Legalism or Grace

I read a blog written by a woman who regretted that she kept her virginity until she was married. She made a purity pledge at age 10 and kept that pledge. After she married, she felt pain and shame loosing her virginity. She stated that if she would do it over, she would not have made and kept the pledge. She based this on the pain and shame she now felt. Sadly, her problem is legalism and doesn't realize it. She never truly understood the gospel. She only understood moral legalism. She kept her virginity out of pride and shame. She was proud of keeping it and ashamed to loose it. Her motivation was to look good to others it was not gratitude for saving grace.

Christian churches today in America are determined to keep a moral law and to have our children keep a moral law. On the surface, this is good. However, the way we teach keeping the law is often shame based and not grace based. What needs to be taught is the gospel. Children and adults need to be taught that Jesus unconditionally loves them, that he lived a righteous life because we cannot and that he died because we deserve death. Once we accept that he died for us, we will still be saved by grace even if we "loose our virginity." Once we realize that we are saved, we are motivated by love and gratitude to keep the moral law. We tend to teach it backwards. We teach keep the moral law at all cost, change all bad behaviors and then be saved by accepting Jesus. What we need to be taught is that we are all sinners because we break the moral law and nothing in our power can make us keep the moral law. We need a savior because we are incapable of being righteous. God offers us grace to pardon us from our sins. Once we receive his grace, we are also given the power to change. The holy spirit will convict us of sin and behavior that needs to change. He will give us power not to change the behavior but rather change who we are on the inside which will also result in changes in behavior.

I just had a little baby girl. She is 3 months old. It is not my hope that she will make a purity pledge and keep it with all her might. It is my hope that she will enter into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ and allow him to change her from the inside. If she makes a purity pledge, I want her to rely on the holy spirit to keep it. If she fails, I want her to know that she is forgiven and still loved.

We also need to be careful not to teach only grace without teaching moral law. If we don't know the law, we won't know sin. If we don't know sin, we won't know that we need a savior. We need to be taught what is sin and that we are law breakers incapable of being law keepers. What we can't be taught is the law and that we are responsible to keep the law in our own power. We can't keep the law in our own power. We need to be saved and given the power to keep the law. John Bunyan is created with saying

Run, John, run, the law commands, 
But gives us neither feet nor hands. 
Far better news the gospel brings: 
It bids us fly and gives us wings.

The law show us sin but gives us no ability to keep it. Grace gives us forgiveness which gives us both motivation and ability to love. We motivated by gratitude for grace. We obey the law of love with love. We don't follow just a moral code, we live by a higher principle of love. When we and others fail we give and receive grace. 

I will teach her morality and I will punish my daughter when she is immoral, but I will also teach her grace. I will always let her know that Jesus died for her so she could be forgiven of her moral failure. I want her to know she was born a sinner and is a sinner so that she will know she needs a savior.

USCIS is Ineffective and Inefficient

I've been screwed again by the USCIS. My wife is from the Philippines. She came to the US on a K-1 (fiancée) visa legally. We were married in Maui Hawaii on August 2nd 2013. When she arrived in Honolulu on August 1st 2013 she relinquished her sealed visa package which contained her medical exam records(I-693). She had been required to get a medical exam and immunizations before entering the US. She did this and I paid several hundred dollars plus travel to the only approved hospital in the Philippines. This exam couldn't be done at a local hospital. It had to be done at St. Luke's in Manila. Of course, she didn't live in Manila, not even on the same island as Manila. After giving the paper work to the officials in Honolulu, the documents should have been sent onto Denver CO since we were going to live in Boulder CO after our wedding and honeymoon. We went for her "Green Card" interview which required that I take off a day of work and which cost me more money. When we sat down for our interview, the first think that the interview said was that her visa package was lost but he promised to find it. He didn't find it. We were sent a notice a month later that she would be required to get a second medical exam because her first one was "deemed lost." Again it must be by an approved facility so we can't just have our family doctor perform the exam. There is an approved facility in Boulder but only if she was a patient. The Boulder facility gave us a phone number of a facility which would do the exam but it is 3 hours away. The cost of this second exam is anywhere from $200 - $500. It is NOT covered by insurance and will mean another day off work. 

