Hebrews 4:12

For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Monday, May 10, 2010

Suicide Vs. Martyrdom

Last week we were watching one of those TV dramas, and they had captured a terrorist, and one of the Federal Agents asks the terrorist what the difference is between a suicide bomber and a martyr, and when the terrorist hesitates he tells him that it was a trick question, that there really is no difference because, basically, both are dead in the end.

This got me to thinking, is that really true? Of course the answer is no. I do understand that both are dead in the end, but far from making them the same thing, that is their only point of contact.

What is drastically different between a suicide bomber and a true martyr is the fact that the bomber has chosen to kill him/herself for the purpose of killing other people, while the true martyr is killed by others, through no direct action of their own, for the purpose of faithfulness. That is to say that a suicide bomber chooses death and destruction over life, while the true martyr chooses faithfulness over life. For the suicide bomber there is no choice but death, mayhem and murder, for the true martyr there is no choice but faithfulness, even if it ends up leading to death.

You see, the suicide bomber has chosen to kill themselves, and is trying to kill as many other people at the same time as they can. The true martyr, on the other hand, does not seek death, rather they have chosen faithfulness, and whenever there is a way to both be faithful and live, they will choose that every single time, however, when saving their own life would require that they forsake their faithfulness, they are willing to die, but they do not seek for that death.

Regardless of the propaganda from the radical Muslim circles, or the left wing media types, suicide bombers are not martyrs. Rather, they are killers. Degenerate murderers, and nothing more. There is a nobility in true martyrdom, there is nothing noble in blowing oneself up to murder innocent people.

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Amazing Grace


Some time ago I found the Movie "Amazing Grace" for a very good price, and so I bought it, as I had heard some very good things about it, but it ended up taking quite some time to get around to watching it. The other night I remembered that the movie was sitting unopened on the shelf, and so my wife and I put it in and watched it.

I have to say, this was a very good movie. Very moving, and well worth the watching. I don't want to spoil any part of the plot, but I will say that if you haven't seen this movie, you should certainly either rent or buy it as soon as possible. I do not believe you could possibly regret it.

Monday, May 3, 2010

Discernment Part 3 (Conclusion)

The answer then is to know the truth. You must become so familiar with the Truth that you immediately know when you are being exposed to a lie. Any lie.

This is an old illustration that has been used in Sermons for many years, and as it turns out, it’s actually true. Did you know that when Government agents (in the US it’s the Secret Service) are being taught to recognize counterfeit money, they do not study counterfeit money to learn what is wrong with it. Rather, they study, and are taught, all about real money, and how to recognize that, so that when they are presented with counterfeit money, they know it immediately. Recognizing that money is fake becomes easy, not because they know everything about fake money, or how fake money is made, but because they know real money so well that they simply cannot be fooled. That is the key for us regarding truth as well. We do not need to understand everything about false teachings, we simply need to know the Truth.

I’m not saying that it’s wrong to ever know anything about a false teaching, certainly it’s somewhat helpful to know something about the most commonly taught errors. Also, God may call you to minister among a certain group of people (ie. Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Muslims etc.) and knowing what they believe could be helpful in your ministry, but in general, it is knowing the Truth that will make all the difference.