Rotting Fish Syndrome

One of the more interesting parts of the end of the year is the “lists” that come out that are compilations of subjects. These include the list of those who died in the last year, the most important news stories, the best weddings, etc.

I came across one on the Fox News website that listed “crazy diseases”. These are illnesses that have some odd or strange symptoms. Most are not really funny or “crazy” and those afflicted with them suffer in one way or another.

Most I had never heard about before, but one I did because, when I was a social worker, I actually had a client who suffered with this condition. It is Trimethylaminuria, fish malodor syndrome. The client always smelled of terrible body odor no matter how much deodorant or showers he would take.

The poor guy was “banned” from many public areas such as the local library and a number of stores and restaurants. He lived in a group home but would spend most of his time alone in his room or walk around the neighborhood, even in the coldest weather, for most of the day.

Despite having a mental illness and was mildly developmentally disabled, he was keenly aware of his problem so he would spend most of his time alone, embarrassed by his problem. It was very sad because he was a very likeable guy.

This article, and remembering this client, made me think about how our sin must make us smell to God. We, like someone suffering from this malady, seeping the odor of sin from our very breath. (Rom 3:13 NLT)

And it is a stench in the nostrils of God, so offensive that we cannot be in His presence.

The problem is that we get used to our sin like we do with an odor. The client never smelled himself. I worked in a blast furnace and after a short while the pungent odor of sulfur and brine disappears and we don’t notice the smell anymore. We get used to our sin and it no longer seems a problem.

If you believe that Christ is Lord and Savior, though, and are saved from the results of your sin (eternal separation), the odor returns and we are pungently aware of our sin and know that only Christ can wash us clean before God. He removes the odor so that, through Him, we are no longer have the stench but instead are a pleasing aroma to God.

Repent and smell better to God.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2010/06/30/crazy-diseases/#ixzz19swVzs9u

12

Recently, I attended a "training" on suicide. It was an overview of how our culture looks at suicide and was very interesting, sad, disturbing, and convicting all at once.

One of the most disturbing was a statistical figure.

12 suicides have been attributed to the death of Michael Jackson.

Now statistics are just a gathering of numbers. Most often they are without context, sometimes they are wrong or in error, sometimes they speak for themselves. This statistic speaks volumes.

That someone would consider their life over because a singer died is hard for me to comprehend.

I can understand why someone would want to kill themselves when a close loved one dies, or a catastrophic event or getting in deep into a quagmire. They lose hope. But to pin one's life, one's hope on a guy who can sing and dance well, who does not even know you exist, who cares about you only in the broadest of terms...well, that is very sad but also gives us some insight into how we are different from animals.

If you are an evolutionist and believe that humans are just a higher order species (not unique as Christians believe) then consider this - man is the only animal that contemplates suicide. We are also the only "animal" that does a lot of things like not wait for nature to adapt us physically for the environment, build various types of shelters, have written and readable languages, create various tools, goes to war over ideas, etc.

The reality is that man has the image of God placed in him and so we seek God to see our own image. The problem is that sometimes we find a god that is not the real god and think we have found our own image.

12 people did that recently.

My hope is that you are not placing your hope in the wrong god. To find out more go to Need God.

What I Was, What I Am, What I Will Be

It is very difficult to summarize one's life, since people are in a constant state of flux - changing phsycially, mentally, emotionally, and even spiritually.

Sunday at Church, there was an ordination ceremony for our associate pastor.  I have never been to one before and it was encouraging to see this young man and his family being committed before the Lord.

When the charge was given to the pastor, the speaker used 2 Timothy as the Scripture to base the charge.  This is Paul's encouraging letter to his protege Timothy.

During the course of the charge, the speaker referred to the meaning of verse 7 - "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." - as Paul looking back and having no regrets about his walk with Christ.

So I started thinking about my past and I have more regrets than I care to list or think about, but I also have the knowledge that I am not the man I was yesterday nor will I be the man I am now, tomorrow.

Recently, I have been under attack by someone whom I hold dear.  They are angry with me about actions done many years ago, some before my salvation, some during the years since. 

When I first tasted salvation, I did not immediately cease being the old man, who was liar and deciever and manipulator of others.  God is growing me in such a way that He is developing my character.  I am less the liar and decieve and manipulator, but only because it is the Lord doing this and not my own effort.