Prior to this fiasco, the entire visa process was delayed by 6 months due to the DACA executive order by President Obama giving processing priority to illegal immigrants. I wrote about how that order negatively affected me, other citizens and military personal here.

I saw on the USCIS Facebook page that the USCIS was award a "customer satisfaction" award. My chin dropped. This customer is not satisfied. I've not run across a more inefficient and ineffective organization in my life. If any corporation was run like our government agencies, it would be out of business. 

It is not surprising to me that the Obama administration is full of corruption. The "buck stops here." The CEO of the the US federal government is ultimately responsible for the offices under his authority. The lack of effectiveness of the USCIS is the responsibility of the leader. Our president has proven his lack of leadership ability many times. 

It is time for this president to go. I personally cannot wait until 2016. The question is: Will I be able to endure another 2 years? 

Being a Dad

On April 23rd 2014 my precious daughter Johanna was born and I became a daddy for the first time. I am overjoyed and extremely happy. My wife was induced because she had preeclampsia . She went through 9 hours of labor but her cervix only dilated 3 centimeters, so she had to undergo a cesarean. After witnessing what she went through, I'm convinced that the male is the weaker sex. She demonstrated tremendous strength and endurance. When she should have been resting and recovering from the surgery, she had to wake every few hours to nurse our baby.

My dad is very happy that I've had a child but says he doesn't envy me raising a child in this world. He raised five children but didn't face the challenges that exist today. Honestly, I am concerned. My solution is prayer, much prayer. I've begun by praying Psalm 139 over my child often.I pray with my wife morning and night.

To prepare for the birth of our child, my wife and I went on a retreat at Glen Eyrie. We walked in beautiful creation. We prayed. We wrote in our journals. We read the Bible together. It was a great time for us both. It was very helpful to us both. I'd highly recommend doing it.

Our daughter's name means "God's Gracious Gift." That is truly what she is.

God’s gracious gift arrived today.
Conceived by the love of two
Now, forever upon our hearts will stay.
Our precious baby, we love you.
Resting upon Mother’s breast,
Baby is safe and secure in peace.
Contently she is heavenly blessed.
Our love will everyday increase.
As our baby will mature and grow
In our care in this earthy place
May she turn to God and know
For eternity, love and grace.

I love holding her and seeing her every day. I pray for her future and am doing my best to plan for it.

Comcast (XFinity) Review

I love the Olympics. Every two years, I am glued to the TV every night watching. Other times of the year, I don't watch broadcast television. Every Olympics, I must get cable installed with a DVR so I can watch the Olympics and fast forward of the countless commercials. I called Comcast which was my first mistake. All I really wanted was NBC, HD and a DVR. Of course, I did not expect Comcast to offer that, so I asked for local channels in HD with a DVR. Of course Comcast doesn't offer just local changes with HD and a DVR. You must get their "Digital Starter Package." with a total of 80 channels 79 of which I did NOT want to the tune of $60 a month for 12 months. After 12 months, the price is higher. $60 is their rock bottom price to get new customers and then screw them a year later. I caved and forked over the $60 for 79 channels I don't need just to get the one I do want. 

Comcast kindly sent us a DVR with a self-hook up kit which arrived days later. I went to the web site to start my service. The site was extremely slow and very broken. I work in IT and have better knowledge than the average user and I couldn't get setup. The site simply did not work. I was then forced to call customer service which was no better. They sent a communication to my DVR and said I'd have cable in 45 minutes. I had cable in 45 minutes but not the channels for the starter package. I had channels I shouldn't have and didn't have channels that I should. I called customer service again who again sent a signal to my box and again told me to wait 45 minutes. This time it worked. 

Next I decide it would be nice to have cable on our other TV.  I simply hooked up cable to the TV with no other box. I turned on the TV and had no cable. I called customer service for the third time and was informed that I must have a cable box for an extra cost. So the $60 became more like $66. To get this box required a trip to the Comcast store. The person on the phone told me I had a preorder and so would not need wait in line. I could go immediately to the cashier. This was a lie. I arrived and I was told to self-check in and to wait. I said, but I had a preorder. I was told, "I don't know what they told you on the phone, but you must wait." I waited. After all other customers were handled and I was alone the same person at the counter who told me to wait asked what I wanted, tried to look up my name in the self-check in and couldn't find me. Since I was now the only person there, he did handle my request and I got my box.

