I was driving by the University of Nebraska today and saw a group of girls all dressed alike. Black print tops with short black shorts. They were all very attractive young women. I wondered what they were doing and where they were going.
Right after I saw them, I saw a group of girls almost the same combination except yellow. Some of them were carrying green pom-poms. It dawned on me that they were cheerleaders.
A little ways down were several groups of girls, all in different colored variations of the same outfit.
Cheerleaders. I will have to admit, even at my age, the name rings up pictures that go back all the way to when I was a teenager.
When I saw them, I started to call Ella and ask her to type “cheerleader” in my file for the blog. But then I realized that she would probably not be all that happy to do so.
She was not a cheerleader in high school.
Just an observation. Nobody is too old.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
a tornado at vbs
I was singing songs and stuff in VBS back in 1966 in Texas City, TX, at the Westhaven Church of Christ.
It was fun and all, and then the kids went to their classes. It was a day time VBS, probably about 3 hours long.
A tornado came along.
We pulled the kids into the auditorium, where there were no windows, trying not to scare them, so I could lead them in songs and stuff until it was all over.
Before I went in, I looked out the big glass double doors that came into the foyer from outside and watched a tornado come down and barely touch the top of the bowling alley 3 blocks away.
Instantly it was gone.
Fortunately, no one was hurt, but it was so seared in my memory. The sight of that tornado I have remembered the rest of my life.
Almost 45 years later, every once in a while when I am leading songs and stuff at VBS, I remember that.
No big epiphanies here, just a memory.
It was fun and all, and then the kids went to their classes. It was a day time VBS, probably about 3 hours long.
A tornado came along.
We pulled the kids into the auditorium, where there were no windows, trying not to scare them, so I could lead them in songs and stuff until it was all over.
Before I went in, I looked out the big glass double doors that came into the foyer from outside and watched a tornado come down and barely touch the top of the bowling alley 3 blocks away.
Instantly it was gone.
Fortunately, no one was hurt, but it was so seared in my memory. The sight of that tornado I have remembered the rest of my life.
Almost 45 years later, every once in a while when I am leading songs and stuff at VBS, I remember that.
No big epiphanies here, just a memory.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
singing songs with children
I was singing songs and doing Bible stories and stuff this morning in our Day Camp VBS. Something occurred to me: I have been doing this same thing for over 45 years.
Back in the mid 60’s, I was always the one in church that led the VBS songs and such. And I have done it ever since.
And the funny thing is they are mostly the same songs.
This Little Light of Mine, It Isn’t Any Trouble Just To SMILE, others. It is a constancy in my life that is truly amazing.
The funny thing, too, is that the kids are almost exactly the same, even thought the setting is dramatically differently.
In the beginning, it was in the Church of Christ. Then I did it in the Christian Church, then Assembly of God, and now the Foursquare Church.
Life changes again and again, yet it remains the same: singing VBS songs with a bunch of children in a church auditorium. It is almost as if it were a time loop, repeating over and over.
I guess that I will be doing it the rest of my life. There are worse ways to spend your life than singing songs with children.
I wonder what the teenaged boy at Westhaven Church of Christ in Texas City would think if he knew he would be doing this for the next 40 years?
Back in the mid 60’s, I was always the one in church that led the VBS songs and such. And I have done it ever since.
And the funny thing is they are mostly the same songs.
This Little Light of Mine, It Isn’t Any Trouble Just To SMILE, others. It is a constancy in my life that is truly amazing.
The funny thing, too, is that the kids are almost exactly the same, even thought the setting is dramatically differently.
In the beginning, it was in the Church of Christ. Then I did it in the Christian Church, then Assembly of God, and now the Foursquare Church.
Life changes again and again, yet it remains the same: singing VBS songs with a bunch of children in a church auditorium. It is almost as if it were a time loop, repeating over and over.
I guess that I will be doing it the rest of my life. There are worse ways to spend your life than singing songs with children.
I wonder what the teenaged boy at Westhaven Church of Christ in Texas City would think if he knew he would be doing this for the next 40 years?
Monday, June 28, 2010
daily java
Daily Java: You say to God, 'My beliefs are flawless and I am pure in your sight.'
