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There it was, a gruesome, troubling image, appearing in various places on Facebook. The image is troubling, but the reality behind it is even more so.  And there is a need to make people think.  So I downloaded it, opened it in GIMP, added a black frame and the title.  Because “choice” is but a word.  It can be whitewashed and used anyway the people choose to use it.  But linked to an image, an image that shows the consequences of people making the wrong choice, perhaps it will give someone, somewhere, a reason to choose life. Already this picture has impacted people.  One acquaintance threatened to “unfriend” me over it (and the fact that I’m vocal in my beliefs, something that makes fence riders uncomfortable). Yes, the image is disturbing, but what SHOULD disturb us is the fact that thousands more such children are destroyed each day. This image is repeated, in even worse forms, time after time after time.  And we call ourselves “civilized”.

He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into 50 pounds of flour until it spread through all of it.”  Matthew 13:33

One of the oft overlooked parables about the Kingdom of Heaven is the one comparing the Kingdom of Heaven to yeast. Yeast has long fascinated me.  I recall waaay back in time when we were at the “Morbach” school.  The older kids were having science classes and we got to look through the microscope as well. They took some yeast that had been activated and placed it on the slide.  It did not look like much, but as we looked through the microscope we saw the yeast cells busy multiplying themselves. What was not obvious from the microscope slide was the byproduct of their growth, the generation of gas which when combined with the elasticity of the gluten in the flour resulted in the rising of the dough. Read the rest of this entry »

Far too many Christians are like “johns” seeking a hooker to fulfill their fantasy, give them an experience and excite their desires. They have no interest in commitment to the individual congregation, they are not interested in seeing it become in all things the bride of Christ. All they are looking for is a congregation that will fulfill their own desires and give them some transitory experience and fleeting pleasure.

On the other hand, there are far too many congregations who act like hookers. They offer pleasure and titillation with a soothing mix of “worship” and “praise”, but NEVER demanding commitment. Their main interest is pecuniary. As long as a person tithes or gives offerings then the leadership is happy. The spiritual growth and well being of the person in question is of no interest, as long as each party gets what they want.  Titillation on one side, pecuniary reward on the other.

To ask a person to make not only a statement of faith but to make a commitment to the local congregation is anathema in much of today’s culture. After all, if they toss something into the offering plate, is that not enough? One of the oddest things I’ve observed in churches in Latin America is the custom of asking “all baptized believers” to stand up to receive Communion. But at the time of the offering they pass the plate or other receptacle in front of ALL the folks present. And never have I heard anyone teach the Biblical truth that God expects us to put our personal relationships in order before we bring an offering to Him.

So if you are offering your gift on the altar, and there you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Matthew 5:23-24

There is a movement afoot in which folks declare “We can’t know anything for certain except that we should ‘love’ everyone.” The comments are well meant, after all, folks want to “do what Jesus would do”.  The intention is to convince everyone to walk around “loving on everyone” and creating “one big happy family” out of human kind by ignoring any notion of right or wrong.

On the other hand, there are others who condemn anyone and everyone who disagree with them. They tend to have a legalistic outlook on life and see anyone who disagrees with their particular brand of theology as “obviously headed for hell in a hand-basket”. Their attitude seems to be “my way is better even that God’s way” and “Real love smacks people upside the head for not toeing MY line.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37-40 – NIV)

Fathering, intransitive verb : to care for or look after someone as a father might.  It is, after all, a simple word, but not so simple to define.  To some, the word “fathering” is merely the act of inseminating a woman, as in “he fathered her child and then left for greener pastures.”  But to beget a child, to my way of thinking, is not truly fathering the child.  Any male can beget offspring, a true man fathers a child.  When I use the term I mean that a true man invests in the long term life of the child by providing for the child’s needs.  Not just providing “three squares and a roof” but rather providing a framework within which the child can grow and mature and gain their independence in a healthy way. Read the rest of this entry »

It was almost time for bed and I was getting ready to shutdown my computer for the night when the news started to pop up on Facebook™ as various friends posted in various ways the latest news flash – “Osama bin Laden has been killed.”   I walked in to where my wife was watching the news and asked her to put on one of the international channels.  They were reporting what little they knew on the subject and droned on and on ad infinitum ad nauseum as they awaited the pleasure of the president of the United States to make his official statement.  Read the rest of this entry »

Here is an excerpt from some recent correspondence between a friend of mine and myself.

Can you explain to me how a spouse can “just stop loving” their spouse. I am mad and it is not me that is dealing with this. It reminds me of my mom telling me she didn’t love dad anymore. My response was “to bad”. Now that I think of it, not the best response. But I really don’t understand how you just stop loving someone, a spouse isn’t just someone though.

My initial response is as follows: Read the rest of this entry »

Recently I had a discussion online with someone regarding a picture I’d posted that “rubbed them wrong”.  (the actual words were “Where is the ‘Dislike’ button?”)  The objection came from different interpretations of the command to not take the Lord God’s name in vain.  In the course of the discussion the idea of trusting God came up.  I mentioned that to me God is my all in all.  He is my Doctor, Mechanic, Gunsmith, Watchman and more .  I trust Him to care for me in all areas of my life.  The other person replied, essentially, “You don’t really trust in God as you carry a gun.” Since the conversation had carried on long enough (more than long enough probably) I let that go unanswered at the time – but the idea keeps bouncing around in my head.  What does it mean to trust God? Read the rest of this entry »

When someone falls, you can kick them while they’re down or you can give them a hand to get back on their feet. Some folks will try to drag you down to their level, some will ignore your offered assistance, others will let you help them back up. You won’t know who’s who until you try.