[Video] The Dark Side of Chocolate

For those of us who want/need a reason to stay away from chocolate this Valentine's Day, the documentary "The Dark Side of Chocolate" offers one very good one (Hint: It's probably not what you think it is.)

I was on youtube watching a video on the negative health effects of sugar, and one of the related videos was one titled "The Dark Side of Chocolate". Since I had just finished watching a video on health, I naturally thought that this chocolate video would talk about how eating chocolate is bad for me. What I discovered was something completely different. Here's the trailer.



If you want to watch the video in its entirety you can do it here, and you can visit the website here. Suffice it to say that I won't be buying chocolate anymore. I also plan on writing about some of the issues presented in this video in a later post, so stay tuned.

Have a Happy (Chocolate-free?) Valentine's Day.

Just A Game?

Courtesy blog.apimages.com

Why people, especially Christians, should rethink how they view sports.

They stood in stunned silence, some openly wept, while others cried silently. An elderly man comforted a small girl. Many who saw the event on television left the room in tears, unable to bear the sight. What had these people seen? A terrorist attack? A mass shooting? The assassination of a beloved dignitary? Sadly, none of the above. They witnessed the Brazilian football (soccer) team lose badly in the quarterfinals of the World Cup.

There was one picture of a woman that pushed me over the edge. Seen out of context one would have thought that she had received the news that her child had been brutally murdered. I thought that something is out of control here, something must be done. Therefore I decided to write this post because as the saying goes, better to light a candle than simply curse the darkness. The following are a few reasons why I think that people, especially Christians, should rethink how they view sports in general.

Loss of Perspective

I put this one at the top of the list because it provides a foundation for all the other issues. Sports easily becomes the highest priority in people's lives. So that if our favorite team or individual wins or loses, we win or lose. Everything else becomes less important then the game or match. Vince Lombardi, a famous coach of American football is quoted as saying, "Winning isn't everything. It's the only thing." Such an attitude goes completely against one of the primary tenets of Christianity (as well as Judaism) which is "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." God should be the primary focus in a person's life, anything that tries to take one's focus off of God should be avoided.

Waste of Time/Money


It's no secret that there is a lot of money in sports. CNBC reported that Brazil spent over 11 billion dollars (US) on its preparation for the latest World Cup. Sadly, such spending is not too far from normal. Alongside the massive spending of major organizations comes the individual spending of those who watch the games and/or buy sport-related merchandise. In a world with so much need on so many levels, can we honestly say that God is happy when we spend money on things that merely entertain ourselves?

Some may say that they don't spend any on sports. They don't buy merchandise, go to games, or even host game-watching parties, they simply watch the games for free. However, in so doing, they spend a much more valuable resource, time. Money spent can be earned back, but time spent is lost forever. Again, how can God be happy when we spend time on things that merely entertain ourselves?

Us versus Them

Finally, sports creates an "us vs. them" mindset with our favorite team being against your favorite team, and ultimately me against you. I've written on this mindset before (here and here), so I won't go into much detail other than to say that I have experienced this first hand both in person and via social media. What makes this worse is that all the people involved in the confrontations, taunting, and general unChristlike behavior I witnessed claimed to be followers of Christ. People already talk too much about the hypocrisy of Christians, do we really need to add fuel to the fire?

Think About It

I hope this post has gotten you thinking. What we see and do ultimately affects who we are. Do we really need to spend so much time, energy, etc. on sports? I'll let you come to your own conclusion on the matter. I hope that you come to the right one and start living a life less influenced by the sporting world.

Prosperous Followers of a Humble God

Courtesy hellemanworld.blogspot.com

Although still far from the ideal, when it comes to living simple lives, the leaders of the Roman Catholic Church and their Evangelical counterparts seem to be going in different directions.

