Thoughts (that apply TODAY) by MLK Jr

I've tweeted several of Martin Luther King Jr (in honor of our national holiday TODAY) quotes, but here are a few of his best speeches and sermons. You can research and read more here.

His most famous and quoted speech, "I have a Dream" from August 28, 1963 in Washington, D.C. (read here) or watch here.

"I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.


Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.


But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free... In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check... It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note... America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds."


But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so, we've come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.


We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy... The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.


...we will not be satisfied until "justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream."¹


I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."


...I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.


...With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.


...And when this happens, when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:


Free at last! Free at last!


Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

An imaginary letter from the Apostle Paul, that he wrote for a message in 1956. This imaginary letter MLK Jr wrote on behalf of Paul seems very appropriate today in 2012!

"For many years I have longed to be able to come to see you. I have heard so much of you and of what you are doing. I have heard of the fascinating and astounding advances that you have made in the scientific realm. I have heard of your dashing subways and flashing airplanes. Through your scientific genius you have been able to dwarf distance and place time in chains. You have been able to carve highways through the stratosphere. So in your world you have made it possible to eat breakfast in New York City and dinner in Paris, France. I have also heard of your skyscraping buildings with their prodigious towers steeping heavenward. I have heard of your great medical advances, which have resulted in the curing of many dread plagues and diseases, and thereby prolonged your lives and made for greater security and physical well-being. All of that is marvelous. You can do so many things in your day that I could not do in the Greco-Roman world of my day. In your age you can travel distances in one day that took me three months to travel. That is wonderful. You have made tremendous strides in the area of scientific and technological development.


"But America, as I look at you from afar, I wonder whether your moral and spiritual progress has been commensurate with your scientific progress. It seems to me that your moral progress lags behind your scientific progress. Your poet Thoreau used to talk about "improved means to an unimproved end." How often this is true. You have allowed the material means by which you live to outdistance the spiritual ends for which you live. You have allowed your mentality to outrun your morality. You have allowed your civilization to outdistance your culture. Through your scientific genius you have made of the world a neighborhood, but through your moral and spiritual genius you have failed to make of it a brotherhood. So America, I would urge you to keep your moral advances abreast with your scientific advances.


"I am impelled to write you concerning the responsibilities laid upon you to live as Christians in the midst of an unChristian world. That is what I had to do. That is what every Christian has to do. But I understand that there are many Christians in America who give their ultimate allegiance to man-made systems and customs. They are afraid to be different. Their great concern is to be accepted socially. They live by some such principle as this: "everybody is doing it, so it must be alright." For so many of you Morality is merely group consensus. In your modern sociological lingo, the mores are accepted as the right ways. You have unconsciously come to believe that right is discovered by taking a sort of Gallup poll of the majority opinion. How many are giving their ultimate allegiance to this way.


"But American Christians, I must say to you as I said to the Roman Christians years ago, "Be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind." Or, as I said to the Phillipian Christians, "Ye are a colony of heaven." This means that although you live in the colony of time, your ultimate allegiance is to the empire of eternity. You have a dual citizenry. You live both in time and eternity; both in heaven and earth. Therefore, your ultimate allegiance is not to the government, not to the state, not to nation, not to any man-made institution. The Christian owes his ultimate allegiance to God, and if any earthly institution conflicts with God's will it is your Christian duty to take a stand against it. You must never allow the transitory evanescent demands of man-made institutions to take precedence over the eternal demands of the Almighty God."

Is May 21, 2011 Judgment Day?

Several news stories have made these billboards and car wraps mainstream. Harold Camping and his Family Radio are declaring all around the world that THIS Saturday, May 21st, is Judgment Day.

So, are these predictions accurate and biblical? And how should people respond to this prediction?

Is this prediction accurate? NO. As Melody says, "Don't go Camping with Harold!"

But to answer the question, let's take a moment to break down why.

