Is Yoga Sinful? #askpastorjohn

I have had several conversations with friends and family lately on the subject of Yoga.  The ongoing question is, "What's the big deal with yoga?  Isn't it just healthy stretching?"  I found John Piper's perspective refreshing.

What do you think?

94-year old for Nazi Sentenced to Jail

Defendant Reinhold Hanning, a 94-year-old former guard at Auschwitz death camp, sits in a courtroom before his verdict in Detmold, Germany, June 17, 2016. REUTERS/Bernd Thissen/Pool

By Elke Ahlswede

DETMOLD, Germany (Reuters) - A 94-year-old former Auschwitz guard was sentenced to jail in Germany on Friday by a judge who branded him a "willing and efficient henchman" in the Holocaust.

In what is likely to be one of Germany's last trials for World War Two-era atrocities, Reinhold Hanning was convicted of being an accessory to the murder of at least 170,000 people at the concentration camp in Nazi-occupied Poland.

Rejecting the defense argument that the former SS officer had never killed, beaten or abused anyone himself, Judge Anke Grudda said Hanning had chosen to serve in the notorious death camp and had helped it run.

"It is not true that you had no choice; you could have asked to be transferred to the war front," Grudda told Hanning as she read out the verdict.

She said it was impossible that he had been unaware of the murders since he spent two and a half years at the camp and had been promoted twice during that time.

"That shows that you had proven your value as a willing and efficient henchman in the killings," Grudda said.

... Read the original story here.

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I've found it easy to talk about God in secular settings because of moral absolutes.  Believers can (and often do) shy away from conversations about God in academic settings because they believe their position cannot be defended.  But the opposite is true.  I think this is one of the easiest arguments for the existence of God; namely, moral absolutes and the gift of an operative conscience.  Those must be given by God or if you want... an omnipotent supernatural being outside of space and time transcendent and not limited to what our pea brains can comprehend.  Let's just call this being "God."

This is an easy subject to breach because EVERYBODY, unless their conscience is seared, believes in moral absolutes.  Every husband knows its wrong for another man to break into his house and rape his wife.  Every woman knows its wrong for her husband to be looking at porn. Every child knows theres something wrong when mommy or daddy are loosing their minds over spilled milk.  All of these deviances are indicators that something has shifted from the "way it was supposed to be."

And that's the point!  For the wold to say there is "evil" suggests that there is a "right" or "holy" way that things should be.  The best argument that the Atheist has is the "problem of evil," which is self-refuting because to allude to "evil" is to assume "righteousness."  One last time: THERE IS NO EVIL WITHOUT A NOTION OF HOLINESS.

Now about this former Nazi.  He was convicted because he should have known better.  He was convicted based on his willingness to go against what every human being knows is right; that is, to protect human life.

This is the truth: There are moral absolutes.   Culture doesn't define what these are; they are intrinsic to our very being.  At the core of who we are, we desire relationship, love, and peace.

The world says, "there are no moral absolutes and please don't force your views on me."  To which, I respond, "are you absolutely sure there are no moral absolutes?"  If they agree, they agree with me.  If they disagree with me, they refute their own argument.

Now lets connect this theoretical mumbo jumo with practical application.  Why do people argue against moral absolutes????

Answer: Because they love living life apart from their God given conscience.  They love being their own Savior.

So how can we break through to these people?  I stand by my method of "sharing my faith" by sharing how jacked up and evil I am.  In doing that, I share my faith by showing people and telling them just how much I need a Savior.  And this has been completely liberating.  Because I no longer have to be all righteous and holy in front of people.  I can let them in and tell them when I have failed.  How I do not love my wife and kids like I should.  I can look them in the eye and say, "there's no question you can ask me that I wouldn't answer!"  Hit me with your best shot.  Go deep.  I have no fear to share any past sin(s) or embarrassing event because I have a Savior who has liberated me from shame and guilt.

