I’m part of a theological movement often referred to as the Restoration Movement – the idea being to restore the 1st century church. I think it’s a great idea but as I look at my church experience, I don’t think I see things matching up real well.

This from Acts 2:
⁴²They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. ⁴³Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. ⁴⁴All the believers were together and had everything in common. ⁴⁵Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. ⁴⁶Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, ⁴⁷praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

I am guilty of participating in being devoted to a lot of things other than the apostles’ teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread and prayer, of being together with everything in common, of giving all I have to anyone as they have need, of meeting every day to study.

I am guilty of participating with people in the church who are more concerned about getting to keep all my money because I earned it instead of giving it all away.
I am guilty of participating with people in the church of being more devoted to a certain political groups teachings and fighting the other group instead of focused on the apostles’ teaching.
I am guilty of participating with people in church who want to segregate ourselves from other groups because our worship style is different or we want to fight a public battle over our doctrine while the lost stand on the outside wandering what all the fuss is about but knowing they don’t want anything to do with it.
I am guilty of participating with people in the church who pass emails around with Congressman explaining why we are a Judeo-Christian nation to build up our country instead of talking to people who don’t know Jesus and building up the kingdom.

I’m not saying my church isn’t important because it was something established by Christ. I think the church is very important (and I’ll have more to say about that another day because we just aren’t perfect people, are we?) but I also think our movement has been less about restoring 1st century Christianity than it should be. I think many of us have been misguided and I think there are spiritual forces at work that want to keep it that way – let us fight over music and dress and women’s roles and buildings and a 1,000 other things instead of doing what the church in Acts 2 was doing.

I pray for churches that are led by the Spirit and not the desire of men. I pray for churches that are building up the kingdom instead of fighting the battles of egos and politics. I pray for churches that are enjoying the favor of people and enjoying the fruit of the Lord adding to their numbers daily. I am praying that I will begin to look more like a 1st century Christian than I do today.

Grace and peace to you.

I’ve got several ideas for posts this week and hope I can get them all done without writing a novel and making sense. I may have to stew on some of them a little longer.

Today, health care seems to be back in the spotlight. I didn’t hear all that was said this morning on GMA but know they were talking about the pros and cons of Obama’s plan that is coming soon. While government run anything makes me immediately think “FAILURE” I’m also an advocate that our current system doesn’t work so well either. Currently, I make 2 house payments each month – one for my house and one for my health plan. It’s not a joke, I pay roughly the same amounts for my mortgage and insurance. Does that sound like a good plan? Then, I’ve got Newt Gingrich as the Republican spokesman for the evils of Obama’s plan. A guy who is living off a government paid pension funded my tax dollars, a guy with the best health care available fund funded by my tax dollars and a guy who gets paid millions of dollars to speak while still taking a salary paid for by my tax dollars. Great. What I would like is for my spokesman to be the husband of one of the ladies in my office. She’s pregnant and his company just cut health insurance to save money. I think he’s got a better grip on reality than Newt for most Americans.

Tell me the government cannot effectively manage a health program and I can’t disagree with you. Tell me the plan we have now is good enough and I will disagree with you. Tell me the Republicans have a better alternative and I’ll just laugh. Ask me for a solution and I’ll tell you I’m as lost as the next person because I don’t have the time to invest in it right now. Who does you ask? Unfortunately it’s the people who are getting paid by my tax dollars, people who don’t live in the real world and who don’t seem to really understand the needs of the typical American.
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This is leading me to a place I don’t fully understand and reserve the right to change my opinions as I think out loud. For today, I’ll simply throw the broad question out of what is the church’s role going to be in the future?

Grace and peace to you.

I talked to a friend yesterday who just quit his job. Yep, just quit. He doesn’t have another job lined up. The job he had paid him as much as his previous jobs had paid in 2-3 years. He just quit.

OK, he didn’t just walk out. He talked to his boss, the owner of the company, before walking out. They had a talk and then he quit.

Crazy, huh? In this economy, who in their right mind quits his job? And what would possess someone to do something like that?

My friend and his boss, the owner, were interviewing a guy for a position at the company. They had asked if the guy was willing to move and the guy responded to the effect of “yes, my wife and I have been praying about it so that we make the right decision for our family and we think God is leading us to move.” At this point, the boss excuses himself to go to the restroom while my friend finished the interview.

After the candidate is gone, my friend finds the boss and asks what he thought. “I left because I’m not hiring another Christian hypocrite around here. I’m not interested.” There was more to it than that but you get the idea.