An Early Contrast

A favorite story of mine from the Protestant Reformation talks about an anonymous painter who painted what could be considered an early form of a political cartoon. The painting made a comparison between the "Triumphal Entry" of Jesus and a papal procession. As many of you know the "Triumphal Entry" was the time when Jesus entered Jerusalem shortly before his crucifixion. At that time, Jesus rode in on a borrowed donkey wearing his relatively simple clothes while the people honored him by waving palm branches (from where we get the term "Palm Sunday"), and placing some of their clothes on the path in front of Him. Alongside this depiction, the painter showed a customary medieval papal procession with the many cardinals and bishops in their rich robes astride highly-adorned show horses surrounding the pope on a decorative cart wearing his tailor-made robe and golden triple-miter crown.

Papal Reforms

A lot has changed from those days when the papacy seemed quite content to show everyone how much riches and wealth it had acquired. With the installation of the newest pope, the papacy has taken a different tack in appealing to the masses. Much has been written regarding Pope Francis' aversion to pomp and extravagance, so I will not rehash the details other than to say he goes to great lengths to at least appear to be like one of us. The pope strives to apply this philosophy to all levels of Roman Catholic leadership, and led to the resignation of the infamous "Bishop of Bling", as well as an apology from an Atlanta, Georgia archbishop who built a $2.2 million Tudor-style mansion for himself. No such apologies will be coming from Evangelical leaders here in the United States. In fact, one would get quite the opposite response.

Proponents of Private Prosperity

In case you haven't already figured it out, I'm referring to proponent of the so called "Prosperity Gospel" or "Prosperity Theology". Wikipedia defines the belief in this way.

". . . a Christian religious doctrine that financial blessing is the will of God for Christians, and that faith, positive speech, and donations to Christian ministries will always increase one's material wealth. Based on non-traditional interpretations of the Bible, often with emphasis on the Book of Malachi, the doctrine views the Bible as a contract between God and humans: if humans have faith in God, he will deliver his promises of security and prosperity. Confessing these promises to be true is perceived as an act of faith, which God will honor."

What makes this even more interesting is that many of the major organizations that promote such theology are registered in the United States as a "church" which not only gives them tax-free status, but also frees them from any legal obligation to disclose how they use money that they receive. (This is compared to being registered as a "religious organization" which still allows them to be tax-free, but they would have to file an IRS Form 990 to disclose their financial information.) Some Christians went even further and formed the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (EFCA). Accreditation with the EFCA gives a church or non-profit an opportunity to be even more transparent because members are listed on its website. (In case you are wondering which organizations do what, you can view a list of the thirty leading religious broadcasters here.) Sadly the majority of these "churches" shun transparency which leaves many wondering what they have to hide, and which God they truly follow.

A Much Different Picture

More importantly, which God do we follow? The humble itinerant preacher who had no place to call home, or the God who supposedly states that we should get as much wealth on earth as we possibly can? Although we may shake our heads in disbelief at these examples of extravagance, do we secretly wish that we had more money and possessions? Do we strive to be comfortable or seek to sacrifice? If a painter were to paint a picture of our life in comparison to the lives of the majority of today's society, how would we compare?

[Devotional] The Joy of Giving

Here's another one of those devotionals that I first mentioned in my previous post.  Be blessed.

The Joy of Giving
by Mary Southerland

Today’s Truth

2 Corinthians 9:7 (NCV): "Each one should give as you have decided in your heart to give. You should not be sad when you give, and you should not give because you feel forced to give. God loves the person who gives happily."

Friend to Friend

One of my favorite authors, Richard Foster, writes, "Giving with glad and generous hearts has a way of routing out the tough old miser within us. Even the poor need to know that they can give. Just the very act of letting go of money, or some other treasure, does something within us. It destroys the demon greed." God loves to see us give for no other reason than the joy of giving.