Oh, how I wish that God would speak, that he would open his lips against you
and disclose to you the secrets of wisdom, for true wisdom has two sides.
Know this: God has even forgotten some of your sin.
Can you fathom the mysteries of God? Can you probe the limits of the Almighty?
They are higher than the heavens—what can you do? They are deeper than the depths of the grave – what can you know?
Their measure is longer than the earth and wider than the sea.
If he comes along and confines you in prison and convenes a court, who can oppose him?
Surely he recognizes deceitful men; and when he sees evil, does he not take note? (Job 11:4-11)
Some of the neatest stuff in the Bible is not true.
The Bible is absolutely real and really written, truly written if you will.
But everything said in it is not true.
Sometimes you hear people quote a verse that sounds good at the time and in the context, but is not true. This passage is one of them.
Job has gone through so much, but yet is innocent. His friends cannot believe that he is, so they are trying to convince him of that age-old adage: God punishes people for what they do right now.
It is an age-old adage, but, as I said, it is not true.
Zophar was one of Job’s “friends.” He is trying his best to convince Job that he has done something wrong, or all of this bad stuff would not happen. And he is doing it in a rather smirky way, too.
“If God were here, he would tell it to your face, man, you’re some kind of sinner.”
“If God were here, he would be frowning at you, Job.”
“God would judge you and you would not be happy.”
“He knows you are lying, Job. You have done something wrong and you know it.”
The problem is, God does not punish us right now for things done right now. He waits. And a lot of his waiting is so that we can realize our sin and come back to him.
The Bible is rather plain that immediate punishment is not in God’s plan.
Now he does allow us sometimes to suffer the consequences of our foolishness, but we also suffer the consequences of other people’s foolishness, too. And sometimes we duffer those consequences and \the ones who were foolish do not.
Life is not fair, nor is God fair. At least, not as we count fairness, anyway.
God is good, God is great, all the time. But he is not fair. That is a sad point, at least to us.
But his goodness will prevail and things will work out to his glory and to our glory, sooner or later.
Zophar was full of beans, and didn’t know what he was talking about. Job was right. He was blameless, yet he had a lot of bad things happen to him.
At least he also had the knowledge of who was full of beans, he didn’t listen to Zophar or his other three friends.
He listened to God.
BTW, another example of that is John 9:31: God does not listen to sinners. He sure does.
This is a religious guy trying to justify what he thinks by making up some doctrine. After all, if God did not listen to sinners, he surely wouldn't have listened to you.
Oh, how I wish that God would speak, that he would open his lips against you
and disclose to you the secrets of wisdom, for true wisdom has two sides.
Know this: God has even forgotten some of your sin.
Can you fathom the mysteries of God? Can you probe the limits of the Almighty?
They are higher than the heavens—what can you do? They are deeper than the depths of the grave – what can you know?
Their measure is longer than the earth and wider than the sea.
If he comes along and confines you in prison and convenes a court, who can oppose him?
Surely he recognizes deceitful men; and when he sees evil, does he not take note? (Job 11:4-11)
Some of the neatest stuff in the Bible is not true.
The Bible is absolutely real and really written, truly written if you will.
But everything said in it is not true.
Sometimes you hear people quote a verse that sounds good at the time and in the context, but is not true. This passage is one of them.
Job has gone through so much, but yet is innocent. His friends cannot believe that he is, so they are trying to convince him of that age-old adage: God punishes people for what they do right now.
It is an age-old adage, but, as I said, it is not true.
Zophar was one of Job’s “friends.” He is trying his best to convince Job that he has done something wrong, or all of this bad stuff would not happen. And he is doing it in a rather smirky way, too.
“If God were here, he would tell it to your face, man, you’re some kind of sinner.”
“If God were here, he would be frowning at you, Job.”
“God would judge you and you would not be happy.”
“He knows you are lying, Job. You have done something wrong and you know it.”
The problem is, God does not punish us right now for things done right now. He waits. And a lot of his waiting is so that we can realize our sin and come back to him.
The Bible is rather plain that immediate punishment is not in God’s plan.
