Coexist? - With who?

We have all seen the bumper sticker that says "Coexist" using symbols from 7 different worldviews. They are displayed most often by people who have no allegiance to any of the worldviews shown on it. And the recent Boston Marathon bombing story featured a car with one on it that the terrorists hijacked to flee in.

While the people who display this sticker lecture everyone to be tolerant of each other, they themselves are most guilty of being intolerant of all views based on principles.

The "tolerant" people tell us Christians that we are to "turn the other cheek" as Jesus said, yet they themselves do not follow their own advice when they hurl insults at those who hold conservative views. After all, it's easier to tell others to do something that you don't have to do yourself.

And they conveniently forget that Jesus said that in regards to abuse and persecution, Jesus did not say that in regards to tolerance of sin.

God has always insisted that those who are to please him are to be separated from sin. He drove Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden after they sinned, and he instructed Israel to drive out of the land those who served other Gods.

(Deuteronomy 7:1-4)
1 When the LORD thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations before thee, the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than thou;
2 And when the LORD thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them:
3 Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son.
4 For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the LORD be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly.

Sunday Devotional - Desires

In today's society we have so many choices to make that cover all aspects of our lives. We can choose where to live, what to eat, what hobbies to pursue, and often what type of vocation we will spend our life working at.

Some of our choices are simple and don't affect us one way or the other, like picking spaghetti or lasagna from a menu for dinner. Others may have an huge impact on our lives, like in choosing to drive 100 mph or deciding that robbing a bank would be a good idea.

God knows we have choices and desires, and he has encouraged us to choose good things instead of bad things.

Way back in the Old Testament God told the Israelites to trust in him first, and then after that he would give them the desires of their hearts.

(Psalm 37:3-5)
3 Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.
4 Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
5 Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.

When Jesus preached, so many of the things he said were just repetitions of what God had told Israel in The Old Testament. Jesus told us also to seek God first, then the earthly needs we have would be provided for.

(Matthew 6:31-33)
31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Persecutions and Tribulations

Living in The United States is comfortable, it's a country filled with every convenience known to man. Yet somehow we hear constant whining and complaining all around us. And sadly we are often guilty ourselves of doing the same thing.

"Oh if I had a million dollars", or "they should fix this terrible traffic", or in my case - "if I could get that shiny Weber Mandolin!"... Boy life would be good!

We get so wrapped up in our own little universes we forget about the people who are seriously suffering in this world. And they're not suffering because of their own dumb decisions, they are suffering because of the sin and evil in this world.

All we have to do is look at the news and see bombings in Boston, genocide in Africa, and gang rapes civilized England.

No wonder God destroyed the world in the flood so many eons ago.

(Genesis 6:5)
And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

Satan has his claws in many men, but it seems he's most heavily involved in followers of Islam. Muslims have a special kind of evil about them, especially evidenced in how they inflict great violence on innocent people.

One such case is that of Pastor Saeed Abedini being held prisoner in an Iranian jail. Everyday his life is in danger by threats from fellow prisoners and the brutal beatings he has to endure from the guards.

Sunday Devotion - Liberty

(Galatians 5:13-18)
13 For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.
14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
15 But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.
16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.

While it is true that The Old Testament Law is no longer in affect, and it is true that our sins are forgiven (even the ones we haven't committed yet), this thing called "Christian Liberty" can be a two edged sword.

On one hand we can be cavalier about it and end up doing things we ought not do because of their impact on our life, such as drinking too much alcohol or watching movies that fill our minds with unGodly things.

And on the other hand we can end up doing things that are a bad witness to those around us who look to us for an example on how to live, or who look at us as a reason to accept/reject Christ.

If we are led by the Spirit of God we will not suffer from either of those consequences. And we will be pleasing to God.

It is difficult for us to resist our own temptations on our own, without the help of The Holy Spirit. The more we please him, the closer our relationship will become, and the easier it will be to live according to his will.

Sunday Devotion - Not Common or Unclean

I want to be an encouragement to people, and I really hope this blog will be that to someone. The blog title "An Unclouded Day" and the theme song all point to a happier time, encouraging us to keep on keeping on!

Today is Easter Sunday, and the resurrection is the perfect picture of this weeks devotion.

The text is from Acts chapter 10 where Peter sees a vision in Joppa, then travels to Caesarea to see Cornelius

(Acts 10:9-15)
9 On the morrow, as they went on their journey, and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour:
10 And he became very hungry, and would have eaten: but while they made ready, he fell into a trance,
11 And saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth:
12 Wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air.
13 And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat.
14 But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean.
15 And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.