My friend wrestled with it for a few days. He had promised his high school aged daughter he wouldn’t move her again. He was making good money. He called someone and they suggested he talk to his daughter and tell her what happened to which she responded, “you can’t stay there daddy.” So he told his boss how he felt and his boss told him he didn’t care. So he quit.

Strength. Not muscles, not force but a strength that comes from a faith I wonder if I would have. Strength that allows him to trust that God will take care of him. Strength.

Grace and peace to you.

Technology can bring good and bad to our world. Twitter is one of those things I’ve been somewhat fascinated by because lots of people use it and it doesn’t make the company any money. I guess that’s perfect in this economy but it doesn’t seem like a long-term solution.

Anyway, Twitter was planning to shut down this weekend for some maintenance and has been asked by the U.S. government to postpone it so protesters in Iran can communicate what is going on using Twitter. The Iranian government has stopped most news outlets from reporting and people are using their cell phones and Twitter to let the world in. Crazy.

I still think Twitter is going to have to find a way to make money.
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If you fly much, or even if you don’t, and want to read something fun, google “29E letter” and read the comments from a passenger who was having a bad flight. There is some coarse language so beware but the letter is one of the funniest things I’ve read. There’s a similar letter from a guy flying from Mumbai to Heathrow on Virgin Airways that ranks right there with it. You can find it through google also.
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The Rangers won in extra innings last night. I’m glad we are beating the bad teams but want to see us beat a Boston, New York or Los Angeles Dodger type team before I get too excited about making any trades to make a run this year. There are still too many holes to begin giving up valuable talent in the farm system to hope for a Series this year.

No one from the Rangers has ever asked my opinion.
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Grace and peace.

Word out that Sammy Sosa tested positive for steroids in 2003. Really? OK, everyone who is suprised to hear this, raise your left hand. The numbers are skewed and there’s no going back so let’s move on. No one cared when it was happening – not MLB or the Players Association, not owners, reporters or fans. Now people are outraged? Give it up and move on.
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Obama is proposing several new positions to monitor private industry. It’s hilarious to think some government nerd really has a clue what happens in the real world but big business sure seems to have trouble policing itself and it’s owners (stockholders) want immediate returns so what does anyone expect but short term thinking and pushing to make numbers look pretty? Anyway, throw the government beauracracy in the mix and prepare for disaster. Not that business managers won’t bring disaster on themselves anyway. Remember MCI? Enron? Hundreds of other companies that went belly-up because of bad management and took lots of people down with them?

The danger, to me, is that people begin to focus on the government agencies as the problem when the people running the company are the problem – but make millions and millions and get to walk away financially secure while the line workers lose their retirement.
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That leads me towards another post I’m working on that asks how much we should care and where our focus and efforts should be. Some people will think I have lost my mind…and I couldn’t disagree with them.
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Grace and peace to you.

Not really any deep stuff here today.

Letterman has apologized to Palin for his jokes. This little explosion, what little attention I’ve paid to it, simply disgusts me. Letterman’s joke was out of line regardless of which daughter he thought was at the ballgame. Plain and simple out of line, inappropriate and crude. He should know better and should have apologized immediately. On the other hand, Palin continues to use it for her political stature. Someone asked me what I would have done had it been my child. I hope I would have been forgiving and merciful and let it go. Does it help the girl that her mother keeps beating the dead horse in the public forum. Surely not. It drags it on and on. I hope Palin apologizes for her actions. She did far more than defend her daughter, she exploited it for her own gain.

This ordeal only brings me back to the way I am trying to see things in my life. Do you really think this was just a bad actor and an overzealous politician…or is it something more, something darker that wants to use just these actions to pull our thoughts away from Christ-like living? I reserve the right to be dead wrong but I tend to see these things as part of the spiritual warfare that is going on around us. Would satan rather us be caught up in a battle between people or service to our Savior? Who looks at Letterman and Palin as simply a late night TV guy and a politician and who sees them as falliable children of the Creator? Does seeing them as children of God, made in His image, susceptible to lure of evil just like me, change the way I feel about them?
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It’s this kind of baloney that has pushed me to quit watching the news programs. Local, CNN, Fox…they are in business to sensationalize information so as to get the people watching and listening up in arms. What drives ratings? The crazy and the bizarre.
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If you find yourself looking for stuff in the Bible, try http://www.biblegateway.com. It’s a great tool with a good search function and works similar to a concordance but does even more.

Grace and peace.

No more posts this week. When I’m done with this one, you will likely I think I was done with posts yesterday.

The Rangers won a 1-0 game last night that was over at 9:45. The Rangers. Yes, a game won with pitching and defense! A Ranger game that took less than 3 hours. A Ranger game won with pitching and defense…did I mention that one already? Who is that team playing in Arlington and what did they do with the guys we are used to watching?