People who refuse to be vulnerable and honest with others are simply their own Savior.  In their minds, they protect, they control, they save themselves from shame and guilt.

I'd rather let God do that and I fall on his mercy...daily.

Unorthodox Thoughts on the 14th Anniversary of 9/11

 

14 years ago I was in my dorm room and a guy named Jay was banging on all the dorm rooms in his boxers saying, "this is World War II man!"  I'll never forget that day.  We gathered around the television and most of us unable to connect with the severity of the events.

Over a dozen years later the question always returns; namely, "If God is all loving and all powerful how could he allow those events to have happened?" This is called the "Problem of Evil" and it is fairly easy to answer.

First of all, God, by definition is transcendent; that means, God is not limited to what we are capable of understanding.  I think the first thing we, humans, need to swallow is the fact that we can't and never will fully understand "God."  Questions like, "who created God?" and "can he create a rock so heavy that he can't lift it?" are in fact just smokescreens to cover up the evil in our hearts.  Seriously, nobody is truly searching for answers to those questions.

Deep down we want answers to "how can I overcome this lust problem?" or "how can I not get angry at my 2-year-old for spilling milk?"  Every single human being wants and desires for the gospel message to be true; the message of salvation.  Salvation from hell and from the things that hold us down today.  These things can be horrendous memories of the past, current bitterness towards others or self, self hate, the hatred of others, constant irritability with people and situations or the constant spirit of criticism of all things and people just to name a few.  People want and desire salvation.  Their soul longs for it and they can't put their finger on it.

So, how could a loving and powerful God allow the events of 9/11 to happen?  The answer: because God has given man free will.   Whoever planned the events of 9/11 was able to plan and execute because God allowed them to have free will.  God also allowed every single person in the building to accept or reject him.  A child of God who dies in a burning flame or building actually lives on.

And, where was God during 9/11?  He was there, here, everywhere.  Tomorrow is not a place God knows about it is a place where he is.  He is not limited to time and space.  Wherever you can think, that's where he is.

And now take this conversation introspective.  Take all the thoughts you have about God - especially the complaints and gripes, thoughts of how could he to this and that - and set those aside.  Do you have anybody in your life who loves you?  Are you completely honest with others and or your spouse?  Or do you live in guilt and shame?  All of these may be blindspots at the moment.  And blindspots will always remind unknown to us until we allow others to point them out.  But if we keep people at a distance, we remain in ignorance.

What if we started there?  What if all the questioning about God was just a cover up for some deep hurts and memories of the past?

My prayer is that you would be so loved by someone that you would be willing to let others in and love you for who you are.  And in the end you would realize that it was God all along trying to love you through the body of Believers here and now.

    For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Is There Such A Thing As Spiritual Warfare?

ExploringGod.com

Found another helpful website in exploring God... Happy exploring.

Did Jesus Resurrect From the Dead?

It's the most wonderful time of the year!  Today is the day we celebrate the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.

But what evidence do we have that He really resurrected?  May this video stir up a conversation in your soul.

We pray that your heart would be postured in a way that you would be able to hear, discern and act on truth.

But search for yourself.

At the end of the day, we ALL will MAKE A DECISION about Jesus; Namely, that...

1) JESUS IS A LIAR
2) JESUS IS A LUNATIC
or
3) JESUS IS THE LORD

Are there any other options?  If so, please send it.

Blessings! 

The Uniqueness of Jesus by Ravi Zacharias

My workmate sent me this video today.  I had a chance to see Ravi Zacharias in person at the 2013 Hawaii Pastors Dinner and was extremely blessed.  Of course, Dr. Zacharias is known for his sharp intellect in apologetics and a someone at the forefront of defending the Christian faith.  Beyond that, what stood out to me was a guy who was very down to earth and family oriented.  He had said a few things that demonstrated clearly, that he cared for his family.  I respect any worldwide speaker who has not forgotten about the simple things.

Enjoy this video and may it inspire you to be courageous, dig deeper into the Scriptures and defend and confirm the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.