Looking at Syria... is war ever right?

The headlines ooze the news from Syria - confirmed 1429 of the general population - including 426 children died of chemical warfare from the government against them. It makes us all stop and think - when is it ever right to have war? In the face of atrocious regimes like this? What about in the past? Hitler? Imagine if we had never stood up to his regime - what would the world be like today? 

What does the Bible say about war? 

We all know it say do not commit murder, yet there were times when God demanded people be put to death for crimes. We know there were times when God had the Israelites invade and wipe out entire nations of people. When is war justified? God commands us to protect those who cannot protect themselves as James 1:27 says, Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. Ecclesiastes 3:8 says there is a time for war. God does NOT LIKE war, but sometimes it has been necessary when all peaceable means have failed to resolve a situation. Let me say I am not pro-war, but I am not against it when it is needed to free those from harm's way. If we can help and don't help, what does James say? James 4:17 says, If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.

So what do we do as believers. I've had people challenge me saying we can never go to war because it kills, and if I seem to be okay with it to help out a situation that cannot be resolved any other way they get upset at me and quote the Ten Commandments - me... a pastor. Like I don't know what the Ten Commandments say. I get talked to like i'm ignorant of the Bible. I know some denominations flat out say we are against people serving in the military. "Turn the other cheek!" "Blessed are the peacemakers!" So if Canada got invaded by an evil force... would they sit back and not do anything? 

I know this is a touchy subject, but I thought it was very relevant considering the situation the world is facing with Syria right now. 

It is wrong to kill, it is wrong to sit back and watch people being killed by an evil regime who would use gas warfare on their population. Decide for yourself what you think the world - including Canada - needs to do here. For me? I think we can support a strike situation as Syria is now challenging the world against its actions. War can only be considered when all other means have been exhausted - the world has tried sanctions of different kinds, they have tried to negotiate peace, and Syria has remained defiant. it is an evil that must be overthrown in my opinion - or we could have another Hitler. This is not about revenge, it is about standing up to an evil force with any means necessary to get rid of it.

God bless.  

Sci-Fi and the believer

People who know me know I'm a sci-fi guy. Often Christians don't go into the sci-fi realm because of different reasons and then announce that any believer who does like it and watch it is not strong in their faith "obviously." Really? The original Star Trek had Biblical references, on in particular I remember seeing was when they found a planet that was into sun worshiping. At the end of the episode it was Lieutenant Uhara that said, "not the sun, the Son of God!" It was an acknowledgement of God. Firefly had a Shepherd (pastor) as part of the crew, Babylon 5 recognized Christianity. Stargate had a character say, "There's only one God ma'am, and He don't look like that!" There are Christian sci-fi writers out there and I have a book of Christian sci-fi shorts. I keep waiting for a huge sci-fi on the level of a Star Wars of something to appear at the Christian bookstores, maybe even a Christian sci-fi movie... maybe some day.

Christianity and sci-fi can exist. Worried about aliens? Think they don't work with the Bible? Two thoughts on that - 1) Maybe there are aliens out there that we are not permitted to contact because we are fallen and they are not? 2) Firefly is the only sci-fi out there that doesn't use aliens, and a main character is a Shepherd/Pastor! Shiny! It is a series that has other themes that are not kid friendly so it's not a family sci-fi. Maybe someday we'll get something like Firefly that IS family friendly. The universe God made is so vast that it hold secrets we may never know until we get to heaven. 

Seasons change... not just the seasons of nature

Seasons change, and not just the seasons we experience in nature like summer/spring/fall/winter (which is the order I like those seasons by the way). I'm talking about the seasons of life we experience. Being born, childhood, teens, young adult, adulthood, parenting, getting older and empty nesting, senior years, jobs, and more. We all experience times of joy and times of sorrow. Ecclesiastes 3 talks about this: 1 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: 2 a time to plant and a time to uproot, 3 a time to tear down and a time to build, 4 a time to mourn and a time to dance, 5 a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, 6 a time to keep and a time to throw away, 7 a time to be silent and a time to speak, 8 a time for war and a time for peace.