I also asked why I had HBO. I was told it was included for free for two years. Nice, except I don't want HBO being broadcast in my house. I asked if it could be removed. He said, he'd try and didn't see why not. To my surprise, it was removed and I was relieved.

Now I was ready to watch the Olympics and I was happy though I was $66 poorer. Naturally the DVR had glitches. Sometimes it froze and would not recover. I also learned that it could only record one channel at a time. This was not too bad since I really only wanted to watch one channel. 

Comcast was nice enough to provide streaming of all events. If I went to NBCOlympics.com and logged into my XFinity account, I could stream to my hearts content. I thought this was great. My wife is from the Philippines and she wanted to see the Filipino skater. Naturally his routine was not shown on Prime Time. The entire program was available streaming though. There was a catch. You could not fast forward. You had to sit through all skaters prior to the one you wanted to see. This wasn't too bad since our skater was in the first group, however, internet streaming is not reliable and we crashed a few times. Since we could not fast forward we had to start from the beginning and rewatch it all. Eventually we were able to see our Filipino skater's program.

Now I'm more than ready to return our cable box and cancel our Comcast cable TV. I'll be relieved though I don't expect it will be easy. I wasn't easy two years ago for the summer Olympics. 

I think Comcast is a greedy company with poor customer service. Why should anyone need to pay more than $60 when only one channel was wanted? Why doesn't Comcast offer an a la cart option? Why must we pay for a cable box for every TV we own? Why does customer service fail to do a simple hook up? Why does customer service lie to you? I'll be very happy to be rid of Comcast until the next Olympics when I must do this all again or find a better option.

Christians Changing Culture

Tomorrow the Supreme Court is expected to rule on California's Proposition 8 and the Defense of Marriage Act, These rulings could dramatically affect gay rights and the definition of marriage. To the gay community it could mean a) the sanctioning of the marriage union by society, b) the ability to access the legal benefits which are currently afforded to those who are married over those who are not married, in a common law marriage or in a civil union, and c) having the 14th amendment upheld for US citizens who are gay and lesbian. To the evangelical community it could mean a) the breakdown or the upholding of their moral view of marriage being only between a man and a woman, b) the loss or the upholding of the 1st Amendment allowing places of worship to practice their interpretation of their holy text without legal penalty, and c) the legal protection for private citizens, companies and corporations to conduct business and issue benefits guided by their moral conscience and beliefs without penalty. It is a battleground pitting two sides with drastically different views who are likely never to concede firmly held convictions. The ruling will be a win for one side and a loss for the other with the war ever continuing to wage.


I believe if anything is going to change in this ever escalating war, the change must occur within the Christian community. I agree with Andrew Marin who said, "Evangelicals, and conservative Christians in general, need to let go of the same-sex marriage fight and invest in figuring out how to love like Jesus regardless of what system is in place." Jesus and his early followers did not change society or culture by fighting a political war against the laws and rulers of the day. Rather they brought about change by loving those around them. Christians know they cannot change themselves on the inside. They believe that in order to change, they must first yield to Jesus in an unconditional surrender thus allowing Jesus to make changes to their hearts. It is hypocritical to think the change can be brought to society and culture through law without surrender to Jesus. It is time to stop fighting society and laws and start fighting for the change of souls by loving others and leading them to surrender their lives to Jesus. This surrender is not brought about by coercion or argument. It is brought about by loving as Jesus loved, by being a witness and example. It is brought about by sharing the truth of God's word and his love expressed to all in his word. God is calling all to be reconciled to himself through a loving relationship with Jesus. This includes those within the gay community.


Jesus believes in absolute moral law. He wrote the law. Christians need not give up convictions nor belief in the perfect law of love. Christians need to live by that law of love. Christians are called to love and serve society around them. Christians are to be both an example of God's moral law of love and a voice calling others to yield to that law of love by first surrendering to God not by changing hearts nor behavior first. Changing of hearts begins by surrendering to God's unconditional love. Change of behavior follows a change of heart. To dictate or demand change in society through law, coercion or force is backwards to the way in which Jesus brings change and will ultimately fail.