First, will there be a Judgment Day?
The Bible promises that there will be a Day of Judgment, and day when God will judge the wicked and the righteous. This is foretold in the Old Testament, and often called the Day of the Lord or the Day of Wrath (Joel 2:31; Ezekiel 13:5; Isaiah 2:12). Jesus was very clear about the coming judgment of God against sin and evil (Matthew 24-25), and then the apostles reinforced this teaching through their preaching and writing (Acts 10:42; 17:31; Romans 2:5-16; 14:10; 1 Corinthians 4:5; 2 Corinthians 5:10; 2 Timothy 4:1; 2 Thessalonians 1:5; James 5:7).

A Day of God's Judgment on both the righteous and the wicked is restated in the Apostle's Creed, "He will come again to judge the living and the dead."

What about the "rapture"?
This is a little more complicated, since the word never appears in the Bible, but is taken from the Latin word translated from the Greek in 1 Thessalonians 4:15- 17 where Paul states,
"According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever." (italics and underline added for emphasis)

Certainly, there is clear biblical evidence that believers of Jesus will be taken up to be with Jesus at some point in time, and that there will be a separation between Jesus-followers and the unrepentant. This separation will be the beginning of judgment on both the wicked and the righteous.

So What? There will be a point in time when God judges all mankind, and Christians are hopeful and expectant of a moment when they will be raptured to meet Jesus and receive their eternal reward.

At some point, time as we know it, will cease and the end will come.

Will it be May 21, 2011 at 6pm PST?
Probably NOT! I say probably, simply for the same reason why Harold Camping is wrong, because we do NOT know! If I claimed to know for certain that Jesus was NOT coming back on that date, I would be in as much error as Camping is for claiming that Jesus will return at that point.

The Bible is clear about trying to predict the Day of Judgment or the Rapture. Jesus clearly stated,
"He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority."
Acts 1:7.

“But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son,[a] but only the Father." Matthew 24:36. Jesus was teaching about the end of times, and made it clear to his listeners and followers that they should not speculate on dates and times.

Harold Camping is just making this stuff up? Okay, I've got to be a little brutal here. If you read his stuff, then compare it with even the most basic Bible study and apply an ounce of logic, it's obvious to all that his calculations and prophesies are absurd. Better writers and research than me have spent considerable time laying out the error of his ways, so google and you'll find plenty who debunk his calculations for a variety of reasons (here are a few links: COG site, overview of Camping, and here). But here are a few thoughts specifically regarding Camping and his "research":

• he's been wrong before and won't admit it (prophesied the same thing in 1994), and he is among a shameful group who have done so and obviously been wrong,
• he believes that he's the ONLY one who has received this revelation- that's code for "cult". When your "truth" or "prophesy" requires special revelation in order to re-interprete what the Bible and what is blatantly apparent to others, you're wrong.
• he and his followers claim to be the only "true believers" and that this understanding has been given to them. The Bible makes it clear that true believers are those who put their faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, through Jesus' death and resurrection on our behalf. That's all that's required! You don't have to believe in nonsensical calculations to be a believer, in fact that might very well illustrate a lack of true understanding and faith in God. See it for yourself in his book (full text available), writings, and commercials.
• his calculations and mathematics are off. Camping states in his writings that he has "learned" the true dates of the creation, flood, etc. Basically, what that means is that he made them up, because they fit conveniently into his projections. His dating is faulty and significantly off.
• his calculations are based on nonsensical "numerology". Camping associates numbers with meaning, then uses those numbers with his associated meanings to create equations to prove the conclusions that he has drawn. Example: 1978 = 2 x 23 x 43; 2 symbolizes those who are to bring the Gospel; 23 symbolizes wrath; 43 symbolizes judgment. He made these meanings up. Some numbers in the Bible do seem to have significant meaning and are consistently see as a pattern to reinforce that meaning (7 = completeness; 40 = suffering). However, these are never used to generate prophesies or predictions, and are only helpful for illustrative purposes. Additionally, Camping randomly takes numbers that he's added meaning to, then multiplies them, squares them, and in many other ways manipulates them to come up with a still inaccurate date of 5/21/2011.

How should Jesus-followers respond to this prediction?

• View Camping as a false prophet according to Deuteronomy 18:22 and 2 Peter 2:1-3,

"But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. 2 Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. 3 In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping."