Now he does allow us sometimes to suffer the consequences of our foolishness, but we also suffer the consequences of other people’s foolishness, too. And sometimes we duffer those consequences and \the ones who were foolish do not.
Life is not fair, nor is God fair. At least, not as we count fairness, anyway.
God is good, God is great, all the time. But he is not fair. That is a sad point, at least to us.
But his goodness will prevail and things will work out to his glory and to our glory, sooner or later.
Zophar was full of beans, and didn’t know what he was talking about. Job was right. He was blameless, yet he had a lot of bad things happen to him.
At least he also had the knowledge of who was full of beans, he didn’t listen to Zophar or his other three friends.
He listened to God.
BTW, another example of that is John 9:31: God does not listen to sinners. He sure does.
This is a religious guy trying to justify what he thinks by making up some doctrine. After all, if God did not listen to sinners, he surely wouldn't have listened to you.
Friday, June 25, 2010
daily java
Daily Java: After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. 2 He said 3 "May the day of my birth perish, and the night it was said, 'A boy is born!' (Job 3)
You ever feel like that? I just wish I had never been born.
Every kid in the world says that at one time or another. “I didn’t ask to be born!”
True. You did not. In fact, when you were conceived, no one gave a flip as to whether or not you were going to be born. They were busy at the time. You just were.
But you were. You were dragged kicking and screaming into the world, protesting all the way.
And sometimes it is easy to say, I wish I had not been born. Everything would have been better.
Of course, one of my favorite movies used that as its main idea. It’s A Wonderful Life. It was based on the idea that a man got to cancel out his life and see what would be if he had never been born.
He found out that it wasn’t so simple as he thought. He had impacted a lot of people. A lot of people were worse off because he had not been born.
That doesn’t mean that your life is necessarily wonderful and that millions have benefited by your presence.
Maybe. Maybe only a few. But your life, as did Job’s, means something.
Job lived his life as an example to us that sometimes bad things just happen. Not my idea of a fun way to live.
It is kind of like an Andy Capp cartoon I read. Andy, who is a hard-core unemployed good-for-nothing, is bemoaning the fact that his life has been for nothing. His long-suffering wife, Flo, said, Nonsense, Pet. (They are British). She says, You serve as a bad example, an example for parents to point to and tell their children, don’t be like that. Andy went off pleased, feeling his life had purpose.
You do not know what that purpose is, or why you are here. But remember Esther in the Old Testament. Something came up that only she could deal with, and the comment was made, how do you know you were not put in this position for such a day as this? She took it to heart and saved an entire nation.
Do what you can with what you have. God made you and has a purpose for you. Just remember that.
And work with him. You can do some great stuff if you will let him work through you.
You ever feel like that? I just wish I had never been born.
Every kid in the world says that at one time or another. “I didn’t ask to be born!”
True. You did not. In fact, when you were conceived, no one gave a flip as to whether or not you were going to be born. They were busy at the time. You just were.
But you were. You were dragged kicking and screaming into the world, protesting all the way.
And sometimes it is easy to say, I wish I had not been born. Everything would have been better.
Of course, one of my favorite movies used that as its main idea. It’s A Wonderful Life. It was based on the idea that a man got to cancel out his life and see what would be if he had never been born.
He found out that it wasn’t so simple as he thought. He had impacted a lot of people. A lot of people were worse off because he had not been born.
That doesn’t mean that your life is necessarily wonderful and that millions have benefited by your presence.
Maybe. Maybe only a few. But your life, as did Job’s, means something.
Job lived his life as an example to us that sometimes bad things just happen. Not my idea of a fun way to live.
It is kind of like an Andy Capp cartoon I read. Andy, who is a hard-core unemployed good-for-nothing, is bemoaning the fact that his life has been for nothing. His long-suffering wife, Flo, said, Nonsense, Pet. (They are British). She says, You serve as a bad example, an example for parents to point to and tell their children, don’t be like that. Andy went off pleased, feeling his life had purpose.
You do not know what that purpose is, or why you are here. But remember Esther in the Old Testament. Something came up that only she could deal with, and the comment was made, how do you know you were not put in this position for such a day as this? She took it to heart and saved an entire nation.