I have been forgiven by God of these sins and can now, because of Christ, kneel in His presence, and strive, through Him, to cease the evil that I too often find myself desiring to do.  I am redeemed but not yet fully sanctified.  I am at war with my sin, my flesh, and, sadly, sometimes it prevails in the battle, though it has failed in the conquest of me.

Unfortunately, this does not absolve me of the fact that I did sin and that I do sin and that I will sin.  This means that I still weep over my failings, how I have hurt others, how I have wronged mostly those whom I love and have loved me, how I have misused the gifts given to me.

I go on sinning not because it is my desire to do so, but because I have not yet given myself fully over to Him!  

This is a tough reality, but it makes sense of what I was, what I am, and what I will be.

God is working at His pace to shape me back into the image He intended when He created me, and He becomes more (and I less) I am humbled that He would even want to work in a scoundrel such as me, that He would call me His child when I have been such a disobedient brat, that He would call me friend when I have been such an enemy of His!

Christians are not void of sin, but we are free from the deciet of sin.  True Christians know what they were, what they are, and what they will be and they know that they are in the hands of God and not their own hands.

In this, I have no regrets - that God has saved me from my self, and my hope is in Him.

That Which The Lord Hates Part 7

(Proverbs 6:16-19) There are six things that the LORD hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.

Lets look at the 5th thing which God hates - "feet that make haste to run to evil".

I like how that is phrased.  

It could have been stated simply - a desire to sin, but instead it is feet running to evil.  This is not just conceptualizing sin and then doing sin, it is a rush to sin, not just a crawl, a walk, a stroll, but a "haste to run" to evil.  It is a condemnation of all men of what is found in our heart - that we do not, at the innermost, desire for God to be glorified but for us to be glorified, for us to be on the seat of the King.

We lunge to sin when given the opportunity.  We thrust at it when temptation calls.  It is who and what we are.

We don't like to admit it.  We don't like to face it as a reality.  We want to believe otherwise, but deep inside we know that we are good despite the evidence of our lives.

But the facts speak otherwise - who has not sinned?  Who has not taken God's moral perfection and twisted and distorted it into our own image?  Who has not done that which they believe to be wrong?

Sin is our common denominator.  It is where we are all shown to be equal.  It is the true state of our heart.

Yet, here is God, who despises our rush to rebellion and His response is to sacrifice Himself in our place, opening the way for our redemption by simply realizing who we are and what we need - Christ our Salvation, our Redeemer, our Savior, our Lord.

Don't Pray to Congress for Help

I cannot say if this Fox News article accurately portrays what happened at this "Worship Service", but it left the impression on the writer that the prayers were to Congress to help out the automaker.

Now, this in itself is not an inappropriate prayer, but the aticle starts out:

DETROIT —  With auto workers in the pews and sport-utility vehicles at the altar, one of Detroit's largest churches on Sunday offered up prayers for Congress to bail out the struggling auto industry, Reuters reported.

This sure reads like the prayers were to Congress and not God.

Now I went to the church web site and their statement of faith (what we believe) is solidly centered on the Word and on Christ.  There was an announcement inviting auto workers to a special "Service" for prayer and annointing.

This in itself is not wrong.  Many churches some 47 years ago had special services after Pearl Harbor to pray for the dead and our nation.  Same with other events, tragedies, and circumstances.

The workers in the US auto industry and related employers are nervous.  The structure is trembling and at risk of falling putting hundreds of thousands, maybe millions of people out of work and threatens our basic economic well-being.  

It is more than apt to pray about this situation, but our prayers should be for God to be glorified and for a solution to this problem to come forth.  

We don't know if the loans will work.  They seem like a panic reaction to me, but putting that to one side, the danger, and in this case it came true, is that it leaves the impression the prayers were to Congress, not for Congress.  

It sounds like they believe the solution is the loan (or bail out), and that is their prayer, and in doing so left the impression that they were praying to Congress - at least to the writer of the article.

Our response in difficulties is to rely on God.  Our hope is in Christ alone, and we need to be very careful about leaving an impression otherwise.  

I am hoping that this church, which appears to do some great ministry to the people of Detroit, did not do as the article stated,  and, instead, truly gave some real "good news" to the autoworkers, that their true salvation is not in their employers, not in their government, not even in their churches, but in Christ alone.

That Which The Lord Hates part 5

(Proverbs 6:16-19) There are six things that the LORD hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.

The third thing that is an abomination to God - "hands that shed innocent blood".

What a powerful way to state opposition to murder. This is killing without just cause.