• Live urgently and without shame, remembering that the "day is short" and judgment is at hand, since life is only a "handbreadth" and a "vapor." Second Peter 3 gives clear instruction on what to do in these moments: beware of false prophets, remember God's promises and judgments, urgent share God's message.
• Share the message of salvation of Christ with everyone without being ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of God to salvation for all who believe. In fact, conversations about judgment and end-times may give you an opportunity to share Jesus with people (however, don't try to scare them into believing)
• Point people to JESUS- He is TRUTH!

How should everyone else respond to this prediction?

• Obviously, Campings predictions give lots of fodder to atheists and naysayers who want to slam Christianity and disregard their faith and faithfulness. These are like black-eye moments on the church and Jesus-followers across the globe. However, faithful Christians should rest in God's faithfulness and not be intimidated by those who mock or slander the true Church because of some false prophet. 
• BEWARE- recognize that the clock will stop one day, time will end, and there will NOT be a second chance. While it probably won't be TOMORROW, it will be A tomorrow! Jesus said that he would return like a "thief in the night", when people are not ready or expecting Him.
• So, be ready and expecting Jesus' return. If you are not ready, simply put your faith in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, confess that you are a sinner, and received His forgiveness and salvation. 
• For more info on becoming a Jesus-follower, check out this incredible website: www.jesus.net/

Hope you found this meaningful and fair from a Christian and biblical perspective.

What do we do in this turbulent economy?

I got the privilege to attend a breakfast presentation this morning with Steve Forbes and Northwestern Mutual CEO John Schlifske in DC. What amazed me was that much of their thoughts/ teachings was how much of it was biblical wisdom that it regularly offered in sermons weekly (or at least should be). Love it when truth is shared that reaffirms our faith. Truth is truth regardless of where it's applied or what industry embraces it. It works every time. Read for yourself.

These are notes adapted from the forum discussion by these financial wizards (and I've adapted some of them into biblical, spiritual, church-oriented principles):

3 steps to financial strength:
1. Financial plan- like a game plan- each person needs both an offensive & defensive plan,
2. Financial advisor- like a coach, we need someone to help guide and implement that plan,
3. Save more. Consume less, save more. Basically, the borrowed the Lifehouse-ism of "live on less to give more" (or in this case, retire with more).

• When investing, emotions are our enemy. They do immense harm causing people to buy high, sell low. -Forbes.
• Be patient when investing. Compound interest is a true miracle -Einstien.
• If it feels good, don't. If feels bad, probably right. This one surprised me. Sounds like the counter-cultural, counter-intuitive teachings of Jesus and the way of the cross.
• 3x harder to preserve wealth than to build it. Why? Once we have, we spend/ waste. We adjust our lifestyle to abundance, rather than maintaining our values and purpose for wealth.

Top Focus for Investing:

• Keep long-term perspective rather than looking for quick fix solutions. 'When do you plan to use your investment?' If you have time, then don't panic, don't jump early. When people panic, they do stupid things when market fluctuates and make bad decisions that are personally destructive. Same could be said spiritually.
• Life expectancy continues to increase, so plan further ahead. Make sure your making preparations for deep into retirement. Plan to live a long time. (On spiritual note- are we planning past retirement to eternity? How far ahead are you planning?)
• Greatest risk is to under-estimated expenses in retirement, esp. health care costs. So, plan for higher expenses in retirement. (Spiritually, greatest risk is not to be prepared for eternity and underestimate the reality of hell/ eternity. It cost Christ more than you can imagine.)
• Most critical tool in current business climate- cash flow. Businesses need working capital. Don't waste cash in moment, but plan 5 yrs down the road.
• Can eat well or sleep well, but not both. (Spiritually, whatever you sow, you'll reap. If living for self, reap destruction)
• Stay focused on core competencies rather than areas where you can't add value. Clear on mission & purpose both in non-profit & business. (I think they borrowed this concept from Blanchard's Leading at Higher Levels and Warren's Purpose Driven Life).

