Saying "no" to Gambling in Illinois

I am usually silent on this issue but with the Governor's newest budget proposals I feel that I have to speak out. The Chicago Tribune is reporting that the Governor is expanding the place of gambling and using it to balance the budget. Rather than cutting spending, which is what every responsible family and institution is doing these days, Illinois is going to expand spending on some things that should simply wait. Among them 5 million dollars to Northwestern University, a private institution!

So why shouldn't we gamble?

While no passage of scripture explicitly forbids gambling, we can with confidence claim that gambling is wrong. We needn't be squeamish about calling calling gambling wrong because we have the intent of God revealed to us in Scripture.
Rev. Hershael York writes "...With good reason, Christians are hesitant to label sins that the Bible doesn’t mention, yet we often have to distill principles from the Bible that we apply to contemporary situations. Pornography, computer hacking, or cheating on tests aren’t mentioned in the Bible either, yet believers who want to live like Jesus know intuitively and correctly that these behaviors run counter to the will of God. While biblical texts may not mention them explicitly, biblical principles speak to them directly."

So why is gambling wrong?

First Gambling predominantly affects the poor. Not that wealthy people don't gamble but that the industry is based upon taking peoples money in games of chance largely stacked against them. this disproportionally affects the poor who have much less of a margin for mistakes in handling their money. Gambling houses, poker machines are in it to win. They don't go broke because the odds are stacked in their favor. YOU are the only one that is gambling... they are not.

Secondly, the concept of gambling is contrary to the way God intended man's economy to function. The Scriptures are replete with references like (Genesis 1:28-30, Colosians 3.23, 1 Thessalonians 4.11,5.12-13, 2 Thessalonians 3.10) We are created to work, to labor, to invest ourselves. It is so woven into the NT that help and mercy were not shown to those poor who were able bodied but didn't work! When you paint my garage for money- it is a win-win situation. Services or goods for money. Gambling is based on a win lose situation. There are winners (they be few!) and losers (by the score!).

Further,gambling plays to the basest instincts of men and women. It is based upon the sin of covetousness (Ex 20.17). This greatly overlooked sin of the ten commandments is the heart of gambling.

Also,gambling ignores the biblical principle of stewardship. This principle teaches that we are to be held responsible for the way we spend our life, our energy, and our money.

Gambling is addictive behavior. Even if it is not for me and you there are others who are being enticed into gambling by the way it is marketed. We never hear of the thousands of people who have lost cars, homes, and reputations due to gambling. But we are regularly treated to the visual of a person receiving an oversize check- why is that? When we gamble we participate in the ruination of lives.

So now the new governor wants to increase the number of video poker machines by 45000. They will be in bars, truck stops and restaurants through out the state. Your kids will hear of all the winners and never see the cost of gambling. And our children will pay the price of this lifestyle of greed. They are being taught that there is an easy way that doesn't involve working, investing, etc. This is directly contrary to the scriptural admonitions to work hard and live productive and quiet lives. Too bad we can't teach the government to do what we all have to do... tighten our belts, spend less on frivolous things, and work hard to benefit the rest of society.

Until then Illinois will be full of losers and very few winners!

Recipe for Restoration

To the Church in Ephesus


Rev 2.1“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands.

2“‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. 3I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary. 4But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. 5Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. 6Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 7He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.’

The Ephesian church was on the verge of crisis. It had been faithful and patient; they had been diligent and hardworking. They were bearing up under the pressure of demonic attack and spiritual warfare as well as the worldly influences that were assaulting them. Often we find ourselves on the brink of crisis because of the stress of living in our day and age and standing faithful for Christ. Like the Ephesians, we need the recipe for restoration.

1. Remember (v5)- the lofty heights of the intimacy that you once expereinced with Christ. It wasn't a fluke- it was the result of a devoted heart chasing hard after God. Find your first love again... love the Lord with everything in you.

2. Repent- otherwise you will be commiting spiritual suicide. All disobedience and rebellion is spiritual suicide. The Lord never wants to remove the anointing (lampstand) from our lives... that is always the discipline of the Lord to save us from ourselves.

3. Return -to your first works. Do the things that you once did when your hearts were on fire. Reading the Word, Radical prayer times, faithful obedience, etc.



When we practice these things, we avoid the impending spiritual crisis' of burnout,frustrations, and bitternesses and find again the joy of living in the love and service of a God who madly loves us.