Christians have realized their own moral failure and know they stand under condemnation. They understand the only way to be saved from condemnation and wrath is to accept the full payment of the penalty offered by Jesus. In doing so, they are morally purified by God and set on a course for change. Christians desire to love as God loves them, but understand they are incapable of such love. Christians yield to God to allow God's love to permeate their hearts and pour out to God and others. Christians should not, therefore, demand change in others that they know themselves to be incapable of doing.


If Christians desire to uphold the sanctity of marriage it cannot be done by fighting society's definition of marriage. It must be done by strengthening and valuing their own marriage. Christians need to focus on their own family. Christians need to love their spouse and children well. Christians need to endure difficulties in their own marriage, yield to God, and allow God to change and improve their own hearts and marriage. A Christian marriage is one in which both partners yield to Jesus, help each other conform to his image, and love each other well putting the needs of the other ahead of their own. Christians do need to redefine marriage. The definition of marriage is not a means to individual happiness where a partner is meeting the individual's needs. The definition of marriage is a covenant promise to God to sacrifice an individual's needs and desires for the betterment of the spouse so both with grow in love for God and each other. A marriage is a picture of the union of Jesus to his bride, the church. Jesus united with his bride by sacrificing his life for his spouse. He did not seek his own happiness and pleasure but rather the needs of his spouse. The sanctity of marriage will be upheld as Christians sacrifice their own desires for the betterment of their spouse. The sanctity of marriage will be upheld as Christians yield to and grow in the love of God. The sanctity of marriage will be upheld as Christians love their spouse and children well.

What is Christianity?

I recently read an article expressing concern about the political influence and power the "Christian right." Christianity today is viewed more as a political power opposed to gay rights, women's rights, and abortion. Yet the term Christian originally meant a follower of Christ. A follower of Christ meant one who is trying to be like Jesus. Jesus was not a political figure. He did not oppose government or policy. His greatest opposition was to the religious political powers of the time. He opposed hypocritical religious leaders who laid heavy legalistic, moralistic burdens on their followers. He opposed powerful religious people who vied for political power and influence.  

Jesus never condemned people as his followers do today. He accepted people, forgave people and loved them as they were. He certainly wanted and encouraged people to change but not by demand or coercion but rather by showing love and grace. 

After Jesus rose from the dead, ascended to heaven and his followers received the Holy Spirit, people were drawn to Jesus by his followers. It was not a forced conversion. People simply saw how the followers of  "the Way" were loving each other, giving to each other and helping the community. Followers of Jesus shared wealth and material possessions. Followers of Jesus helped the poor. Followers of Jesus accepted people of both genders, all races and all economic status as equals. It was love that marked the Christian. Today it seems the Christians are branded as haters. Christians are seen as hating the political left, gay people, abortionists, the poor and women. Jesus must be weeping to see how his named is marred by the very people who claim to follow him and his example of love and grace.

The gospel message is hidden by the view of Christianity as a political power and the poor example of those who claim to follow Jesus and yet condemn others. The gospel was and is good news. The gospel does not condemn. People are already condemned by their own conscience and sense of guilt. The Holy Spirit is doing his job of convicting people of their guilt. We are all guilty of not loving ourselves, others or God perfectly. We know this in our heart of hearts. We know that if we stood before a perfect, holy and just God, we would be condemned and deservingly so. The gospel is simply that we can be forgiven of our wrongs, be set free from condemnation and reconciled to the God who longs to love us and embrace us as his own children. That forgiveness is available because Jesus was condemned on our behalf. He paid the penalty for our wrongs, the penalty of death that we deserve. We are all condemned to hell. It is not that gays and abortionists are condemned over all others or are under some special condemnation. We are all condemned. It doesn't matter if we are gay, straight, pro life, pro choice, conservative, liberal, male or female. We are all equally condemned.  The only way out of condemnation for all of us is faith in the sacrifice and love of Jesus. Believing that he died and rose from the dead proving he was very God is the only way to receive forgiveness for our wrongs.