The true story is told of a self-made millionaire who had lived in New York City his entire life. Born and raised in a ghetto, he worked hard and achieved much. Anyone who knew this man would testify to the fact that he was generous--to a fault, some would say. One year, the man was disturbed by an attitude of selfishness and greed that seemed to pervade the Christmas holiday season and everyone around him. Not one to condemn, the millionaire decided that since he had been given so much, it was up to him to do his part in combating greed and came up with an unusual plan. Wearing a disguise, this man stuffed his pockets with $100 dollar bills and set out for a walk on the streets of New York City. When he saw someone in need, he whipped out one of the bills, pressed it into that person's hands and with a "Merry Christmas," made his way down the street. "It was the most wonderful part of my holiday season," the man reported, and he has been doing it every since.

God is much more interested in our motive for giving than in the gift itself. If that motive is tainted with greed, the gift simply does not count. A powerful way to guard against greed is to choose joy over greed. Giving with joy is Kingdom giving! Before you give, ask yourself, "What’s in it for me?" If the answer is "nothing," then go ahead and give the gift.

When our children were in middle school, we owned what I affectionately called a "Mini-Gym." It was a set of bar bells, a weight lifting bench and a few free weights. Both Jered and Danna loved their "gym" and used it almost every day. When Christmas rolled around, we learned that two of their good friends, Jeff and Jeremy, were not going to have much of a Christmas because their dad had lost his job. Jered came up with a plan. "Mom," he said, "Danna and I have talked about it. We think that Jeff and Jeremy would love to have the gym. But we don’t want them to know we gave it to them, because they might be embarrassed. What do you think?" I thought I was in the presence of two joyful givers and quickly joined them in their plan.

A few days before Christmas, Jered and I took the gym apart and loaded it in our car while Danna found a huge red bow. Together, we made a sign that read, "Merry Christmas! We love you!" Danna blew up balloons while Jered dug out some Christmas lights. We enlisted the help of a neighbor who had a key to our friend’s house and joined in the fun by agreeing to find out when the coast was clear, unlocking the back door and letting us in. At the designated time, off we went, laughing and singing Christmas carols. We parked down the street until the neighbor called, giggling, to let us know she was all set. Once we were inside, we raced to assemble the gym, post the sign, tie the balloons and tape the lights to the front door, leading our friends to their Christmas surprise on the back porch. We then high-tailed it home as if the FBI was hot on our trail! The neighbor reported that just minutes after the boys returned, she heard shouting and "whooping and hollering." The joy of that Christmas still lingers today. Greed doesn’t hold a candle to joyful giving!

Greed is never satisfied and never at rest. There is always something more to be gained and someone else to outdo. Take sheep, for example. Sheep are dumb enough to eat until they are sick. They simply do not know when to stop. A heart that is filled with greed behaves the same way. I am afraid our heart motives are all too frequently self-serving when it comes to giving. Our pride is at stake, so we give to impress others. Perhaps, we give out of fear and guilt, hoping to buy God's forgiveness from our sin. People are watching, so we give in order to gain their approval. What is the solution? Giving! Giving is a powerfully effective deterrent to greed when we give for no other reason than the joy of giving.

Proverbs 11:24-25: "Some people give much but get back even more. Others don’t give what they should and end up poor. Whoever gives to others will get richer; those who help others will themselves be helped."

I once read an article that described three types of givers. The first kind of giver is the "flint." To get anything out of a flint, you have to hammer it, and even then, you only get chips and sparks. A second kind of giver is the "sponge." You have to squeeze it and the more pressure you use, the more you will get. The third kind of giver is the honeycomb. It just overflows. What kind of giver are you? Experience the joy of Christmas when you experience the joy of giving. Merry Christmas!

Let's Pray

Father, thank You for all You have given me. Help me to be the kind of giver that points people to You. I choose against my pride or any wrong motive for giving Christmas gifts this year. I choose to keep my eyes on You and my glance on the world. I love you! In Jesus' name, amen.

Now It's Your Turn

We make a living by what we get out of life, but we make a life by what we give and how we give it. Beecher wrote, "No man can tell whether he is rich or poor by turning to his ledger. The heart makes a man rich. He is rich or poor according to what he is, not according to what he has." How do these words relate to your life this Christmas?

