Don't Judge A Kiwi By Its Cover

Some consider the kiwi to be the ugliest fruit. It's outside is rough and tough and tasteless. But the inside of a kiwi is bright and colorful and deliciously sweet. Just like the kiwi, what we see on the outside is seldom an accurate indicator of what's on the inside.

I understand dressing appropriately for certain situations. Some schools require dress codes. Certain office jobs require business casual. I understand these things. But isn't the church supposed to be different?

As Arron Chambers wrote in his book, Eats With Sinners, "I just refuse to clothe the grace of God in a suit or a dress and require that lost men and women meet a dress code before they can meet Jesus."

Just because someone doesn't like wearing a tie to church doesn't automatically mean he doesn't love God. It might just mean that he hates ties, or he might just like breathing and the free flow of blood to the most important organ in the body!

Chambers wrote about a young man who couldn't wait to go to church so he could praise God with other Christians. He had just completed a six-month tour with the Navy in Iraq and had much to be grateful for - three months into his mission, he'd been rescued from the ocean after being knocked off the ship. So he put on a nice polo-style shirt, a nice pair of shorts (he'd been in uniform for six months and was ready for a break), and a pair of sandals and he headed to a church.

He arrived late because he was from out of town and didn't know where he was going. The service was well underway and packed when he finally made it, so he grabbed the first available seat, on the back row next to a well-dressed older couple.

During a break in the singing, the older woman leaned over to him and whispered, "Next time you come to our church, you need to dress more appropriately." He sat there stunned and no longer joyful.

Tears of sorrow welled up in his eyes. After sitting quietly for a few minutes, he leaned over to the woman and politely whispered, "There won't be a next time." He left the service and went back to his ship discouraged and brokenhearted.

The Word of God says in 1 Samuel 16:6-7, "The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." In James 2:1-9 we are commanded to not show favoritism because of how people dress or look.

There are so many good things we miss out on when we only focus on the external. Just think, if we only chose fruit based on their appearance, no one would ever enjoy a wonderful kiwi!

Arguments I've Heard Recently Favoring Homosexuality

Let me start out by saying that contrary to popular opinion, the Bible is not only right about the issue of homosexuality even though it's teachings may be old...they are obviously VERY relevant to this current fallen culture. I am not a fearful homophobe clinging to God and my guns, I am a rational Christian who does not accept the terms of the current debate over homosexuality and its acceptance as normative in our day and age.

Those in support of the acceptance of homosexuality have stated that Bible is not clear in it's view of homosexuals. On the contrary, I believe it couldn't be any more clear.

The Law of Moses said, "You shall not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is an abomination" (Leviticus 18:22; c.f 20:13). The Old Testament (OT) also condemns "sodomites," which were male temple prostitutes (I Kings 14:24; 15:12; 22:46; II Kings 23:7).

The New Testament is just as clear on this issue as is the Old Testament. In the first chapter of Romans Paul wrote of the many evils mankind has engaged in while suppressing the knowledge of God that He has revealed to them (Romans 1:18-21), one of which was homosexuality. Paul plainly declared: "Because of this [the suppression of truth resulting in idolatry] God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion" (Romans 1:26-27, NIV). Although homosexuality is not named as such here, the act of homosexuality is clearly described. It was in judgment that God allowed men and women to have sexual relations with the same sex, and they received in themselves their due punishment for such indecent acts.

While listing those who would not inherit the kingdom of God, Paul noted that homosexuals will not be saved: "Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived! The sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, passive homosexual partners, practicing homosexuals, thieves, the greedy, drunkards, the verbally abusive, and swindlers will not inherit the kingdom of God (I Corinthians 6:9-10, NET).

In a recent email debate, a person arguing for homosexuality said to me, "Jesus does talk about those who are victims of prejudice like the Samaritans, and those who are marginalized and rejected like the lepers, but he never says a word about anyone's sexual orientation. Perhaps as a church leaderyou should contemplate the possibility that they are, as one man once suggested, 'making much of that which cannot matter much to God.' "

This argument fails on two grounds. First, the major premise of the argument is flawed. The argument goes like this:

P1 Any issue Jesus is silent on must be morally acceptable
P2 Jesus is silent on the issue of homosexuality
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Homosexuality is morally acceptable

Is it true that any issue Jesus did not speak to is to be considered morally acceptable? A cursory reflection on the notion reveals that this is not a true premise. Jesus did not speak to the issue of incest, rape, drug abuse, wife beating, and gay-bashing. Are we to conclude that these acts are morally good? Clearly not. We cannot determine the moral nature of an act by the mere observation that Jesus did not address the issue. Jesus did not speak to every moral issue there is to speak to.

