God Judging Haiti, Pat Robertson, and a Conculsion…

 

 So I have been really disturbed by Pat Robertson’s recent talk about why Haiti had the earthquake. He seemed to be telling the world that because Haiti is the voodoo capital of the world that they brought this upon themselves, and this is God’s Judgement.

You see it here

I have a few things to say about God and Punishment, and why I don’t in any way shape or form believe Pat Robertson in this.

But first lets see if Pat Robertson’s facts hold up…. There in fact was a voodoo ceremony in 1791 and they did in fact call upon the voodoo spirits and slaughtered a pig. I do believe that vodoo is a Satanic religion and Ill discuss that later, but I do believe that they made a pact with the devil.

However does this mean that curses will be upon them? What scripture do we have that backs this up? Why would a natural disaster come upon them even if the whole island were devil worshippers. (which they are not, I have been there)

To understand what I believe Pat Robertson is trying to get at we have to look at the Old Testament.

Yes, Israel did have curses of natural causes when they disobeyed the commandments of God, they went into exile, there were draughts, and all of that. However, there is a distinct difference. Israel was God’s Kingdom on Earth!! He made a covenant with them, they knew their punishment if they turned their back on him. It never came as a surprise. Furthermore, there were prophets that before every disaster would call out to the nation REPENT!! We are going the wrong way REPENT or this is going to happen!

It was known what was going to happen to Israel if they did not obey.

However, Haiti is not Israel, God never made a covenant with Haiti.

Plus this is no longer a New Testament doctrine. God’s Kingdom is in our hearts, in the Church not a country. And Jesus addresses this issue in Luke 13:1-5. (Funny I’m citing scripture and Robertson had none)

Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”

So there were these two things that happened, the people Pilate killed and the tower that fell, and Jesus says right here, “Were they worse sinners?” No they weren’t just because something horrible happened does not mean they were worse sinners. Just because an earthquake happened in Haiti does not mean that they are worse sinners.

Even if it was God, where is the Prophet warning the people? What kind of God would kill 200,000 people without giving them a warning? I do not believe that the earthquake was because God cursed Haiti.

See, if we play this little idea of Pat Robertson’s out then there are some countries that are not getting their share of Natural disasters, and some that have a strong Christian presence that are getting too much.

However before I conclude, I would like to add something that is important to know. About 2 days after the Haitian earthquake a 6.3 earthquake hit The Northern California Coast, there was little damage. Haiti I believe is in an incredible state of poverty partially because of the extreme evil that is in that place. They have been plaqued with malicious leaders that have raped the land and impoverished the people. They live in fear of militias and kidnappings, I do believe that this stems from the great amount of voodoo there. Voodoo is evil and when people follow that their hearts are evil. However the evil and the oppression is caused by the people and where their hearts are, not by God.

For example, Hurricanes are extremely dangerous to Haiti, more than most Caribbean islands, but why? Well, one of the Haitian presidents wanted to make a lot of money so he completely deforested the entire country. Now when they have a lot of rain there are mudslides and  massive flooding, not caused by the hurricans entirly, but the peoples’ actions.

The 7.0 earthquake is devastating, but in part,s because the building were build without the knowledge or the skill to make them earthquake resistant. This stems form the poverty and the oppression of the people by evil presidents and leaders, once again not by God.

 Like the end of the scripture cited we shouldn’t worry about if they were worse sinners than us, but give our lives to Christ and be changed or we all will perish.

All in all we need to pray and support Haiti. We need to share Jesus in this time.

Please Pray for Haiti.

In Him,

JC Elliott

Ecclesiastes Exposed (Ecc. 1:1-11)

Welcome to our new study on the book of Ecclesiastes. This is the forgotten, neglected book of the Bible, journey with us as we struggle to unravel is confusing book and see how it relates to us today.

Find it here

or heismightytosave.podbean.com

In Him,

JC

Building with the Rejected Stone…

Why we should build our house with the Stone the Builders Rejected.

Find it here

or

heismightytosave.podbean.com

In Him,

JC Elliott

Obama’s Acceptance Speech….30,000 New Tropops…And a Nobel Peace Prize

Well, today I heard President Obama’s acceptance speech for the Nobel Peace prize.

 

First off does anyone see the irony of anyone receiving the Nobel Peace Prize who just deployed 30,000 troops. I think I remember a guy named Caesar who proclaimed Peace through Victory….Humm….History does repeat itself doesn’t it.

Second, I really want to know what he did to deserve it? No one has been able to answer that for me?  Only 19% of Americans believe he deserves it.

 Here is the speech

Here is what would happen if Kanye was there.

During Obama’s acceptance speech he often quoted Martin Luther King Jr. in telling that we should strive for non-violence, in all occasions, but he also seemed to call this an ideal, and unrealistic. Here are a few quotes

I come here with an acute sense of the cost of armed conflict – filled with difficult questions about the relationship between war and peace, and our effort to replace one with the other.These questions are not new. War, in one form or another, appeared with the first man. At the dawn of history, its morality was not questioned; it was simply a fact, like drought or disease – the manner in which tribes and then civilizations sought power and settled their differences.

We must begin by acknowledging the hard truth that we will not eradicate violent conflict in our lifetimes. There will be times when nations – acting individually or in concert – will find the use of force not only necessary but morally justified.

I make this statement mindful of what Martin Luther King said in this same ceremony years ago – “Violence never brings permanent peace. It solves no social problem: it merely creates new and more complicated ones.” As someone who stands here as a direct consequence of Dr. King’s life’s work, I am living testimony to the moral force of non-violence. I know there is nothing weak –nothing passive – nothing naïve – in the creed and lives of Gandhi and King.