Do what you can with what you have. God made you and has a purpose for you. Just remember that.
And work with him. You can do some great stuff if you will let him work through you.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
betrayal
I just watched a movie on Jesus: Jesus the Mini Series. It was the movie that was on TV in 1999 or so. It was in general a very good representation of Jesus.
He is portrayed as a real person in this movie, rather than someone who was almost too holy to walk around.
But a couple of things came out at me.
The main thing was when Judas betrayed Jesus. Jesus knew he was going to, but the way Judas did it surprised Jesus. Judas and the Romans came up, Jesus came out to meet them, but then Judas kissed him.
Startled, Jesus said, a kiss? Judas realized the enormity of the betrayal at that moment.
It was a movie, and really, even though it was inaccurate in points was a good one.
But that picture of betrayal was almost too much for me.
I have been betrayed by “friends”. People who ate at my table and drank my coffee and smiled at me and claimed friendship, who were all the while planning on turning on me.
I never figured out why. I am not that important a person. But people have always come out to the woodwork to first claim friendship and then hurt me.
I do not know why and probably never will. Why is it that I seem to attract that kind of person. Why can I not attract someone who is genuine. I have a always tried to be genuine and transparent.
But people around me that try to get close to me aren’t.
It makes me and my sweet wife suspicious of people, or at least holding them at arm’s length.
As I said, I am not that important. The church for which I minister is not that large, nor do I make enough money for people to want to take. I just never figured it out.
But when he was hanging on the cross, he said, Father forgive them, for the do not understand what they are doing.
And they didn’t. they thought they were doing the will of the Lord and having church as usual.
Actually they were trying to hurt me and my family.
I try to forgive, and it is hard. It has already happened to a point here in Lincoln, but I refuse to be bitter. The Lord was not, and while I am not anywhere near what he is, at the same time, I try to be like him.
And I try to forgive.
He is portrayed as a real person in this movie, rather than someone who was almost too holy to walk around.
But a couple of things came out at me.
The main thing was when Judas betrayed Jesus. Jesus knew he was going to, but the way Judas did it surprised Jesus. Judas and the Romans came up, Jesus came out to meet them, but then Judas kissed him.
Startled, Jesus said, a kiss? Judas realized the enormity of the betrayal at that moment.
It was a movie, and really, even though it was inaccurate in points was a good one.
But that picture of betrayal was almost too much for me.
I have been betrayed by “friends”. People who ate at my table and drank my coffee and smiled at me and claimed friendship, who were all the while planning on turning on me.
I never figured out why. I am not that important a person. But people have always come out to the woodwork to first claim friendship and then hurt me.
I do not know why and probably never will. Why is it that I seem to attract that kind of person. Why can I not attract someone who is genuine. I have a always tried to be genuine and transparent.
But people around me that try to get close to me aren’t.
It makes me and my sweet wife suspicious of people, or at least holding them at arm’s length.
As I said, I am not that important. The church for which I minister is not that large, nor do I make enough money for people to want to take. I just never figured it out.
But when he was hanging on the cross, he said, Father forgive them, for the do not understand what they are doing.
And they didn’t. they thought they were doing the will of the Lord and having church as usual.
Actually they were trying to hurt me and my family.
I try to forgive, and it is hard. It has already happened to a point here in Lincoln, but I refuse to be bitter. The Lord was not, and while I am not anywhere near what he is, at the same time, I try to be like him.
And I try to forgive.
music today
One thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:13-14)
I’m listening to a song sung by a guy who has been dead for 40 years. The song before it, half of those people are dead.
The next song, chances are will also have a bunch of dead people in it.
Now, why am I listening to what seems like a gore-fest? I am listening to oldies radio.
I love oldies radio. The music we listened to as young people is far superior to anything that has come since.
But it is sometimes 40 years old music. It would be like my generation listening to music from the roaring 20’s. or even earlier.
It is strange when you ever get to thinking about it. but so many of our generation’s musicians are gone and buried. Sometimes they died under bad circumstances, overdoses, murder, suicide – all kinds of stuff.