Take inventory of your "stuff." Make an actual list. Then set aside a time of prayer and solitude during which you give each one to God.

Consider giving an anonymous gift and recruit your family to help.

Lost in Our Own Home

"The Lost Drachma" by James Tissot
Courtesy Brooklyn Museum

When God looks for us sometimes He doesn't have to go very far to find us.

In my last post, I wrote about a story involving God looking for someone who has wandered far away.  Today's story involves a similar scenario, but with a twist.  The searcher doesn't have to go far to find that which was lost, but that doesn't make the search any easier.

This story involves a woman should have ten pieces of silver, but only has nine.  She knows that the silver pieces have never left the house, so the missing one must be around somewhere.  No doubt we can identify with her situation in one way or another.  At one point or another we have lost something in our own homes; something valuable, i. e. our keys.  We know that they are in our home somewhere because the car is here and we are inside, but for the life of us we cannot find them.  The situation often becomes more intense by the fact that we need to go to an appointment, work, or some other time-sensitive engagement.  We leave "no stone unturned" as the saying goes, in our search for our missing item.

In the story involving the woman she has no appointment to go to, but she still desperately needs to find that silver piece.  She lives in a time and place where women received a dowry, and she wishes to pass these silver pieces on to her daughter, all of them.  An incomplete set simply will not do.  The loss of even one of these pieces would be a serious problem.  The poverty in which she lives only serves to compound her anxiety.  So she cleans the entire house looking for this piece of silver, and great rejoicing comes as a result of her finally finding it.

One of the main differences that exist between this story and the one with the lost sheep is that the sheep knows it's in trouble.  It knows it has done/is doing things that aren't right.  It knows that it needs help; needs to be found.  On the other hand, people represented by the piece of silver think that they are doing alright.  They often profess to be believers in God, and may be quite active in their respective churches, communities, etc.  They may also be out there "in the world" and have become desensitized to their true need of God.  They think these ways while all the time living under the same roof as faithful believers.

People in this category often receive harsh treatment, the religious ones being called "hypocrites" and being used as an excuse by those in open rebellion as the reason they rebelled.  The non-religious ones often receive the label "lost cause" and people do not even try to reach out to them.  We need to be crystal clear that these people have as much value and need to be sought after as much, or even more than, those who have openly gone away from God.  One author put it this way.

"The coin, though lying among dust and rubbish, is a piece of silver still. Its owner seeks it because it is of value. So every soul, however degraded by sin, is in God's sight accounted precious. As the coin bears the image and superscription of the reigning power, so man at his creation bore the image and superscription of God; and though now marred and dim through the influence of sin, the traces of this inscription remain upon every soul. God desires to recover that soul and to retrace upon it His own image in righteousness and holiness"  Christ's Object Lessons pg. 194

This simple truth remains, God loves everyone, even those who have no feeling, no real sense, that they walk the wrong path, and in order for these "coins" to be found we need to have that same love for them in our hearts.

Judas and Pilate: Parallel Paths to Perdition

The parallel lives of two of history's most infamous men bear solemn warnings for us today.

As some of you may know I have been making my way through the definitive book on the life of Jesus, The Desire of Ages by E.G. White.  I am almost finished (when I'm done I'll do a full review), which, as you may have guessed, means that I am reading about the final events of Jesus' life here on earth.  In the past two chapters I have read, White has gone into more detail about two of the darker players in the drama, Judas Iscariot and Pontius Pilate.  As I was out on a walk I was struck with the thought how similar the life path's of these two men were, and how those paths ultimately ended in a premature death.

White devotes an entire chapter of the book to Judas, and paints a very solemn picture in regards to his life.  I was struck with how far gone this man really was even before his betrayal of his alleged master (I'll get to the "alleged" part in a moment).  The chapter opens in this way.