The first image my mind makes with the word "innocent" is that of a baby. They are innocent, totally reliant upon others for not only their basic needs but also for their existence. The cannot purposely cause harm to others, steal from them, lie to them. Their innocence comes from their vulnerability. They need us and most people automatically melt in the presence of a baby, holding so much potential.

To shed the blood of a child is a most despicable act to most right thinking people. It is hard to fathom that a baby could cause this reaction in another human being, but people murder when they cease to see others as human.

A woman on a radio talk show the other day was talking about her being undecided, the hose mentioned he could never vote for a supporter of abortion because that takes a human life. The woman interrupted and said "potential human life". That is a view that allows for the shedding of innocent blood.

Think of the tragedies brought by men to others - villages destroyed by soldiers, house invaders killing the occupants, heirs poisoning their elders. The Lord finds these an abomination.

But more chilling to us Christians is the concept laid forth in Matthew 21-22 where Jesus speaks:
"You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.' But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, 'You fool!' will be liable to the hell of fire.". Our mere anger, where we want to kill someone we are angry with, is tantamount to the shedding of innocent blood.

Pretty sober thought. That is why we are to bring every thought captive to Christ! (2 Cor 10:5).
We are to be angry about sin, but not condemning the one committing the sin. It is not up to the Christian to bring the judgment of God to others by enforcing His commands. Our actions should be such that the sinner will see their sins and repent of them, just as we need to see our sins and repent of them (thou are repentance is to honor God as we have already been forgiven).

Let us stand firm in opposition to that which is an abomination before God. First in our lives, then in the world. Their struggle is as great as ours and only we offer the true hope - the one who will bring true and everlasting peace - our Lord, Jesus Christ.

For His Glory,
Tom

If God is so powerful how come bad stuff happens?

Here is the powerful answer to this question by Rev. Voddie Baucham.

That Which The Lord Hates part 4

(Proverbs 6:16-19) There are six things that the LORD hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.

Unfortunately, the content was inadvertently deleted, but the gist of the blog was that the lying tongue lies to all, including the liar.

For His Glory,
Tom

That Which The Lord Hates part 3

(Proverbs 6:16-19) There are six things that the LORD hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.

When we see a sin, how do we react? Are we shocked by others? Do we turn from them in disgust? Do we go the next step and attach the sin to the value of that person?

"Haughty eyes" is a term you don't hear every day. It is not a compliment. It is an "old" word in that most people don't use it much. It has been replaced with more pejorative language as our culture has become more and more coarse and debased.

Haughtiness literally means "proud eyes" and it is seeing yourself as more important than you should. It involves either ignoring or seeing one's own sins as not as bad as the sins of others. It is measuring yourself against others and coming out ahead - way ahead. It is putting yourself right up there next to God, or maybe even in God's place.

Haughtiness is also about our spirit. It is a critical eye. It is a condemning eye. It is an eye that God wants to pluck out because it is an eye that does not view the world from His broken heart but from a heart made of stone.

We have no right to be haughty, ever. We have not earned, inherited or had the right bestowed upon us. It is a forgetting of our place before God and our equality with others in our sinfulness.

In fact, Christians should be the least haughty because we know enough of our sinfulness to realize we need a Savior. Haughty people think they are the Savior.

We should be humble with others. We should be gentle with others. We should be patient with others. We should be with others how God would want to be with ourselves.

Unfortuately we don't do that. Christians can often be the black eye of Christ. Gandhi is often attributed as saying he would have become a Christian were it not for Christians.

Whether he said that or not, it is a true testament on those in the body. We can be a haughty bunch, but this shows His grace even more so.

Let's not forget that. Let's respond to His mercy by giving that to others. Even homosexuals, even liberals, even adulterers, even drug addicts, even those who directly wrong us.

Our moment to moment prayer should be for us to share God's mercy...and to pluck out our haughty eyes.

For His Glory,
Tom

I Will But I Don't

"What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. Hewent to the first and said, 'Son, go and work today in the vineyard.' "'I will not,' he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. "Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, 'I will, sir,' but he did not go. Which ofthe two did what his father wanted?" "The first," they answered. Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, the taxcollectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you." -- Matthew 21:28-31 (NIV)

I will but I don't.

That pretty sums up most of our Christian walk, doesn't it.

We Christians have this great desire to serve God fully with all our lives, all our heart, with evey molecule and atom of our body...but we don't.

In fact, to twist and paraphrase Ghandi: It is the Christians that give the church a bad name.