Secondly, from the Christian perspective what is moral or immoral is not based solely on what Jesus said or did not say. While we are very interested in what Jesus had to say, we use Scripture as a whole to determine how God feels about various moral issues. When we examine the whole of Scripture we find a very clear portrait of God's take on homosexuality.

This comprehensive approach to morality makes perfect sense within the Christian worldview for two reasons:

1. The Bible claims to be inspired by God. This means that every word in the Bible is equally authoritative. The teachings of one individual in one book cannot be given more weight than another individual's teaching in another book. Jesus' words hold no more authority than Paul's or Moses'

2. The Bible teaches that Jesus Christ is God incarnate. The same God who spoke in the OT is the same God who became man in the face of Jesus Christ. It would be a mistake, then, to argue that since Jesus did not speak against homosexuality that God is not concerned with the issue, for it is clear that God did speak to the issue.

I have also had individuals tell me to my face that the sin of Sodom was due to the inhospitality and NOT the sexual perversion rampant in the city. I would be interested to see the evidence supporting this notion, because I am not aware of any. While it is true that Sodom was not judged only for its immorality (Ezekiel 16:49-50), from the Biblical narrative it is clearly the main reason. Jude 7, for one, makes it clear that Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed for their sexual perversion. The focus of the Genesis narrative is their sexual perversion as well.

Besides, the inhospitality that the men of Sodom exhibited toward the visiting angels could not have been the cause of their destruction because God had determined to destroy Sodom prior to this incident.

Furthermore, while Biblical scholars and historians recognize that inhospitality was much more serious in the Ancient Near East than it is to Westerners today, do we really believe that God would destroy two whole cities for having bad manners? What could explain God's execution of mass capital punishment on these people? Amazingly enough we find in Leviticus 20:13 that homosexuality was deserving of the death penalty. There is no prohibition in the OT against inhospitality, yet alone death as a prescribed form of judgment against it. The argument of inhospitality is further weakened by the fact that the inhospitality of the Sodomites is only implied in Genesis 19. The only thing explicitly stated in the text is the Sodomites' homosexual behavior. It would only make sense that this was made explicit to highlight why it was that God had determined to destroy these wicked cities.

It has been argued with me that if Christians wish to take the Old Testament condemnation of homosexuality seriously, they also need to take its prescription for punishment seriously: death. The fact that Christians do not believe homosexuals ought to be put to death indicates that we do not consider the Biblical teaching on homosexuality to be entirely authoritative, and thus have no basis on which to say that the condemnation of homosexuality is authoritative either. I believe that is the gist of your argument.

This argument fails on two grounds: logical, Biblical. From a logical perspective, at best such a point would only demonstrate that Christians are inconsistent in their application of the Biblical teaching. The real problem, however, is Biblical.

The Bible is clear that the Mosaic Covenant has been replaced by the New Covenant. While there are some similarities between the two covenants, this is not one of them. The Law of Moses was a contract between God and Israel to govern their life in the land of Canaan, both spiritually and politically (a theocratic kingdom).

The New Covenant serves an entirely different purpose. The New Covenant governs our spirituality, not our politics. While the New Testament is clear that God has ordained human government to punish evil and commend the good (Romans 13:1-7) it does not speak to how that punishment ought to be carried out for particular moral crimes, or the degree of punishment. It would seem that those decisions are given to the state. It is clear, however, that under the New Covenant sins are not punished in the same way they were under the Mosaic Covenant because the New Covenant is a spiritual, not a political-social covenant.

It would be a mistake, then, to say that as a Christian, I am not obeying my own Scripture, or being arbitrary in what parts of the Bible I keep. Each passage of Scripture must be evaluated within its historical and covenantal context, and be applied appropriately.