"The history of Judas presents the sad ending of a life that might have been honored of God. Had Judas died before his last journey to Jerusalem he would have been regarded as a man worthy of a place among the twelve, and one who would be greatly missed. The abhorrence which has followed him through the centuries would not have existed but for the attributes revealed at the close of his history. But it was for a purpose that his character was laid open to the world. It was to be a warning to all who, like him, should betray sacred trusts." pg. 716

I find it interesting that nobody would have known what he was capable of if he had died an earlier death.  It is difficult for many to comprehend that people could have seen Judas as a good guy because we all look backwards through the lens of the betrayal.  Those living and interacting with him could easily have been fooled by the charade that he was acting out to make himself seem righteous.  However, beneath the veneer was something much more sinister.

"Judas had naturally a strong love for money; but he had not always been corrupt enough to do such a deed as this. He had fostered the evil spirit of avarice until it had become the ruling motive of his life. The love of mammon overbalanced his love for Christ. Through becoming the slave of one vice he gave himself to Satan, to be driven to any lengths in sin." Ibid

This is what I was referring to earlier when I stated that Jesus was his "alleged master".  The role of conscientious disciple was simply a cover to further his own gains.

Judas was constantly chafing at Jesus' humility and refusal to set up an earthly kingdom.  Jesus, of course, was quite aware of what was going on even if nobody else was.

"In all that Christ said to His disciples, there was something with which, in heart, Judas disagreed. Under his influence the leaven of disaffection was fast doing its work. The disciples did not see the real agency in all this; but Jesus saw that Satan was communicating his attributes to Judas, and thus opening up a channel through which to influence the other disciples. This, a year before the betrayal, Christ declared. "Have not I chosen you twelve," He said, "and one of you is a devil?" John 6:70."  pg. 718

We often look at that statement in light of the betrayal, but Judas was working against Jesus the entire way.  However, as hard as his heart was there were still chances to repent.  He did not take advantage of them, and as we know from the biblical account, Judas went out and hanged himself.

Pontius Pilate also gets a chapter in the book.  This chapter is less of a character study as the previous one, but still deals a fair amount with how one's choices can cause their life to go horribly wrong.  In contrast to Judas, there was much less mystery regarding Pilate's true character traits.  People knew what he was like.

"The priests thought that with the weak and vacillating Pilate they could carry through their plans without trouble. Before this he had signed the death warrant hastily, condemning to death men they knew were not worthy of death. In his estimation the life of a prisoner was of little account; whether he were innocent or guilty was of no special consequence."  pg. 725

Despite the weakness, vacillation, etc. Pilate could not bring himself to condemn Jesus.  He was impressed with the way He carried Himself in the midst of the mob.  That, coupled with the positive reports Pilate had previously heard, did not match with the accusations being hurled at Him by the priests.  He asked for a private interview.

Jesus took full advantage of this time to try and win Pilate over to the side of truth, but Pilate did not surrender himself to the prodding of the Holy Spirit, and as White put it, "Pilate's golden opportunity had passed."  This wasn't the only opportunity he missed.

"If at the first Pilate had stood firm, refusing to condemn a man whom he found guiltless, he would have broken the fatal chain that was to bind him in remorse and guilt as long as he lived. Had he carried out his convictions of right, the Jews would not have presumed to dictate to him. Christ would have been put to death, but the guilt would not have rested upon Pilate. But Pilate had taken step after step in the violation of his conscience. He had excused himself from judging with justice and equity, and he now found himself almost helpless in the hands of the priests and rulers. His wavering and indecision proved his ruin."  pg. 732

He chose to save himself instead of saving Jesus.  A choice that always backfires.

"Pilate longed to deliver Jesus. But he saw that he could not do this, and yet retain his own position and honor. . . . Pilate yielded to the demands of the mob. Rather than risk losing his position, he delivered Jesus up to be crucified. But in spite of his precautions, the very thing he dreaded afterward came upon him. His honors were stripped from him, he was cast down from his high office, and, stung by remorse and wounded pride, not long after the crucifixion he ended his own life."  pg 738

So here are two men, both came in contact with the Son of God, both chose to live for themselves rather than live for Him, and both ultimately ending dying by their own hand.  Every moment of every day we must make the choices that they did not make, lest our fate be similar to theirs.