Christianity is not a religion. It is not a political force. It is not an exclusive club. It is not a moral institution. It is not even the means by which we may be saved from condemnation. A real Christian is someone who has surrendered to Jesus and is trying to follow him and his way of love and grace. A Christian understands grace and the forgiveness is a gift from God. A Christian is not perfect. A Christian does many, many things wrong and contrary to the teachings and examples of Jesus. A Christian is simply forgiven by grace through faith in Jesus. In other words, a Christian is not condemned for wrongs committed but believes the condemnation was paid by Jesus who is very God. It is this acceptance of love from God that motivates a Christian to follow God's perfect law of love. Though a Christian often fails, the Christian does not rely on success or failure but rather on the grace and love of God. 

Yes, Christians should be agents of change in the world but not through political force, coercion or condemnation of others.  Christians should be the change, the example, the way. As followers of Jesus, Christians should seek to love others not condemn others. Christians should change the world through acts of kindness and love as his Jesus' original followers did 2000 years ago. 

No one can change on their own including Christians. Christians rely on the Holy Spirit to change them from the inside out. Christians don't expect to change on their own. Why should Christians expect the world to conform to a holy standard which they themselves cannot conform without the Holy Spirit? Anyone can changes external behavior through will power but no one except God can change the heart. Only as God draws a soul to Jesus and that soul surrenders to Jesus can the Holy Spirit be received and begin to change the person. Change will not happen by politics, by laws, or by effort. Change will happen as a person is drawn to the love of Jesus, receives forgiveness and the power to be changed by the Holy Spirit.

What is a Christian? A Christian is someone who has received forgiveness by accepting the sacrifice of Jesus on their behalf. A Christian is someone who follows Jesus and is like Jesus not by personal effort but by reliance on the Holy Spirit. A Christian is someone who brings change to the family, the church, the community, the nation and the world through examples and acts of love and charity. 

From Zero to Fifty

On June 22nd 2013, my parents will be celebrating their fiftieth wedding anniversary. I am engaged to be married for the first time in my life. As I look to them for an example of how to have a successful and happy marriage, one thing stands out: commitment. My parents made a vow that they have kept for fifty years. That kind of commitment is truly golden and rare.

I have many friends who come  from a broken home. Either their parents divorced or they had an absent father. I had neither. My parents never considered divorce and my father was always present. My parent's attended athletic and cultural events where their kids were participants. They continue to do so for their grandkids. My parents took us out for dinner one on one. This was not an easy task since there were  five of us. My parents took us camping for a month of vacation for several years during our childhood. Cell phones and laptops didn't exist, so we were without a phone or any connection to the outside world. We had each other and nature. That time bonded us as a family.

I am engaged to a woman who lives overseas.I have not been able to touch her now for eleven months. We've communicated nearly every day via Skype so we can at least see and hear each other. We've done a Bible study every time we've talked. We pray together every time. During this long waiting process, we are learning the meaning of commitment. Not being able to touch or do activities together is very difficult. We only have time of conversation, sharing videos and playing online games. We've endured many delays in obtaining a visa for her so we can marry. We've tried unsuccessfully to buy a house. It is difficult only to shop for a house over the internet. I can visit the home, but my fiancee cannot. We've endured the hardship of trying to sell a home in a buyers market. We've had to make life changing financial decisions together. Though all this we remain committed to each other. We are committed to love one another. This love is not just a high feeling. Our love from the beginning has been a commitment to show love in action.

I feel very blessed to have parents who have remained committed and faithful to one another for fifty years. I am blessed to find a woman who is committed to loving me for fifty years or more should we live that long. I, too, and committed to her for life. I know it is our commitment to each other and to God that will keep our love and marriage strong for our entire lifetime.

I am not naive enough to think that our marriage will be without difficulties. My parents certainly endured trying and difficult times. Raising five children was not easy. My dad had to make difficult choices to give up things like business travel, golf and fishing so he could spend time with family. My mom endured times of sadness. Each child presented our own unique form of difficulties. I know it was not easy for my parents, but they remained faithful to God, their kids and each other.

My fiancee and I are starting at zero years and have an example of fifty years to follow. I am so blessed and thankful that I have such a fine example of love, commitment and faith to follow.