I don't beleive that we can be anything but hypocrits - in the sense that we do what we don't want to do and don't do what we want to do. We profess this great love of Christ but fail to follow His simplest of commands - to love one another, to serve one another, to put your self last - and this brings great shame to the body (the church - those who profess Him Lord and Savior).

We are pretty good with the Savior part. I have that down pat. I live with the assurance of my salvation. Unfortunately that leads me to live this horrible, prideful lie that because Christ is good that I am now good. I am in terms of how God no longer holds me to account, but I still sin - sometimes purposely, sometimes callously, sometimes with great resolve, always without regard for God and what He did for me.

Oh, we say we will but we don't, so let's stop kidding ourselves. We are not only co-conspirators with other sinners, we are instigators and, worse yet, betrayers of Christ. We Christians hold the nails to His writs waiting for the "sinner" to hammer!

Our response to sin needs to be to look at ourselves first and see if we have said we will and didn't. When we go to rebuke a sin, we must do it in context not as a superior but actually as someone worse - someone who knew better and did it anyway. Someone who didn't do a "mistake" but did an "on purpose".

It is okay to point out sin, but we need to start from within first, and then move outward.

For His Glory,
Tom

That Which The Lord Hates part 2

(Proverbs 6:16-19) There are six things that the LORD hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.

Last post on this I talked about how, with our modern mind set it is hard for us to see how a God who is Love can possibly hate. We see hate as the opposite of love, but it really is not.

Because the English language is not always precise in meanings, or at least people are not always precise in the use of the language, many words have multiple meanings. There is often a blending of definitions that, over time, expand the initial definition.

We have blended the terms love and hate with emotions. To many they mean strong like or dislike.

But the Biblical definition of Love is not a feeling or an emotion, it is a relational term. It is how we will think about someone in terms of them and not us. As a former pastor of mine defined it: "Love is doing what is in the other person's best interest". This does not involve "feelings" at all. In fact, out of love, we ignore our feelings and act in a way that is helps another person.

The real opposite of love is indifference. This is also about how we think of someone, or maybe how we don't think about others.

Hate, however, is a feeling. It is a strong dislike. It is not really relational, though it can be carried out that way. The Biblical definition of hate is focused not on people but on actions.

In this verse, we are told some actions that God really dislikes. In fact, they disgust Him. As a whole, they are acts we do towards others which reflect how we are inside. They reveal an indifferent heart. These are offenses not only to God but towards others.

I find that interesting that God finds it an abomination when we are rotten to other people. Abomination is a strong word that means a total disgust. It is something He really really really does not like.

I think this stems because God does not do these things to other people. They are opposite to His Character and since we are created in His image, we are distorting Him when we act in this way. His intent in creating humans was that we would reflect Him. Instead our sin has cracked that mirror and twisted His image in us. What was beautiful is now ugly. What was good is now evil. What was pure is now contaminated.

The other sense here is that it is also heartbreaking. These actions tend not to only hurt or harm others, they hurt the one doing them. As a dad, when my children act in any of these ways I am both angry and sad. Angry at the action and sad because my child is, ultimately, hurting himself. It may not be immediate, but those character flaws inevitably end up creating damage to himself. God knows this as well.

Our response to this verse should be one of taking a deep look at our actions and using them to measure our heart. Do we love, or are we indifferent?

That Which The Lord Hates part 1

(Proverbs 6:16-19) There are six things that the LORD hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.

We don't like to use the word "hate" much in our culture. It is such a "negative" word, and we want to live in a positive place - a place where we are affirmed and grow and prosper, where peace abounds aplenty and there is no conflict.

Much of the current view of God is that He is loving, which means to many that He will bring "good" upon us (meaning stuff we want). When we mention things like God's wrath, God's punishment, sin, God's anger - this can take one aback a little. Whoa, a kind, tender, loving God wouldn't get angry or punish - well, He might "time out" or "scold", but not bring down His ire like thunder on a mountain!

Well, He has and promises He will. Our vision of God is often this big, huggable guy - the friendly giant, the sweet old man next door (some even paint Him as the nice grandma, but that's another blog, another time). We fail to realize that God is as complex and multi-dimensional as we are and even more so.

Scripture tells us that He has emotions. Not the out-of-control, mind-of-their-own human-type emotions but perfect emotions (why wouldn't they be perfect, He is God?) So God reacts perfectly to every situation. He knows how to perfectly respond so that His attributes of perfect mercy and perfect justice are met as well.

God warns us about the things that make Him mad. The passage at the start of this is one of them. There are more.

