at the fact that God did not have to save me, but chose to. Not on the basis of anything I had done, or any redeeming qualities I had, but on His mercy and compassion towards me. Like Nancy's rats, it just makes me love Him even more, and gives Him glory. I never complain about why He doesn't save everyone, but I'm just in awe that he saved me.