But I still listen. And I suppose that I will until I die.
Like one young person said in a blog recently, my generation has a cultural death-grip on America. Our stuff rules.
Of course, one thing the young man didn’t say was that his generation has not produced a fraction of the absolutely beautiful music that ours did. It was a golden age of music. Unfortunately, nothing written today will really be listened to in 40 years. I know that for a fact because I am into music and listen to a lot of stuff.
I asked my 28 year old son what he thought he would be listening to when he was my age. He said, your music probably. He is a musician but even he acknowledges that his music has no real quality to it. Musicians today are technically light years ahead of musician of my generation, but have not produced the songs that will endure.
Oh, well. An old man ranting. Sooner or later, you have to move on to something else. After all, I got rid of the bell-bottoms and long sideburns.
I’m listening to a song sung by a guy who has been dead for 40 years. The song before it, half of those people are dead.
The next song, chances are will also have a bunch of dead people in it.
Now, why am I listening to what seems like a gore-fest? I am listening to oldies radio.
I love oldies radio. The music we listened to as young people is far superior to anything that has come since.
But it is sometimes 40 years old music. It would be like my generation listening to music from the roaring 20’s. or even earlier.
It is strange when you ever get to thinking about it. but so many of our generation’s musicians are gone and buried. Sometimes they died under bad circumstances, overdoses, murder, suicide – all kinds of stuff.
But I still listen. And I suppose that I will until I die.
Like one young person said in a blog recently, my generation has a cultural death-grip on America. Our stuff rules.
Of course, one thing the young man didn’t say was that his generation has not produced a fraction of the absolutely beautiful music that ours did. It was a golden age of music. Unfortunately, nothing written today will really be listened to in 40 years. I know that for a fact because I am into music and listen to a lot of stuff.
I asked my 28 year old son what he thought he would be listening to when he was my age. He said, your music probably. He is a musician but even he acknowledges that his music has no real quality to it. Musicians today are technically light years ahead of musician of my generation, but have not produced the songs that will endure.
Oh, well. An old man ranting. Sooner or later, you have to move on to something else. After all, I got rid of the bell-bottoms and long sideburns.
Daily Java: Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. 29 He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. 30 Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. (Isaiah 40:28-31)
There is strength in God that is found nowhere else. No other force in the universe can give us the ability to do what we need to do in life.
There are times when we want to just quit, to give up completely. But it is our faith in God that gives us the ability to keep on. Without him and without that internal strength that comes from the knowledge and presence of his Spirit and his glory, we have nothing.
And we get tired. Everybody knows that. The best of God’s people in the Bible got tired.
David speaks of that weariness again and again in his psalms. He shows a depth of weariness that naturally comes to a person trying his best to live up to God’s standard.
Elijah was one of the greatest men ever to live, one who was so holy that he was taken up to heaven by God himself, not even to taste death. Yet, he got so depressed that it rendered him immobile.
In 1 Kings 19, after a tremendous triumph over the forces of idolatry, one which resulted in fire from heaven in plain view of everyone, he is threatened by Jezebel, the evil queen of the Israelites. Even though it is obvious the power of God is with him, he becomes depressed and just sits down and goes to sleep. He feels he is the only one left.
His power and strength are at an end. He feels there is nothing left.
That is the thing, though. There really is nothing left when we try to do everything ourselves.
We do not have any real strength.
Oh, sure, we have tremendous amounts of momentary strength. It is kind of like the woman who lifts the car off her pinned son. We can do a lot for the moment. But there comes a time when we are exhausted ourselves.
What do we do then?
We recognize that God never intended for us to do everything ourselves in the first place. He is our strength.
We are finite; he is infinite. He gives us the ability to live our lives in a glorious way when we seem to be completely empty, when we cannot go on.
In him we have power to live our lives in such a way as to make a difference; to continue when it seems all is lost.
In him is strength.
There is strength in God that is found nowhere else. No other force in the universe can give us the ability to do what we need to do in life.
There are times when we want to just quit, to give up completely. But it is our faith in God that gives us the ability to keep on. Without him and without that internal strength that comes from the knowledge and presence of his Spirit and his glory, we have nothing.
