defining moments

 There are moments in your life that define who you are, who you are trying to become, what your'e trying to achieve or where your heart is. 


I named my blog "HELLBENT" for a reason. That moment was one of those "defining moments" for me. It set me on a path that I quickly fell in love with. I have given the definition of the word below.

hell-bent or hell·bent (hlbnt)adj. Impetuously or recklessly determined to do or achieve something:

I realize that with every word I type I run the risk of offending those who I care about or lose their friendship altogether. But it's a risk I'm willing to take if it set's 1 person free of a bondage or of a mindset that's unhealthy or if they just see something from a different angle. Hence the definition.

I haven't asked many questions lately. I do plan on doing so. I need some time to get my heart right before I do. There's an old Proverb that says, even fools are thought wise if they keep silent, and discerning if they hold their tongues.

I'm gonna try that on for size for a little while. I'll be back soon with a few more questions but with my heart in the right place before I ask them.

ANYONE, ANYWHERE, ANYTIME

Some of you may know and some may not. But recently I stepped down from a pastoral position at a local church. Over the last few years I found myself struggling with the Christian system. SIDE NOTE: (I am not referring specifically to my old church or the people there). Not only am I not in agreement with most positions taken by the church but I also find the whole thing to work contrary to what Jesus taught. I just can't be a part of something that I don't agree with. We seem to focus more on the dos and donts of a book rather than the heart of what I believe Jesus came to reveal to us (by "us" I mean everyone). What I seem to struggle with the most is that the very people that Jesus had a heart for and spent His time with would never step foot through the doors of a church. (Mark 2:13-15 and Luke 15:1) And rightly so. They just aren't made welcome. Maybe your church is different. I don't want to compare or measure up who's worship center is better. I'm just tryin to make a point.

I share this with you for a few different reasons.

Many people/acquaintances who have learned of my decision have not only renounced friendships over my beliefs/writings but have written me to say "I'm praying for you" as if they are concerned for my soul and eternal destiny. To me that's a pretty big slap in the face. We don't have to agree on Theology or interpretation in order to be friends. At least I don't feel that way. But this comes off as if they have it all figured out and if I don't agree with the majority of evangelical Christian thinking then my soul is in trouble.
 BTW, I believe I'm saved and I can't lose my salvation as long as I don't deny Christ/Holy Spirit/God. But we will open that can of worms on another blog.

If I'm made to feel this way about my beliefs then how does the rest of the world (the people who would never step foot in a church) feel about how they've been treated by the church?

The other reason for this blog, the real reason I started writing this evening is to point out a simplistic understanding for anyone at anyplace at anytime who wants to commune with the Creator.

This is where I make a short story long :)

Last week my wife and I celebrated 13 years of marriage. I rented a cabin on top of the Shenandoah national park. It was breathtaking. I am always amazed at Gods beauty In and through His creation. We arrived to a super duper foggy Saturday.

It took us over 2 hours to drive what normally takes 30 mins. But we made the best of the evening. When we awoke Sunday morning we stepped outside to enjoy our coffee and our beautiful view. My wife looked around, looked at her watch and looked at me and said "well baby, I don't think we are going to make it to church this morning". To which I replied "we are at church".

Anywhere, at anytime we are in our Creators presence. To stop and enjoy it and recognize His handiwork, to thank Him for something simple or something amazing is to worship and commune with Him.

For all of you who have been hurt by the church and will never go back. For all of you who don't feel welcome in a building on Sunday. For all of you who know there is something not quite right with the current system and can't find it in you to "join" in. It doesn't mean you can't commune with God. It doesn't mean you cant worship the creator and It doesn't mean your soul is in trouble.

Next time you see a beautiful sunrise, smell a flower or catch a glimpse of a masterpiece in a fallen tree. Consider yourself at church :)

Sin City?

I'm back! My trip to "Sin City" was super busy with work and I'm exhausted. I did get some free time while I was there and managed to wonder up and down the strip to do a little shopping for my family. As I walked by all the homeless, by the guys/gals handing out hooker cards, by the many people to drunk to be coherent, by all the people on vacation enjoying the sights, by all the hard working people trying to make a living (you get the idea)...I remembered that (in the past) I have referred to Vegas as "Sodom and Gomorrah". Everyone knows that story from the bible. But as I walked around the city, it occurred to me that Vegas is really no different than any other big city in America. Let me explain.

While Vegas may be different in many ways than most cities, It is also very similar. How? The people. The people are what makes a city. And the people in Vegas are from everywhere. It's a conglomerate of people from all walks of life from all areas of the world. Knowing that, I felt is was unfair for me to label a city of people with such prejudice. To be honest, I was just repeating what I had heard from almost every preacher I've ever listened to. I've decided to leave that decision to God. I found a couple of verses in the bible that you've prolly never heard or had pointed out to you that refer to Sodom and Gomorrah.

First-Let's look at what happened. In Gen. 19 we read: "Early the next morning Abraham...looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah...and he saw dense smoke rising from the land, like smoke from a furnace."
And so for thousands of years that city has served as a warning from every pulpit of what happens when God decides to judge a city. But know let's read about those verses you never hear from the pulpit.

In Ezek.16 the Profit has a series of visions and has a promise from God that He will "restore the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters" and they will "return to what they were before."

Here's another, In Matt. 10 Jesus travels to Galilee, asking people to see things a new way. He encounters great resistance from the devout religous people and  He warns those religous people that "it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah than for them on judgement day". He tells highly commited, pious, pompous, religous people that it will be better for Sodom and Gomorrah than for them. Hmm?

Here's a few more for the heck of it:
In Matt. 19 "renewal of all things", Acts 3 - Peter says that Jesus will "restore everything", Paul says in Col. 1  that through Christ "God was pleased to...reconcile to Himself all things, whether on earth or things in heaven".
Sounds to me like God's in the restoration business, not the destruction business.

Sooooo, lesson learned. I will no longer repeat hateful prejudices I hear from the mouths of men but will search the heart of God on such matters from here on out.

What say you?