Archive for the ‘Christian’ Category
What would the consequences be?
Have you ever thought to yourself what the consequences of your beliefs would be – if you REALLY lived them out? I’m talking about what you claim to believe, not what you show you believe by your actions. What would really happen if you lived out your truth claims to the fullest? Read the rest of this entry »
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On Christians and the vote
In this, an election year, it would do us all well as a nation to give thought to the quotes below. We should seriously give consideration to the path which we have recently fallen into and whether such a path is for the greater good over time. Huge amounts of debt acquired in order to fund an ever growing governmental body which overshadows our entire nation, choking the freedom which we once knew. Is it really best for the government to oversee our entire life, from cradle to grave? Is it really best for us to exchange our Creator’s benevolent and wise oversight for the intrusion into our private lives by fallible and corrupt men and women? Give careful consideration to the quotes below. What path shall we follow?
John Adams
We electors have an important constitutional power placed in our hands: we have a check upon two branches of the legislature, as each branch has upon the other two; the power I mean of electing at stated periods, one branch, which branch has the power of electing another. It becomes necessary to every subject then, to be in some degree a statesman: and to examine and judge for himself of the tendencies of political principles and measures.
[John Adams, The Papers of John Adams, Robert J. Taylor, ed. (Cambridge: Belknap Press, 1977), Vol. 1, p. 81, from "'U' to the Boston Gazette" written on August 29, 1763.]
People
People. We are weird creatures. Given the ability to choose, too often we choose unwisely. Most seem to prefer to be told what to think rather than to reason through issues themselves. Over the years I’ve participated in various internet forums and e-mail lists, acting as moderator on a few. In that time it has been my privilege to observe humans interacting with each other. I was reminded today about something my friend Jim Taylor said years ago. “The internet is a great place to talk and a poor place to communicate.“ That pretty much sums it up right there.
And it is interesting to hear folks talk on the ‘net. Over the years it has been my pleasure to visit various internet friends in person. And getting to talk with someone over a cup of coffee or a meal is a great way to get to know them a bit better. Sometimes one forms an opinion about folks because of the way they “talk” on the internet. But once you get to know them personally you see a different face entirely. And then there’s the voice. Am I the only one who forms an “image” of what someone’s voice must sound like by reading what they write? The first time I talked with various people was an experience – because they didn’t sound like I’d thought they would. And what about SEEING them? That reminds me of my dad and a story he told about someone he used to talk with on the phone all the time. He built up an image of the person based on their name and their voice. But when he met that person in person he was in for a surprise. From physical stature to race – everything was different. Read the rest of this entry »
Thoughts on Brit Hume and Tiger Woods
Here are a couple of videos off of YouTube – the repository of all kinds of video stuff on the ‘net. I’m no sports fan, but even so I could not ignore the the scandals the rocked Tiger Woods’ world. It made the news clear down here. What did not make it down here was the criticism of Brit Hume for sending a message to Woods via some kind of sports commentary in which he inserted his opinion that Woods should turn to the Christian faith in which he would find forgiveness and redemption. Hume then did a follow up on O’Reilly’s show. Here’s the clips. Read the rest of this entry »
Looking to stake the tent tighter
I do believe that we are but pilgrims and strangers on this earth. We are on a journey, hopefully along The WAY, and therefore our stay here is but temporary. But part of that journey is learning to serve God by serving others and it behooves us to do the best we can where God places us or where He leads us.
We know that God lead us to our current place of residence and ministry. We sought His face and His wisdom and His guidance – and He brought us here and has kept us here in the face of many trials and problems. We also know that our enemy does not wish for us to be here. Read the rest of this entry »
In The Beginning
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
And God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so. And God called the expanse Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day. Read the rest of this entry »
Setting Up Kings Without God’s Consent
They set up kings without my consent; they choose princes without my approval. With their silver and gold they make idols for themselves to their own destruction. I wrote for them the many things of my law, but they regarded them as something alien. Hosea 8:4,12
As I was reading through Hosea recently, I came upon the verses above. To say that they gave me food for thought is an understatement indeed. The traditional way of thinking in our nation is that if we have a governor, president, congressman, senator or other public figure that it’s “God’s fault”. After all, He is the One Who sets up kings and rulers, is He not? Interestingly enough, at the time the words above were written, kings normally received their kingship by inheritance – there was little chance for public opinion to be expressed under normal circumstances. And yet, although there was no “democratic process” such as we enjoy in modern times, they DID choose men to rule over them – and men who were not according to God’s plan or design. Today we are ruled by a constitution. Within that constitution the means of selecting rulers is spelled out clearly and the responsibility and power of government is both spelled out and limited. How much more responsible are we today for the rulers we choose than those who lived thousands of years ago! Read the rest of this entry »
Observations Of Self While Preaching Through The Gospels
Of all the sins that beset mankind, hubris is the hardest to self detect. It is one of the logs that blots out our vision and does not allow us to effectively restore site to those blinded by specks in their own eyes because of the way it pokes and jabs at the one we are attempting to help.
Recently (over the past three months or so) I’ve been preaching through the Gospels. Not in a systematic way, much less chronological. Rather I am browsing around, sampling here, cogitating there, looking at the teachings of Yeshua, the Anointed One – the Holy Son of God Almighty. He came down and lived amongst men, humbling Himself to the point of arriving as a squalling newborn in a smelly stable, laid down to sleep in a feed trough by his young mother. Indeed, as if that ignominy were not enough, his mother bore the shadow of scandal on her young shoulders and in the months preceding His birth many murmured about her growing belly and scoffed at her unlikely story of having been visited by an angel of the Almighty. The first to hear of His coming were a band of lowly shepherds who were watching over their flocks in the nearby hills. They trooped into town to see the sight that had been announced to them and witnessed the veracity of the angelic messenger’s words. But who would take the word of a bunch of ignorant men from the hills? Read the rest of this entry »
The Center Of God’s Grace
“The Center Of God’s Grace” – thus reads the “location” description for my profile on an internet forum I infest. It was chosen because that is where I strive to live. Right smack dab in the middle of His will for my life. Unfortunately at times I stray for a bit, but as soon as I realize it back to home I run.
It has been stated that “the center of God’s will is the safest place to be.” and I wholeheartedly agree with this statement – with a couple of observations. “Safe” is a relative term. And the context of this statement indicates that if we are in the center of God’s will we will be safe – but His will is different from our own and His perspective is VASTLY different from our own. To many, “safe” implies good health, comfortable housing, plenty to eat and the ability to wander around to one’s heart’s content free from concerns of physical harm befalling one’s self. This view, however, is different from God’s view.
Revival
Revival. We hear the word a lot in the religious world. We are told over and over again that we need “revival”. Now I tend to be a bit contrary in my way of thinking. I’m slow to jump on the bandwagon and I tend to prefer to have my OWN bandwagon (preferably without drums unless they are accompanied by bagpipes) than to join in on one that’s headed the wrong direction or is badly out of tune. 
So here’s my thoughts (at least some of them) on the topic of revival.
First, I took a look at Merriam Webster’s online dictionary. It’s a great resource and one I find myself turning to again and again. I just wish I had a copy of one of the old Noah Webster dictionaries printed back in the 19th century as they were not yet full of so much politically correct garbage – but I digress. 