Not all commands in Scripture apply equally for all people and all times (but are specific to a covenant), whereas others do. For example, while I am not obligated to build an ark, I am obligated to abstain from murder. Christians do not believe in exercising capital punishment for homosexuality because we are not under the covenant that once prescribed such a punishment. Christians are not ignoring those Old Testament passages, but are properly interpreting them within their context and applying them appropriately. The same goes for the dietary laws, and the garment laws that are typically referenced in this dicussion as well(Romans 14:1-7, 20; See Galatians 3:19-26; 4:8-12; Colossians 2:14-17).

I am against homosexuality, not merely because the Bible says it is deplorable, but because it is unnatural, unhealthy, and puts children at risk. Any sane person in society ought to be concerned about the same, if not for religious reasons, but for secular reasons. The only reason I can see to promote homosexual behavior is either ignorance of its social ramifications, or because one confuses a condemnation of homosexual behavior with a condemnation of the homosexual persons themselves.

Elijah's Great Run

Preaching through the life of Elijah, we encountered the incredible story (that is almost mentioned in passing) of Elijah running ahead of Ahab’s chariot all the way to Jezreel. It only takes up one verse, the last verse of chapter eighteen of 1 Kings.

The power of the LORD came upon Elijah and, tucking his cloak into his belt, he ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel. -1 Kings 18:46 (NIV)

There are many who scoff at stories like this in Scripture and say, “It is physically impossible for a human to do something like this.” Bill Maher, comedian and well-known atheist, has referenced this story in comedy routines saying it is just another reason why he rejects the Bible as a myth.

Did you realize that doctors and scientists said it was impossible for a man to run a mile in less than four minutes? They said that our bone structure was wrong and wind resistance was too great and our lungs did not have adequate power as well as the human heart could not take that kind of stress and you would die in such a foolish attempt. It is an impossible dream to try to run a mile in under four minutes.

But 25 year old Roger Bannister didn’t listen to the experts.
He endured thousands of monotonous laps around the same university track. Bannister was determined to shape his body and his mind. On May 6, 1954 at Oxford University in England Roger Bannister was the first known human to run a mile in under four minutes.

I say known because Elijah may have well been history’s first. Since that historic day in 1954, one of the greatest sports achievements ever, 955 runners have achieved the same impossible dream as Bannister did. In fact, those runners have beat the four minute mile over 4,700 times now.

The next time someone you see on television scoffs at something in the Bible, just remember how impossible the four minute mile USED to be. Scripture affirms for you and me this timeless truth:

For nothing is impossible with God. –Luke 1:37 (NIV)

The Other World

Today my family participated in the annual Life Chain event. This is the 23rd year it has been organized. As usual it was our family but the boys had one of their buddies come along. It really does sadden me that so many people don't seem to care.

My sons asked an individual at church today if they were attending and their response was that would mean they would miss their Sunday afternoon nap (which apparently is an unacceptable suggestion). Wow! Standing up against murders of convenience or missing a nap. I can see why the nap was the easy choice.

Because it is hard to stand up against a culture that thinks you're crazy for thinking that an unborn child has rights. It isn't easy to face the car horns and middle fingers and shouts of the pro-death crowd (which is just about everybody these days).

But as I preached this very morning I have to remember that God is never outnumbered! No matter how many voices who have swallowed the blue pill (Matrix reference) are loudly attempting to drown out the voices of those who have swallowed the red pill...I have to remember: God can do much with little.

One totally dedicated life is all God needs to change entire nations! (See the life of Elijah - 1 Kings 18) I am still sad to be surrounded by so many "Christians" who are addicted to the blue pill. They love their connection to this world but are slightly intrigued by the other world. So to scratch the other world itch, they show up on Sundays very faithfully.

But what they don't know is that the other world isn't far away. It's here. It's everywhere. It is simply veiled by all that we can see and feel. But all that we can see and feel is not real...it is a great illusion! And the master magician Satan loves to keep us in awe of it.

If we could only have our eyes opened like Elisha's servant then we would know just how close (and real) the other world really is! I guess I just need to keep praying that God will open the eyes of the "Christians" I know who have a blue pill addiction!

Who's in charge here?