Being Nice

Every year until now the family has gone on vacation. This year we rented a wonderful home on the beach in South Carolina (after visiting grandma for a day or so). The funny thing about vacations is that they often require a bunch of family members to be confined to small space, share meals for the week, and make decisions together. Here is my conclusion after being with the people that I love in cramped space for a week.

Close proximity demands being nice and being flexible.

It seems trite and perhaps, at first blush, a bit juvenile to say it. But being nice is important. Relationships are tough and hang on a thread many times- being nice is important to the survival of even the most tightly bonded relationships.

whether the relationships are family or working relationships there are demands placed upon the proximity. Though we are told to be nice since childhood we are loosing the art of being nice. Part of this is the disconnectedness of our generation. Electric media separates people. Our lack of being together places less demands on being nice. Politics, job relationships, family- etc they all show the lose of being nice. Below are some tips

1. Smile. Maybe just view everything positively.
2. Say hello. act friendly.
3. Ask people how they are doing. Ask some personal questions.
4. Be a good listener.
5. Be courteous.
6. Be positive.
7. Be humble.
8. Offer to help.
9.Be sincere.
10. Assume the best about others.

Remember the Golden Rule: Treat others the way you want to be treated. Even though some people may not be nice to you at first, they will the more they get to know you.

Practicing Happiness

I am reading a book on the Lost Virtue of Happiness. So far the authors seem to indicate that we have looked outside of our spirituality to find happiness that is, of course, really pseudo-happiness. What struck me was their insistance that happiness must be practiced to be deeply felt.

Likening life to a golf swing they insist that the bad habits must be worked out by practicing the correct swing. Likewise, they would insist, that life must be lived out by practicing the good until the bad is a distant memory. Deep spiritual change they say is a result of living out the spiritual disciplines. One of those is happiness. By "acting happy and confident" ( my terms not theirs) ones attitude changes. By changing ones attitude the deep abiding change of character becomes lasting.

There are so many people in this world (and the church too) that are miserable. They are not content with contentment but need to have something to complain about at all times. They are cynical and harsh; judgmental and brutish; they are brooding and bitter; and they cannot be happy for those who are expereincing joy nor can they experience sorrow with others who sorrow. Since this is a command of Christ- I wonder if it wouldn't be important for us all to just simply practice being happy.

Here is my list of things that one might do to practice happiness.
1. Smile Stand in the mirror and smile. Notice how much more pleasant you look. Determine that you will smile at many people today. Note their reaction. Smiling at strangers often disarms them!
2. Choose the Positive i am not saying that you should ignore evil or dysfunction but don't live in the shadow of the negative faith crushing news media outlets! Even if the world is coming apart at the seams, you are probably doing pretty well. After all you ahve a computer on which to read this blog!
3. Sing Preferably not the blues. (smile) Praise God for things in your life that you know are working good,
4. Remember God is working on your behalf. Rom 8.28 And we know that £God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose

What things do you do to practice happiness? Do you feel that "faking happiness" is phony or practical?

Family Tradition

The family tradition- at least for the men in my family has been to take a spring trip to the wilderness in Canada. We go to a Provincial park in Ontario called Quetico. No motors are allowed. We paddle canoes, sometimes as far as 50 or 60 miles, to move through out the wilderness. it is pristine, unblemished, we drink the water from the lakes and eat what we catch. It isn't exactly living off the land but it is close. We have seen moose and bear come to make a visit in our camp ground, eagles and much wild life. I think that there are a couple reasons that I like the trip is that it is a wonderful bonding trip with my boys. We learn the ways of the earth, act silly, tell stories, and drink hot black coffee around a fire until we can't stay up any longer. It is hard work, but in a way that I don't normally do. Carrying the canoes across arduous passages and boulder strewn creviced is a workout!
But the fresh fried Walleye filets every night are worth the effort.

My boys seem to like it. I think they will be bringing me when I cannot do it on my own. As a tradition it is excellent. We usually read books aloud, discuss the scriptures, or wonder aloud about our dreams and futures.


The moon and stars oversee the evenings, the eagles soar over us by day. The campfire and the camp cooking warms the soul. The friendships and the love last forever.

Losing out with God

2 Peter 2.19- 22 NASB 19They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves£ of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved. 20For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. 21For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. 22What the true proverb says has happened to them: “The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire.”

Every so often I get this question, "Can a person who has had a genuine relationship with Jesus lose his salvation?"