If my dad said to me, "Tom, stop talking" guess what, I shut up. If I didn't I would "get in trouble". This could be any number of options, but if he said "Tom, stop talking or I will spank you" then that pretty much cleared things up. I would usually shut up.

That is how God has done this. He has warned us (pointed out that which is a sin) and given us the consequences (usually eternal time out - death by separation from Him, which also means that we are no longer under His protection from pain, suffering, etc.).

If you are a true Christian, one who is repentant of sin and under the Lordship of Christ, meaning that you are no longer living for yourself but living for Christ, then that means someone else did your punishment for your sins, which is a pretty wonderful thing to me, personally.

So my attempts at obedience to Christ is out of love for Him for what He did rather than out of fear of God for what He says He will do because I sin. This is the essence of the Christian walk - to love Christ more through knowing Him deeper by obedience to Him. That is our response to the Cross.

I will get into the specifics of "That Which The Lord Hates" in more blogs as I look at our response to Proverbs 6:16-19

For His Glory,
Tom

The Sense of Christ's Death

Clostridiophile said...

Also, Christians are never very explicit on how God having himself killed by us (which makes no sense) makes it easier for him to forgive sins that he knew in advance we would commit. Care to explain?

We don't really say that it makes it "easier" for Him to forgive our sins, we say that it DID forgive our sins.

For example, my step-son recently got a ticket for not wearing a seat belt. $65.

Now, he could have whined about how unfair that was. He was only not wearing his seat belt. It wasn't hurting anyone else, etc. But he didn't - because his dad paid the fine for him. His dad took on the punishment for his child. His dad was out the money so his son was free from the burden of the ticket.

This is what Christ (God) did on the cross. He paid our $65. The punishment for our sin was "paid" by someone else.

Now, my step-son had been told by driver's ed, told by us, most likely told by his dad, that he should always wear a seat belt. It was a good idea for him to do. It was safer. It was the law, and there was a fine if you did not wear it and got caught. He knew all this in advance, but still refused to wear his belt. In fact, we (his parents) all knew that we was not wearing his belt.

You're right, though, in that it does not make sense.

My step-son's dad should not have paid the ticket. It would have been a better lesson for him to have paid the fine himself.

The problem was that he did not have the money. Ignoring the ticket could result in a license suspension, larger fines, bench warrant, an arrest, even jail. His dad loves his son, so it was not "easier" but it was out of that love that he paid the fine for his son.

Now, as a result, my step-son should have with a greater appreciation for his dad, who sacrificed his own money for the benefit of his son. This should also help him to remember to buckle up, because of what his dad did for him.

It is out of love for us - even though we have broken His laws, we have spurned Him, we have opposed Him, we have been His enemy - that He sacrificed Himself on the cross.

If not for Christ would I have to kill Homosexuals?

Clostridiophile said...

"Now, why am I not running out stoning or executing men who have sex with other men or adulterers or my children who curse me? Because in Matthew 5:17 Christ tells us He is the fulfillment of the Law."

Oh, so if it had not said this, and you only had the OT to go by...you would kill homosexuals..or anyone for that matter due to something a book tells you?

Well, since I committed adultery, I engaged in homosexual behavior myself, I participated in the murder (through abortion) of my children - so I would not be doing the stoning, I would be stoned.

It is interesting that so many focus on the punishment or consequences, trying to make them seem extreme or unfair - and they are - from our point of view since we are the ones who could be the recipients of the punishment. Unfairness is always unfair in the eyes of the person on the short end of the stick, even if they chose that stick themselves. The guilty either proclaim their innocence or the injustice of their punishment.

Now, when we, meaning people, make laws, we don't usually make the consequences based on how we would feel if we had to serve that punishment. No, we based the punishment on how severely we view the crime, so, obviously, God views these "crimes" - adultery, homosexual actions, etc as very severe.

Why? because they pervert His image (we are made in His image) thus smearing His Name.

This may not seem like a big deal to you, but to God, it is very important.
This may seem tyrannical. This may seem petty. This may seem like overkill on God's part, but we cannot possibly see something totally from God's perspective.

We close our eyes, though, to the evidence. The pain and suffering that is brought about by our sins, not only to others but to ourselves.

In love, God says do not do these actions. In justice, He says these are the consequences and they must be exacted (or it would not be justice). In mercy, He "became sin for us" and took the consequences Himself. In charity, He offers the choice to each of us - repent of our sins and receive Christ - or - take the punishment on yourself.