I have been having an ongoing debate with a gentleman I met over Twitter about Scripture. He is Roman Catholic and believes that "The Bible cannot declare itself to be the inspired Word of God. An outside authority must do it. That authority is the Catholic Church." (That is a direct quote from one of our online dialogues.)

I shared with him that even though he may say that the Bible cannot declare itself to be the inspired Word of God, that is exactly what the Bible does do. In 2 Timothy 3:16 Paul affirms that all Scripture is inspired (literally "God-breathed"). And Peter insisted in 2 Peter 1:21 the prophets did not originate their own private predictions, but wrote as "they were carried along by the Holy Spirit."

You see, the fundamental difference between my Roman Catholic friend and myself is this. I believe that the Word of God is inspired, infallible and authoritative by itself. He believes the Word of God is also inspired, infallible and authoritative only because the Roman Catholic Church has said so.

My question would be this: Where does parental authority come from? Is there authority inherent with simply being a parent or does an outside source (like the state) say you have the authority to be a parent? (Unfortunately such an idea isn't that far from reality.)

A parent has authority as a parent because he or she is a parent. Now there are some cases where the state has stepped in and declared a person to be unfit to be a parent. But by and large, parental authority is derived from the state of parenthood, and not the state.

Similarly, the Word of God, validated by signs and wonders and miracles, can claim with no help from an outside source, that it is divinely inspired. There have been occasions in the past where the church stepped in and helped to determine if a book should be in the canon or not based on historical merit. But Scripture is inspired with out the help of the Catholic Church.

The Bible's authority, reliability, authenticity and validity is in no need of support from a religious tradition that subverts the nature of the message of the Gospel by telling men that they can be saved by good works. The epitome of heresy, in my humble opinion, is to think that we can do anything at all to add to the work of Jesus Christ on the cross to atone for the sin of mankind.

I trust in the infallible Word of God, not because the Catholic Church has deemed it to be okay (by the way, the Catholic Tradition has upheld the validity of works that have no historical merit as the Word of God with their acceptance of the apocrypha) but because the Word of God has told me it is inspired from God.

The Lord your God

Over the course of my sabbatical I drove approximately 4,500 miles. That’s a lot of time in the car! So one of my sub-goals in the sabbatical was to listen to the Word of God while I was on the road. And listen I did!

I was hoping to make it all the way through the Bible while I was gone but that didn’t happen. I made it through the first 13 books of the Bible (that’s through 2 Chronicles). There was a phrase that I heard over and over again as I listened to Scripture through my car stereo system. It is a phrase that is so common it is almost not noticeable as you read or listen to God’s Word.

The phrase is “the Lord your God.” I heard that phrase exactly 398 times in the version I was listening to while I was on the road (New King James if you’re wondering).

In fact, the phrase appears 431 times in the whole Bible (NIV)! It only occurs once in the book of Genesis. But in the first five books of Scripture (the Pentateuch) it occurs 308 times. Why is that phrase repeated so often so early in Scripture?
Why did Moses (the author of the Pentateuch) feel the need to use that phrase so much from Exodus through Deuteronomy?

The answer lies in the northeastern corner of Africa, in Egypt. The Israelites were slaves in Egypt for 430 years (Exodus 12:40-41). For centuries the Hebrews were a people group owned by another people group (the Egyptians).

And when God saves them and brings them out of Egypt (which is what we see at the beginning of Exodus) you begin to see the phrase, “the Lord your God” being used over and over again. The reason is because God wanted to embed the thought into the very soul of this people…I belong to you.

AND…if God belongs to them, then the converse is automatically true as well…that people group also belongs to God. He is YOUR God. And you are HIS people.

It is something that obviously they needed to hear over and over again. Because for so long the only gods they knew were the gods of the Egyptians. The only gods that they ever saw being revered belonged to another people group.

Oh sure they had heard the story of Abraham and God’s promise to Him but obviously, after so many centuries, that promise was not going to be fulfilled. But God was waiting for the right time and moment in history to save His people from slavery. And He did so. He did it in such a way that every single god of the Egyptians was proven beyond any shadow of a doubt to be worthless and nothing compared to the God of the Hebrews.