Anyone watching 4th and 1 on SpikeTV? It’s Michael Irvin’s reality show that started with 6 receivers and 6 defensive backs competing for a spot at Cowboys training camp. I’m pretty sure Jerry is behind it somehow since it’s promoting his team but I think I’ll be pulling for whoever wins to make the team. So far, all these guys seem happy to have the opportunity. It’s Irvin being the taskmaster with Bill Bates as the defensive coach and Joe Avezzano as the offensive coach. Irvin has the line he gives them whenever he cuts one but each guy that got cut is respectful and thankful for the shot.

One of the last things I heard on Good Morning America this morning was that we would all get to hear one of the American Idol people say these 3 words, “I am gay.” But GMA isn’t about sensationalism. Seriously? Sadly, there are people who will tune in just to hear the big news with some thinking he’s the greatest thing since sliced bread for coming out and others who will hate him for it.

I wish GMA would roll the I Am Second lineup of folks out on their stage so they can say those words to the world. Josh Hamilton, Jason Witten, Darren Waltrip, Brian “Head” Welch, Jason Castro and a bunch of others…why not make that the big news?

Whew. Breathe deeply. Calm. Imagine your favorite peaceful place. OK, I’m better now.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend and remember that God loves you tremendously.

Great Bible verse today. Psalm 46:10.
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Why do tragedies occur? Why do we hurt each other and do things that are so senseless at times? You have probably heard about the white supremacist that entered the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. yesterday and started shooting people because he hates Jews and blacks. I haven’t heard the whole story but know he killed at least 1 person.

I don’t know that I can fully imagine the evil influence a person is under to want to kill people because of the color of their skin or their religious beliefs. The murderer and his victim were both created in the image of God, yet one of them chose to hate the other.

We are all caught in a spiritual battle. Our feelings may not be the same as the man who decided to kill but the goal of the battle is just the same, to steal our heart and soul from God. My prayer is that we can see our battles and seek God with all of our strength to overcome satan and his evil plans.

The Rangers aren’t surviving their battles against Toronto very well. Last night was so ugly I quit watching it. And Elvis made an error. I think the world’s axis must have tilted off course last night.

I love Colossians 3:13. I have appreciated it for a long time but I have learned to love it powerfully the more I have come to know God.

I got an email that asks, “If satan and his demons were having a board meeting about their competition, would your name come up? Would they know you were a threat?” What a great question. How many professing Christians roam the world and pose no threat to satan? I ask because there was a time I was that description fit me well. I hope that’s not true today.

More from Os Hillman:
If you are seeking to fully follow the Lord, you can expect harassment from the enemy. God permits temptation because it drives us deeper into the soil of God. These times reveal God’s power to keep us and walk us through the temptations. Our message becomes fruitful when it is born out of obedience and suffering for His name. Do not consider it strange if you find yourself fighting major battles the more obedient you become to the Master. God desires each of us to become a feared enemy of hell in order to affect satan’s domain. When you begin to feel harassed, chances are you are beginning to affect the kingdom of darkness, and satan doesn’t like this. So, how many demons do you think are assigned to you?

I hope I lead a life that disrupts satan’s plans and brings the light of God into the world. I’m still traveling a path to a better understanding and knowledge of God, of what the Holy Spirit can and does do in my life but as I walk, I hope my light will begin to shine brighter and brighter to a lost world that is full of satan’s work.

Breathing in dust, grass clippings and other factors are causing me to go into mental shutdown this morning. The yard looks pretty good (thanks to lots of God’s watering) but I still have to do the back this evening…meaning more dust, grass clippings…yoweee.

It was a baseball whipping yesterday. Rangers picked up the option on Ron Washington’s contract for next year. That’s not saying a lot for the Rangers but the first time Ron’s had any job security. Josh Hamilton will have surgery. Not good for us Hamilton fans. Brandon McCarthy has a stress fracture in his shoulder and will be out for a month or more. Not good for pitching fans. Frank Francisco is having shoulder trouble again. Not good for those of us who white knuckle the arms of our chair every time C.J. Wilson runs on to the field. The Rangers lost to Toronto last night. They made a good run at it and a Hank Blalock shot last night with Nelson Cruz on deck almost made it really good but, unfortunately, Hank hit it towards centerfield where the very, very capable Vernon Wells hangs out. Wells made the catch and that was that.

The Longhorns beat TCU to earn a spot in the College World Series. I would have loved to see TCU purple in Omaha but not at the expense of burnt orange being there.

That’s all for today.