How do we balance risk & investment? (allow me to insert the word faith for risk, just for the sake of spiritual application)

• Recognize key areas of risk- disability & out-living your income. Faith areas- possibilities that we can predict and eternity.
• First, focus on risk management, then think about wealth accumulation. Take care of "risk" areas first, then start to build wealth. (Faith trumps this lifetime. Have we made proper preparations for eternity or are we just re-arranging the chairs on the Titanic).
• Quickly adapt to change and new factors in market. The speed of adaptability determines longterm health of business.
• Accept changes- plan for them, then take risk step of investing. (Do we appropriately expect challenges and hardship, then allow our faith to full us through? Are we willing to take bold steps of faith in the midst of difficult circumstances, even when the odds are against us?)
• Gold, like oil, won't stay up forever- only 5% of portfolio. (Nothing lasts, even gold will eventually be destroyed)
• Like at-bat in baseball, take risk on 3-0 count, since you'll get another chance if you miss NOT on 0-2 count when you'll strike out.

What's holding economy back? (this one's for church leaders. Application- think "what's holding back the church from fulfilling her mission?)

• Policy- gov't runs $. Like running the engine of a car, if it lacks gas, goes empty but too much gas, flooded. Fed putting in too much 'gas' by printing $, which slows down recovery and drives up prices, (What codified policies are holding back the Church from impacting our communities? What "old", not necessarily biblical, methods are flooding the church with the wrong busyness and distracting her from her mission?)
• For economy to truly stabilize, the dollar must be relinked to gold, which has intrinsic value. (Where does the church derive value? Faith in Jesus, truly living the absolute truth of the Bible)
• Tax reform- congress must simply the tax code. Most significant documents in world are brief, unlike the 9.5 million word tax code. (Keep our faith in Jesus simple and practical)
• Need positive reform of health care by cutting out the middle man 3rd-party system to allow free trade between customer & medical providers. Give patients back control of their health care.
• US in painful pause but not decline,
• Revenue base (taxes of 2.2 trillion) devoured by entitlements (about 2.3 trillion) plus all the rest of government spending (another 1 trillion).

Where's interest rate going?

• Inflation/ bonds won't explode,
• Biggest issue is employment,
• Greater risk in deflation now than inflation,
• 8% annual expectation for return on investments is hopeful not likely,

Leadership thoughts:

• In business and investing, keep focused on core purpose/ mission (yeah, that works well for the church too),
• Earning trust- great leaders don't leverage position but earn trust over time.
• Help people (those you serve and those you employee) see something bigger than themselves (find bigger purpose/ Cause- can't think of a Cause greater than eternity),
• Respond quickly to 'curveballs'- focus on changes, adapt fast,
• Focus on details to generate productivity or the details will devour it,
• Stick to Values: NorthWestern Mutual's: 1. Strength (provide a stable, strong investment environment for clients); 2. Pay dividends (add value to those you serve); 3. Do the right thing all the time (wow! any church/ Christian could take these values, which seem very biblical and apply them to their life).

Secret to growth:

• Don't rest on laurels from past or relax or try to preserve greatness, since there are others trying to catchup,
• Don't forget the "why" & where your going (keep your eye focused on the destination).

Hope you found this helpful from both a financial and personal/ spiritual/ leadership perspective.

Would love feedback and thoughts?

Should Jesus-followers celebrate the death of Osama bin Laden?

By now, most have heard and even moved on from the news that US Navy Seals killed Osama bin Laden, the master mind behind the 9-11 terror strikes. It's possible that you missed this news, but I doubt anyone has not heard of the event nearly ten years ago that led to this news.

Probably everyone reading this remembers exactly where they were when they saw the news on TV or got the phone call. We all stood in one united deafening silent moment of shock and horror at our devastating loss and exposed vulnerability. We mourned like never before at the irrational and unjustifiable loss of innocent life.


Regarding yesterday's news of bin Laden's death, I've heard a wide range of responses both by US politicians, mainstream media, and Christians alike. By some media and Christians, I'm disgusted. So, I've tried to lay out a biblical and Christian response to both bin Laden's death and those like him (think Hitler and Stalin). Allow me to answer a few questions that I've heard regarding this news.

1. Was it right for the US to attack and kill him?

A better question might be to ask if it is right for the government of any nation to have a law against murder and that the consequence of murder and worse state-terror is death. Biblically, yes.

For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. Romans 13:4.

