Religulous?

A friend recently gave me the Bill Maher movie Religulous to review so we could sit down and talk about it together. While I don't recommend the movie to the faint of heart, I found many parts of it fascinating. It was amazing to me how many people in the world view religion and particularly Christianity. Most people in the movie saw Christians as people who are so intensely focused on "the next life" that they are pretty useless for this life...people that are so focused upon "going to heaven when we die" that they have forgotten about the plans God has for them in this life.

I believe the Bible teaches that God designed us for good, that we were damaged by evil, but that Jesus restored us for something better...He wanted to use us to bring healing and reconciliation to the world! I also believe that what we do in this life has a direct effect on what we'll be doing in the next life. In other words, this life is a place where we become the kind of people who God can use in eternity where we'll be ruling and reigning with Him in an interactive relationship forever and ever. THIS LIFE MATTERS! God created me and blessed me so that He could use me to bring His blessing to the entire world!

I don't want to be "religulous". I want to be in an interactive relationship with God, serving Him and allowing Him to use me in any way he sees fit. I want to ask good questions and seek out truth. I don't think doubt is bad, because I see all truth as God's truth and I believe when I genuinely seek after truth, God reveals more and more of it to me.

Thanks Mr. Maher for getting me thinking. Thanks for challenging me to go deeper in my faith and really know WHY I believe WHAT I believe. I don't believe we do the world much good when Christians "check their brains at the door" and blindly follow...there are things we CAN know and need to seek out and live out if our faith is going to be real! I want that kind of "religion"...religion that follows after Christ with everything I've got...religion that serves those less fortunate than me with a burning passion...religion that is real and active and based in knowledge. Give me that kind of passion today Jesus!

My Hands Are What I Use to Serve Jesus

I was in Cleveland this weekend for my dad's Retirement Party. It turned out to be an amazing time...Read more

Living Out the Power of Christ can be Challenging!

It's one thing to get up and preach about the Power of Christ, it's quite another thing to actually try and live it out on a dialy basis! It's only Monday and I've already had to use the Prayer Card I handed out at the end of the service yesterday three times! Apparently I need to continually remind myself that http://www.bridgewaycc.com/dave-ambrose/living-out-the-power-of-christ-can-be-challenging/

A Snow-i-Cane? Really?

I read something online today about a Snow-i-Cane hitting the east coast and I thought to myself: Really? It's just a little snow isn't it? What's wrong with these people? For some perspective, maybe these folks up in the northeast should talk to some folks from Buffalo or Cleveland. To these folks, 8 inches of snow is a "dusting"...

Don't get me wrong, I hate snow too, and I'm just about done with it for this season. But a Snow-i-Cane? C'mon man...My opinion: This is just another one in the long list of WeatherPerson Hypes! It disgusts me...

A Few Good Men

Last night we had a Men's Nicaragua Mission Trip Reunion at my house and I was struck again by what a great bunch of guys I had the opportunity to serve with just a few weeks ago on our trip. Guys who love Jesus, but also know how to have fun. Guys who work hard, but also know how to relax. Guys who are secure enough to laugh at themselves and not take themselves too seriously. I haven't laughed any harder than when I'm with these guys. I'm blessed to call them my friends. Thank-you Jesus for allowing me to serve alongside them for a few days. Thanks for the opportunity to make a difference. It's amazing to me...I went away to help the people of Nicaragua, but I was the one who got help...through the vulnerability of a few good men.

Addicted? No Way...

What's amazing to me is how many years I "struggled" with my addiction before I was willing to admit it was an addiction. I called it a "problem", an "issue", something I was "struggling" with...but that word ADDICTION stood out to me. Surely I couldn't be an "addict". An "addict" was someone who had to check into a rehab clinic or get some serious help. An "addict" was homeless and out on their own. There's no way I could be an "addict" because I was still able to "manage" my life on my own for the most part...or was I?

Wow! I'll never forget that day when it finally hit me - I AM POWERLESS OVER THIS "ADDICTION". I can't do it on my own. There has to be Someone who can help me. I hope there's Someone more powerful who can rescue me. That was the day I started getting better. The day I finally felt enough pain to force me down a path of recovery. The day when I was finally able to say, "Hi, my name's Dave, and I'm an addict." We won't start getting better until that day. The day we completely surrender control of our lives to God...the day we ultimately determine that we can't handle life on our own. We need God's help and we need help from other people who can come alongside of us and offer healing. I'm so grateful for that day...and I want to live TODAY out of that gratefulness and thanksgiving!

Cleveland Indian Fans Unite...It's Playoff Time!

Growing up in Cleveland, Ohio I couldn't help but become a Cleveland Indians Baseball Fan. And now it's my favorite time of the year - October! Time for the playoffs! Just think Indians fans...we get to watch all of our favorite players actually COMPETE IN THE PLAYOFFS! You remember them don't you? All those players who "weren't good enough" to play for the Indians: Cy Young Award Winner Cliff Lee will pitch the Phillies into the playoffs, Manny Ramirez will strike deep for the Dodgers, Victor Martinez will carry the flag for the Boston Red Sox and of course yet another Cy Young Award winner CC Sabathia will pitch for the hated New York Yankees. I'm sure there are many others out there who weren't good enough to play for the Tribe who we will all get to see in action for many other teams throughout the playoffs too. This is my favorite time of year! Who knows, maybe we'll get to see Eric Wedge or even Mark Shapiro leading some other teams to the playoffs in the not too distant future as well huh? C'mon Tribe Fans! It's time to UNITE! This should be one of the best playoffs ever - so wake up from your season long depression and open up your eyes to all the optimism growing all around us...after all, what have we got to lose?