I believe it is a message we need drilled into our hearts as well. He is our God. And we are His people (1 Peter 2:9). We don’t need to keep being lured into idolatry by counterfeit deities…we worship the one true God of the universe! And He deserves our whole heart’s allegiance and affection!

Sabbatical Day 22

Sabbatical Day 18

Sabbatical Day 15

Sabbatical Day 14

Sabbatical Day 13

Sabbatical Day 10

Sabbatical Day 9

Sabbatical Day 8

Sabbatical Day 7

Learning about Sabbath...

Before the 10 Commandments were ever etched in stone, Creator God gave a gift to His people, the Israelites (and us, ultimately). The gift was the Sabbath. It is a rhythm for life. Six days to work, and the seventh to rest and just delight in God and His good gifts to us.

In Exodus 16:29, Moses is trying to explain to the people why they need to gather twice the amount of manna than on other days. The reason is for the intended rest on the seventh day. God gave the Sabbath to His people to teach them to rest.

I am learning now, like the Israelites did, that I need to practice Sabbath. I need to rest and delight in God's goodness. Sometimes before the rest, there is a little more work to be done (just like I had to prepare for this time away...and it did take a lot of work)...but now I have no agenda.

There is no alarm clock in my room at this retreat. I will wake up in the morning when my body tells me I am rested. That's new. I think that is a wonderful gift. And God is the provider of that gift.

If you are burning candles at both ends...you need to slow down or perhaps God will slow you down.

God did not intend for us to always be running and rushing and filling up our lives with constant noise. He desires for us to slow down and rest. To actually take deep breaths regularly. To sigh...not out of frustration...but out of complete rest and contentment.

It has been a long time since I have sighed like that. I like it. I think it is way over-due!

Sabbatical Day 6

Sabbatical Day 5

Sabbatical Day 4

Sabbatical Day 3

Sabbatical Day 2

Sabbatical Day 1

About that name of yours...

Have you ever read Psalm 9:10? I was reading the other day about the fact that the way you address God or how you refer to him reveals your intimacy with him (or lack of it).

What I am called reveals how well someone knows me. My last name is "Demastus". Do you have any idea how butchered my name gets by telemarketers? But that's okay. Because when I pick up the phone and the person says, "May I speak to Mister Demarksicus?" That alerts me that this individual does not know me.

Maybe I might take my family to a restaurant and have to wait for a table. After a few minutes, the hostess calls out, "Dee-Mast-Us, party of four!" The hostess may know my name and how to pronounce it. But we don't really know each other.

Sometimes I am called, "Pastor Mike." Then that probably means you know a little about me. You know what I do and have probably heard me speak. But even your use of a title for me doesn't necessarily mean you know me personally.

Sometimes I am called, "Mike." That means we are probably close. We're friends if you just call me, Mike.

But there are a couple of people on this planet who have reserved the right to call me by a very special name. These couple individuals are very dear to me. They call me "Daddy." They know me so much better than even those who call me, Mike. The name reveals intimacy.

What do you call God? Is He "The Big Guy Up In The Sky" to you? Is He "The Man Upstairs" to you? If that is the case, then you don't know him. Those may be funny, clever titles, but they aren't intimate.

If you know God you are going to be far more specific with him. Maybe you realize how big of a deal it is that God has forgiven you of your sins so you constantly refer to him as your "Savior."

Maybe you realize that everytime you have been in need, God has always come through for you, so you refer to him as "Provider."

Maybe, if you're a woman, you had a man in your life abandon you, so you might call him "Husband."

Maybe when you feel totally alone, you call him, "Friend."

What do you call God? Your answer may be a clue to how well you know him. Or don't.

Discouraging and Encouraging Thoughts...

I have had some things that have been discouraging me lately...

I've been discouraged by some folks in our church who are more committed to getting their kids to dance or to music lessons than they are to getting them to church.

I've been discouraged by some folks in our church who can't seem to talk with someone they are upset with but spend all kinds of time talking about them with other people.

I've been discouraged by folks who are more faithful with their gym membership than meeting Jesus around the communion table.

I've been discouraged by folks who just don't care about their other brothers and sisters in Christ...but are so overly self-absorbed that they probably don't even know other people exist on this planet.

I've been discouraged by folks who care about music more than worshiping in Spirit and Truth. (John 4:24)

But...