Osama bin Laden is a mass murderer and a terrorist. Both him and those like him, and the nations that sponsor terror are justly attacked and either annihilated or at least uttered powerless to attack again.

2. But doesn't politics and US agenda cloud the "righteous" mandate of such attacks? What if it is only about oil?

Like you, I've grown both skeptical, even jaded to any political allegiance or quick support for every US "cause". I've seen the US manipulate situations, politicians use Christians for their own agenda, and allowed the media to abuse their responsibility by reporting only what they want us to hear.

However, in this incident, it is apparent to all law abiding people that bin Laden was evil. How can I make such a statement. The Bible makes it clear that killing innocent people is evil (Exodus 23:7; Psalm 10:8; 64:4-9; 94:21; Proverbs 1:11). It's a one of the things God hates (Proverbs 6:17).

War is necessary to protect human life and the cause of freedom. It seems paradoxical to take life in the name of life. But so long as evil exists on earth (until Christ's triumphant victory at the end of time), there will be a need for righteous leaders to gain national safety and peace through military strength. We do NOT glamorize or celebrate war, but mourn it's necessity. We don't celebrate the mass death of enemies. We grieve the need to defend freedom from tyranny and long for a day when God rights all wrong. Until then, we are comforted in the profound words of Abraham Lincoln nearly 150 years ago,

"The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

3. Is it right to celebrate when people are killed?

Probably more than the other questions, this one seems to stir the most debate. It's born from our own horror at the jubilation and dancing in the streets by masses of Muslims around the world on 9-11. They celebrated at the death of thousands of innocent lives, non-combatants, women and children. Bin Laden plotted and armed Islamic terrorists, and evil people celebrated our destruction.

And now, the US has killed bin Laden and we celebrate. Aren't we doing the same thing?

First, let's go back to previous point and restate the question: is it right for Christians to celebrate the death of wicked people?

The righteousness of the upright delivers them, but the unfaithful are trapped by evil desires. 7 When a wicked man dies, his hope perishes; all he expected from his power comes to nothing. 10 When the righteous prosper, the city rejoices; when the wicked perish, there are shouts of joy. Proverbs 11:6–10. (italics added)

Whether Solomon was mandating the celebration or stating the obvious, there is something right about evil being punished. We should celebrate justice and rejoice in the victory of good over evil. While bin Laden was a human, he was clearly unrepentant, purely motivated by evil, and desirous of destroying innocent lives. Bin Laden wasn't an innocent person murderously attacked by big-bad-mean Navy Seals. He was an evil militant.

Also, other Christians have warped passages of the Bible to suggest that bin Laden deserves the same treat as David gave his father-in-law Saul. Most remarks like this are given by individuals with a very poor understanding of the Bible and proof-text Scripture to justify their own views rather than God's. David didn't kill Saul, not because he wasn't evil and evil deserved destruction, but because he had been "God's anointed" and David did not want to be responsible for taking the life of someone God had anointed. This clearly does NOT apply to bin Laden.

Final, but sobering thought:

We understand that wickedness, evil, and terror should and MUST be judged and punished. We celebrate the destruction of evil and evil people. And it is right!

The only place for pause on a day of celebration in the death of the wicked is to recognize that while we too are wicked. No, certainly not evil in the vein of Osama bin Laden. No, we are not terrorists, mass murderers, or busy plotting the destruction of innocent people. But we are living under judgment, rightly deserving of righteous punishment, because our desires are evil and selfish. God is right to pour wrath against sin, and through our celebration at bin Laden's death, we all agree.

However, we recognize that every person, both mass murderers and little-white-liars will be judged by God, and everyone will be found sinful and deserving of judgment (Romans 3:23; 6:23), and not just death on earth but forever death (Revelation 20:11-15) for all who did not place their faith in the salvation offered through the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

We are all sinners deserving of godly judgment. We will all stand before God and be judged for our life and actions (2 Corinthians 5:10). Those who throw themselves at the mercy of God through the grace offered in Jesus find a "covering" for their sins and are made righteous in God's sight.

So, let's celebrate at the good news that justice prevailed over evil. Let's celebrate that, through Jesus, mercy prevails over justice on our behalf through the cross of Jesus.