The answer to this question is much more simple than the centuries of church bickering would lead one to conclude. In the passage above we see three truths that show us that every believer is in danger of falling from grace (Gal 5.4) if he or she doesn't take seriously the relationship with Christ that they committed to in their salvation prayer. Peter is writing to false teachers who (v20) escaped the "defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Savior". Clearly this indicates that these men had salvation experience because one cannot know Christ without salvation. These men became "entangled again and overcome" v(20). this shows that momentary sins do not cancel out our salvation- when we become entangled there is always hope of deliverance from such sin... as long as we are not overcome by that sin. Falling back into a sinful act grieves the Holy Spirit (Eph 4.30) but it doesn't cause us to lose salvation- The only way one can be saved is to trust in the work of Jesus on the cross for salvation, and as long as we continue to strive toward the mark (Phil 3.14), watch our life and doctrine closely (1 Tim 4.16), press on to live in holiness under the Lordship of Jesus (Heb 12.14)and trust in his work rather than our own for full deliverance we remain in Him. Certainly there can be no meaning to Christ's warning to his disciples to "remain in Him" (John 15.6)if there is no possibility of being fruitless branches gathered up and "cast into the fire to be burned". So while we are to strive for a sinless life, momentary failures do not discount us for salvation.

The second thing we see in the verse is that because they had been "overcome" by their sin again- they were worse off in the end than in the beginning. now if they were condemned to Hell as sinners in the beginning- what possible way could they be worse if they still had salvation? Obviously - they couldn't be worse off... unless they had lost out with God. Now they stand doubly condemned- where once they sinned in ignorance (Rom 2. 7-8), now they are sinning boldly in defiance of God's provision of Christ (Heb 10.26)and their condemnation is all that can await them.

The third and final point I see in this passage is that losing out with God is a disgusting act- like a dog returning to his vomit. Having three dogs I can say that this is a disgusting act that makes no sense. That which we have once rejected as no good for us, shouldn't be embraced as our own without the accompanying reaction of disgust. And when a person's faith is shipwrecked (2 Tim 2.15-17)it is a pitiful thing in the eyes of the Lord. His will for our lives is to be fruitful and to live out the abundance of his riches and grace in this life.

Angels and Demons

If your hoping I am about to review the recent film- sorry to disappoint. I am, however, willing to offer a review of what the enemy of our souls is up to. And you won't need a producation company to follow me around with a camera.

Lying Liars LieThe enemy of our soul and his demonic spirits are working against your life right now by speaking lies. They are lying about you to you. They are lying about God to you. They are lying to you about what others are saying. And they are lying about the things God has asked you to do.

Looking to LootThe enemy is also seeking whom he may destroy and devour. He is not content to tempt you (silly Christian!) He wants to completely derail you from the things that God has assigned for you to do. Pacing outside the doors to your heart he looks for every opportunity.

Losing LoserThe enemy is a loser. I mean this in the most accurate scriptural fashion. If you are listening to his lies then you are a loser too. The Word tells us that he is spinning in some of the final swirls before the "final flush" into captivity (for 1000 years). Surely he knows it because he, as you and I, can sense that his time is short.

If you are not aware of his efforts you may fall prey...so pray. And the God of peace will soon crush Satan underneath your feet Rom 16.19

Fruitful

I am surprised as I sit and meditate on my reading from 3 days ago. I find myself turning to the 15th chapter of John and chastise my self for ignoring the reading plan that I had devised for myself. yesterday , I felt that the Lord was telling me that this chapter is important for me right now. Today I reread the chapter again and again. "What is here, Lord?" I queried Him as I read the words on page. Like a teenager looking for car keys I scoured the pages and then I came upon it. It had been there all along... verse 5.

I guess I had been frustrated at the slow pace of ministry growth and having some questions about my own worth. "Am I washed up?... Am I supposed to feel this frustration?...etc?" i was looking for some great paradigmatic shift; some new secret formula; some hidden trick to ministering in Jesus' Name (centuries old and forgotten by the masses); but what I got was verse 5.

And verse 5 set me free. "If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit."

Jesus has set the stage there for freedom and fruit. I need only to live in such a manner that I do not grieve his Holy Spirit so that He remains in me, and draw close and remain (abide, live) in Him (Jesus). And there will be fruit. Guaranteed

it is as simple as loving the Savior with all your heart mind and strength. I don't know how fruit happens- only that it does. I eat apples and never wonder why they hang out on the boughs of the tree so beautifully. Nope. Don't care why- God does it. He just makes sure that the tree that is tapped into the supply bears fruit.

Is it just me? Or does that set you free too?