I've been encouraged by some of the youth in our church who chose modest dress at their prom even when most probably wouldn't have done something like that! (Way to go Hoodjer girls!)

I've been encouraged by my small group who has been a real source of encouragement to me.

I've been encouraged by my elders who keep encouraging me to keep preaching...even when it is hard for me to!

I've been encouraged by my wife...a godly lady who has so much class. I still have so much to learn from her.

I've been encouraged that even though I've been discouraged I know that my battle is not with "flesh and blood." Satan is the real foe in all of this. When he is leaving me completely alone...then I really need to worry!

I am encouraged because my six-week sabbatical is exactly 30 Days away!

"Gay" Christian?

I was so saddened to read the article in Christianity Today about Christian music artist, Jennifer Knapp, admit that she's a lesbian. You can read the article HERE. One of the assertions made in the article, by Knapp herself, is that she is a Christian who just happens to be gay.

By the way, she isn't the first person in the Christian music industry to do this either. Ray Boltz admitted he was gay in September 2008. Of course, this came out only after a horrible divorce from his wife and deep hurt to his grown children. (But that's not as sweet a story, so we'll just skip over that detail.)

After cleaning up my playlist on my iPod and trashing my Kansas CD (Knapp's best album, in my opinion), I thought about the idea...can I be "gay" (stolen word) AND a Christian? Can I practice deviant sexual behavior and still rest assured in my salvation?

Well, let me start off by saying that I am not a very PC guy. I don't try (or care) to not offend someone's sensibilities. If something is true, it is true. Why sugar-coat it?

Jesus didn't (i.e. - Matthew 7:23)So why should I? By the way, the verse I referenced there, was in the closing section of the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus is addressing those people who claim they know Him...but don't really know Him. He is addressing people who say (or sing maybe) that they love Him, but don't. It is a pretty hard passage.

So with that in mind, my answer is: HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND?! Have we become so open-minded that our brains have fallen out?

Of course you cannot continue to sin sexually (or any other manner) in a habitual way and expect God to be okay with it. He's not. His holiness demands reflective holiness from us (1 Peter 1:16).

I would tell a married man who was cheating on his wife that he better not expect to think he's on the highway to heaven continuing to lead that kind of lifestyle...nor would I tell a woman who thinks she can be in a lesbian relationship and still maintain solid faith in Christ. You can't.

Darkness doesn't coexist with light. What is so horrible about calling homosexuality sin? Why has that become taboo?

The Word of God has not changed. Our culture hasn't attained some new enlightened level of sexual awareness. We have simply devolved into the same old sins of our forefathers. We are becoming more and more like the days of Noah when every man did what was right in his own eye (or every "Christian" artist did what was right in their eye).

By the way, if you read the article, Jennifer Knapp admits she doesn't go to church. Although, it probably wouldn't be hard for her to find one that would wholeheartedly approve of her lifestyle choice (oh, pardon me, if our culture is correct then she never had a choice in the matter...she was DNA-destined to be a lesbian).

Here's the cold, hard truth. Sin separates us from God. The more of sin we adopt, the farther from Him we find ourselves. You cannot call good what God has called sin. Homosexuality isn't any worse than any other sexual sin. It all leads us away from God and Christ, and if we are never brought off that road...we are just another statistic on a very wide road (Matthew 7:13).

It's been a while, old friend...

I have been away from my blog for a long time now. So many things have happened in my life since my last post back in November that it would be very futile to try to write it all here. So I'll just jump back in and start with today.

I met with another minister today over lunch. He is a Lutheran minister. He preaches at Zion Lutheran Church in Des Moines. We met and talked about One Prayer 2010.

I realized as we chatted and ate (a great meal, by the way, at Pho All Seasons) that it is critical for those of us in ministry to have friends in ministry.

Nobody knows a preacher like another preacher! (That's what another preacher-friend of mine used to say.) It is so important to be able to share openly and honestly with someone that truly understands.

The Bible says in Proverbs, "A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity." Preachers need preacher friends. Plain and simple. I'm happy I made a new preacher friend today who inspired me to get back on my blog. Here's his blog, by the way: http://pastorjohnsthoughts.blogspot.com