A Liberal Church

God wants our church to be more liberal, but not in the way you may think.

I have decided that in addition to sharing with you my thoughts on the Psalms that I will also post my thoughts on other books I have been reading. I have been reading the book "The Acts of the Apostles" by E.G. White and decided that I should start sharing from there as well. I have found that by sharing my thoughts with others that I have been blessed because it does something for me to put my thoughts into words. So with that being said, here we go.

The chapter I have just read has the same title as this post. I find it's subject especially pertinent in today's society because it deals mainly with something we think about regularly, money. (I will only share brief paragraphs from this chapter. I strongly encourage you to read it in it's entirety, and you can do that here.) The first paragraph that struck me is as follows.

As God's work extends, calls for help will come more and more frequently. That these calls may be answered, Christians should heed the command, "Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in Mine house." Malachi 3:10. If professing Christians would faithfully bring to God their tithes and offerings, His treasury would be full. There would then be no occasion to resort to fairs, lotteries, or parties of pleasure to secure funds for the support of the gospel. pg. 338

I have had the pleasure of visiting many churches in my relatively short life, and it seems that almost everywhere I went there was a shortage of money. Up economy or down economy, the situation was still the same. Some churches went to some creative means to procure money for their various ministries, but here Mrs. White wrote that all those means would be unnecessary if the members simply returned a faithful tithe and offering.

A former professor of mine, who was also a pastor, shared with the class an interesting pattern. He, or an invited speaker, would preach on tithing and stewardship, and subsequently the amount of tithe would go up. However, the level of offerings would go down. The people still gave the same amount just in different proportions. He came to the conclusion that you cannot get people to give more simply by preaching to them about giving. You get people to give more by preaching to them about the love of Christ. A thought that is also found in this chapter.

He whose heart is aglow with the love of Christ will regard it as not only a duty, but a pleasure, to aid in the advancement of the highest, holiest work committed to man --the work of presenting to the world the riches of goodness, mercy, and truth.  pgs. 338, 339

 An interesting concept is that you will give more to God's work if you are closer to Him and at the same time by giving to God's work you will become closer to Him.

Even the very poor should bring their offerings to God. They are to be sharers of the grace of Christ by denying self to help those whose need is more pressing than their own. The poor man's gift, the fruit of self-denial, comes up before God as fragrant incense. And every act of self-sacrifice strengthens the spirit of beneficence in the giver's heart, allying him more closely to the One who was rich, yet for our sakes became poor, that we through His poverty might be rich.  pg. 341

It's a win-win situation.

To sum it up, God's church would be a very different place if we were simply more liberal.

Is It All In Our Heads?

I have all but given up watching the news on TV as of late because the usual bad news is worse than usual, but during the commercial break of my sitcom rerun I switched over out of curiosity. They were talking about the usual stuff: how bad the economy is, how low the stock market is, etc. etc. After they ran their story about how some guy was ranting about how he didn't want his money used to help stupid people keep their homes that they couldn't afford, the news anchor was talking with their financial reporter in the studio. He remarked how it was all the foreclosures that started this whole economic tailspin. What was said next is what really caught my attention.

He mentioned how that he and the reporter often talk about the economy and that he was surprised to find out how many people actually pay their mortgage on time. The reporter then replied with this figure, 92%. (That's right, all this "Mortgage Crisis" is about the 8% of Americans who got in over their head and bought a home they couldn't afford.) The reporter continued and said that this just goes to show how much of today's economy is based on what might happen in the future. Companies, the people who run them, and the consumers that support them, are basically afraid that next month, next quarter, etc. might be worse than the one before and they act accordingly. We basically become a self-fulfilling prophecy; the cause of our own problem. Now I know that this is somewhat of an over-simplification, but you have to admit that if people were a bit less fearful, a bit less stressed out, things could be a lot different. Maybe not on a national scale, but definitely on a personal one.