…not to mention Jesus who King worshipped and drew his conclusions about non-violence from..

For make no mistake: evil does exist in the world. A non-violent movement could not have halted Hitler’s armies.  To say that force is sometimes necessary is not a call to cynicism – it is a recognition of history; the imperfections of man and the limits of reason.

 

…so Jesus was just saying nice things about non-violence in his sermon on the mound? Was he oblivious to mans “imperfections” and “limits”?

I believe that force can be justified on humanitarian grounds, as it was in the Balkans, or in other places that have been scarred by war. Inaction tears at our conscience and can lead to more costly intervention later. That is why all responsible nations must embrace the role that militaries with a clear mandate can play to keep the peace.

 We do not have to live in an idealized world to still reach for those ideals that will make it a better place. The non-violence practiced by men like Gandhi and King may not have been practical or possible in every circumstance, but the love that they preached – their faith in human progress – must always be the North Star that guides us on our journey. We do not have to live in an idealized world to still reach for those ideals that will make it a better place. The non-violence practiced by men like Gandhi and King may not have been practical or possible in every circumstance, but the love that they preached – their faith in human progress – must always be the North Star that guides us on our journey.

 

…So basically you think peace and non-violence are great ideas that just don’t make sense. Thats like saying,” I like what you preach Dr. King and I will fight to promote that.”

I was outraged this morning when I heard that. I really don’t like it when people say…well I wish non-violence and peace worked, but it doesn’t. It doesn’t because you don’t give it your chance. You have to be like King and Jesus you have to be willing to die for it. Without that sacrifice your fight is meaningless. If Dr. King would have shot back, the movement he started would have failed. If Jesus would have fought back, humans would still be lost. In order to really see the fruits of loving your enemies you have to be willing to die for them. If you want to see what true love is you have to die for you enemies as well as your friends.

Plus no where in his speech did Obama talk about how Jesus gave the world these ideas, and how he preached love. He only talked about King and Gandhi. Those guys were nice, but they got their ideas from Jesus. I was really heated this morning.

I can’t belive both liberals who oppose war are allowing their president to say this. I can’t believe conservatives aren’t all over this because he is justifying this. And I can’t believe the nominating committee let him walk away with the award.

He basically said….I will keep fighting for peace…..the greated oxymoron ever.

In Him,

JC

Question and Answers Sermon…

I answered a bunch of student questions and they had some really really good questions. It was all on the spot of sorry for my random Bible quotes.

Find it here

or

heismightytosave.podbean.com

In Him,

JC Elliott

Questions Answered pt.1… Is Jesus the only way

Last week during service we had the students ask any and all questions they had about God, church, life, love, Bible…anything.

The Questions we Got were awesome. but there were too many to answer, so Ill answer the rest here.

 

Question 1.

“If we are Christians and we are positive that Jesus is the one and only God, and we know we are right. What about every other religion that thinks they are right too? How do we know we are correct?”

 

The Cheapness of Grace

How the modern Church came to the idea that there is Christianity without Discipleship.

Here

heismightytosave.podbean.com

 

In Him,

 JC Elliott

Cheap Grace vs Costly Grace…

I am reading a book by Dietrich Bonhoeffer called Cost of Discipleship. This book starts out talking about Cheap Grace and I have always though what he said but I had to share it with you.

 

 

What is Cheap Grace?

Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession…. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate. p47

 

What is Costly Grace then?

Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock. Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life. It is costly because it condemns sin, and grace because it justifies the sinner. Above all, it is costly because it cost God the life of his Son: “ye were bought at a price,” and what has cost God much cannot be cheap for us.

 

Our Churches today are filled with cheap grace. We preach that we can obtain salvation without purifying ourselves. We preach that if you say this certain prayer, and “believe in your heart” that Jesus is Lord, you have got it, congrats your saved from hell. End of story.  But is this the end of the story? Is that all there is to believing in Jesus. What about everyone who does it once, but then it never changes their being, changes their heart changes who they are? This is the parable of the sewer and the scattering of the seed.

We get this idea that all salvation  is a prayer from a couple of places. When  John says in 1 John 4 who ever acknowledges Jesus is Lord, Jesus is in him. The second story is where Paul tells the prison guard that he must confess and believe. These are great, but a bit taken too far, I think, farther than the author intended.

 

Jesus says some things, he says that to follow him we must die to ourselves, everything we used to be. He tells someone that he must give up his riches, he tells Nicodemus that he must be born again, a symbol that we must die to ourselves and be born a new being. Following Jesus must be strived for. We must want to come to him again and again, confess, purify, and continue to go out following him taking up our crosses.

 

Jesus grace is free….but its not Cheap.

 

There is a saying, “What you win people to Jesus with is what you win them to.” I believe this, if we present the gospel as cheap, something that is fire insurance, we will probably not create disciples that want changes and devote their lives to Christ. However, if we preach a savior from the world, someone that demands your life, but will give you life abundantly then maybe we will have Christians that will change the world, because they are not from this world. We might have less believers, but we will have more devoted ones, I mean Jesus changed the world with 11.

 

In Him,

JC

Intro. How to Wash Feet

If you saw Jesus pulled over on the side of the road, would you stop to help him? Maybe he is.

 Find the talk here

 

heismightytsave.podbean.com

 

 

In Him, JC Elliott

 

Feasting While Fasting

My lastest podcast on the Disciplines…you can find it

here

 or

heismightytosave.podbean.com

 

Enjoy.