Motivation behind the NYC Mosque?

What is the motivation behind the building of the NYC Mosque?  The Apostle Paul said of our Christian freedom in Jesus, “All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything. (1 Corinthians 6:12)”  Why would our President get involved in this clearly religious matter by stating their lawful right to do so?  It may be lawful, but is it profitable or beneficial for the U.S.?  And if we do, are we allowing ourselves to be mastered by a clearly opposing religious and politically motivated world view?

The followers of Islam have made it clear that the U.S. is the infidel to them, that we are worshippers of our wealth and arrogant.  Islam is clear in both its teaching and history as a religion of violence and domination whose goal is to eliminate the infidel.  Islam is not a religion of peace.  As seen in the video below, true believers of Islam cannot be friends with non believers and it teaches them to outwardly befriend but inwardly curse them.  If this is true, how can Muslims claim to want to build the symbol of their beliefs as an honor to those that Muslims killed and to what Muslims believe was the symbol of our worship as infidels, the World Trade Center?  And again why would our President get involved, other than knowing what the Quran teaches in this regard? 

My opinion is obvious.  But I am interested in what all of you think?  The can’s open, comment away.

Please take a moment before you comment to watch this short video?

Tough Love…

We’ve all heard the phrase “tough love”, maybe even experienced it in our adolescence as we clumsily navigated through some rebellious patch of our life growing up.  Hopefully you are not still stuck there.  It can be painful both as a parent and a recipient of tough love.  I however, have been experiencing tough love of a different nature lately and this morning took a moment to meditate on it.  What I’m dealing with is how love can be tough.  It’s hard to love people sometimes.

I have had a number of instances over the last year and especially recently where I was deeply struggling to feel and be loving toward people.  I have felt like the Apostle Paul in Romans where he said:

“For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not.”  Romans 7:18

Paul endured all kinds of things at the hands of other people and he struggled with doing the right thing, the loving thing.  He reveals our inner conflict between the spirit and the flesh in us.  I have a desire to do the loving thing but sometimes my mind is saying stick it to them.  We have a tendency to justify our feelings or subsequent actions, because after all we were done wrong, they are being unreasonable or we are the victim.  That all may be true but the conflict remains and reveals our true problem.  To be true to the Spirit in us, we must love and be loving. 

As I read Romans 5 I find the problem with and answer to my dilemma:

“and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the holy Spirit who was given to us.”  Romans 5:5

The demands of life and the demands of God are so great that I don’t have a chance to do right without Him.  God knows the selfish and self-preserving nature of our flesh.  We are without the hope of consistent love without the presence of the Holy Spirit in us.  Without Jesus and the gift of His Spirit we do not have the capacity to love the unloveable.  We will revert to our flesh and flesh will always protect flesh.  It defaults to self-preservation. 

However, even as a believer we will have to believe the promise of God’s love.  Through His Spirit He has poured out His love in our hearts giving us His capacity to love even in the harshest of conditions.  Love is tough, but its impossible without God’s love.  So before we begin to excuse our unloving behavior by what others have done to us, we need to draw deep from the well of God’s love and remember that even in moments of injustice and persecution God gives us the capacity to manifest the love of Jesus through our mortal flesh.

Love may be tough, but not impossible.

Who do you need to forgive today?

Insecurity in Church Movements…

Can’t we all just get along!  This expresses how I feel so many times when I read what people write about the church and others get their two cents worth in how they think.  I am all for a free … Continue reading →

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Love + Incarnational = Transformation

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I stopped by my Grand Mother’s house today to pick up some flowers she wanted us to have.  Granny Hobbs is 91 now and for as long as I can remember she has given everything away.  My daughter asked me, “Why … Continue reading →

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Grace and Freedom in Christ…

For those of you who are a part of The Dwelling Place, here is a great short message by Francis Chan on Freedom in Christ and Grace. Francis Chan: “Grace, Grace, Grace”  (This and other massages at http://www.cornerstonesimi.com)

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The effects of revelation…

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I was reflecting this morning on the effects of revelation on one’s life.  Paul speaks several places in scripture about the revelation of Christ and His gospel and  their impact upon his life.  This revelation had a death and life … Continue reading →

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