So change is inevitable, the point is are we going to be ready for it? Churches get pastors that come and go, businesses gain and lose staff, people get sick and well, and more. No matter who we are we will face trials of many kinds - and as believers we know these trials produce perseverance which produces a stronger faith. We intellectually know that God works all things together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose, but do we believe it? 

How we handle change is what determines if we are successful in our faith or not.

Bitterness rots our souls

It's no secret that the Bible talks about the effect bitterness and unforgiveness has on us. When hearing others speak about it, including James MacDonald recently this thought came to mind... "As bitter lemons and limes are to our taste buds, that's how bad bitterness is to our souls." That was my thought, but does it really go far enough? What does the Bible say about bitterness? Acts 8:23 For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin.” So being bitter is to be captive to sin! Wow. Ephesians 4:31 tells us to

Get rid of all bitterness. So we are under command to get rid of it. How do we do that? We forgive - even if the offending party doesn't ask for it. That's tough to do. At Life we play songs about this topic such as Forgiveness from Matthew West and 7x70 by Chris August, Toby Mac has a song about Forgiveness as well... many artists do. It's no coincidence as if we let unforgiveness fester in our souls it rots us from the inside out and bitterness sets in and we become ineffective for Christ - the enemy of our souls wins. 

So how do we beat this? Forgive. Overcome evil with good as Scripture says. Don't give the Devil a foothold. Easy to say, tougher to do...

A time to rest...

In life we get so busy that I think we forget to take time to rest. I have discovered this for myself at times when I have gotten so busy (even with being busy at the church) that God has had to step in and STOP me! Whether it is getting sick, or one year almost cutting my fingers off with a hedge trimmer... (yeah don't ask) sometimes God has had to stop me so I could rest.

Jesus often went off alone to rest and to pray and seek God's face. He didn't allow the busy patterns of life to get in the way - He took time out to rest, and He was the Son of God! I heard Chuck Swindoll use a phrase today that went like this: He will break the bow that is always bent. It was meaning that if we are always on the go and never slow down, that God will take matters into His own hands to slow us down. Something to think about...

So for all of us... myself included... make sure to take time out to rest and seek out the Lord in SPITE of the business of life.

Got questions?

I've been doing Ask The Pastor for over 4 years now on Life 100.3 Mondays at 9 pm. I started out with AJ the Wonderdog, have worked with Junky Rhodes, then Evan Duran, and back to Junky Rhodes. I've had the occasional fill-in DJ with me too at times when someone was not available. 

So 4 years later I've realized - people still have SO many questions! Some are worth repeating too. So here is my plea to all who listen - no question is a dumb question except the one you don't ask. So please ask! Email them in early if you wish to atp@lifeonline.fm, or call the nigth of at 1-866-737-LIFE (5433) or TEXT the word lifeonline to 212121 and ask your question!

I love hearing from listeners who just can't figure things out and need some help. I will do my best to answer what I can. I have also had the opportunity to counsel people off the air and through the week. For those more personal issues, feel free to contact me directly at andrew@lifeonline.fm and I will be glad to get in touch with you.

It's been an amazing 4 years and I feel so blessed and privileged to be able to continue to do this ministry. Thank you Life 100.3 for your support over the last 4 years and for the time to come! God bless, and ASK away! 

Pastor Andrew Robertson
Announcer/Ask The Pastor Co-Host 
LIFE 100.3

Examples

http://www.godtube.com/watch/?v=KWLPW7NX

Bethany Hamilton and Nick Vujicic!

Two amazing testimonies, two amazing people who inspire so many!

Both have been through unreal situations and yet turned to God for strength in their time of need. Nick has been around the world sharing his testimony to inmates at prisons, world leaders that others are denied access to, and more and now he's married and has a child of his own!

Bethany survived the shark attack and a movie was made about her life, she competes still and serves as an example as to how to overcome adversity!

Two great examples! 

We may never face situations like them, but we know that whatever we face? God is there to back us up!

Deuteronomy 31:6 says, 6 Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”