And we get tired. Everybody knows that. The best of God’s people in the Bible got tired.
David speaks of that weariness again and again in his psalms. He shows a depth of weariness that naturally comes to a person trying his best to live up to God’s standard.
Elijah was one of the greatest men ever to live, one who was so holy that he was taken up to heaven by God himself, not even to taste death. Yet, he got so depressed that it rendered him immobile.
In 1 Kings 19, after a tremendous triumph over the forces of idolatry, one which resulted in fire from heaven in plain view of everyone, he is threatened by Jezebel, the evil queen of the Israelites. Even though it is obvious the power of God is with him, he becomes depressed and just sits down and goes to sleep. He feels he is the only one left.
His power and strength are at an end. He feels there is nothing left.
That is the thing, though. There really is nothing left when we try to do everything ourselves.
We do not have any real strength.
Oh, sure, we have tremendous amounts of momentary strength. It is kind of like the woman who lifts the car off her pinned son. We can do a lot for the moment. But there comes a time when we are exhausted ourselves.
What do we do then?
We recognize that God never intended for us to do everything ourselves in the first place. He is our strength.
We are finite; he is infinite. He gives us the ability to live our lives in a glorious way when we seem to be completely empty, when we cannot go on.
In him we have power to live our lives in such a way as to make a difference; to continue when it seems all is lost.
In him is strength.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
a nihilist culture
I was at WalMart today and some things occurred to me.
I mean, it wasn’t an epiphany or anything like that. Just occurred to me.
One was that so many people today, young, old, well-off and poor are fat.
If you get to noticing, it can be depressing.
When I was young, back in the 60’s, most kids were normal build. You had the occasional fat kid, but they were not that common.
I was a fat kid for a long time. when I got to be a teenager, I wasn’t thin, but by today’s standards, I was.
Looking at people in the store, it is a rare occurrence to see a person who is thin, or even normal. Those who are thin almost stand out. What was once commonplace, is now rare.
It comes from a lot of things, I suppose. But the most common thing is the fact that people, especially kids, do not do anything anymore.
PE is non-existent in schools. Kids do not exercise. When I was in High School, we had daily PE with exercises and running and stuff and then we would shower.
In today’s culture, the idea of guys showering together has an ugly tinge to it, and who wants to go through the day smelling to high heaven.
Besides that, exercising is competitive, and someone might lose. Since everybody has to win today, you can’t do that.
So the kids are fat.
Add to that the fast food culture and the fact that everybody eats all the time. Everything they eat is high fat and calorie laden. Instead of the small Cokes we drank, people drink 44 oz high sugar drinks.
I know that things were always better when we were young. The world was rounder and better and stuff like that.
But in this case, it is true. The people in the movie Wall-E were very fat. And that is how we are heading.
I recognize that I am not a poster child for a lean America, but still.
The second is the amount of tattoos. It is sad to see our young people so defaced. There will be one day when they will regret it and there will be some very rich dermatologists.
One young woman had several tattoos in various places almost at random on her upper body. None of them made any real sense. It was almost as if she had just gotten a tattoo package of small tattoos and had them “just put anywhere.”
Half the people, it seemed had at least a tattoo on their leg.
A defaced culture.
And a fat culture.
A nihilist culture, it seems.
These are sad things to see. Where is our country headed?
I mean, it wasn’t an epiphany or anything like that. Just occurred to me.
One was that so many people today, young, old, well-off and poor are fat.
If you get to noticing, it can be depressing.
When I was young, back in the 60’s, most kids were normal build. You had the occasional fat kid, but they were not that common.
I was a fat kid for a long time. when I got to be a teenager, I wasn’t thin, but by today’s standards, I was.
Looking at people in the store, it is a rare occurrence to see a person who is thin, or even normal. Those who are thin almost stand out. What was once commonplace, is now rare.
It comes from a lot of things, I suppose. But the most common thing is the fact that people, especially kids, do not do anything anymore.
PE is non-existent in schools. Kids do not exercise. When I was in High School, we had daily PE with exercises and running and stuff and then we would shower.
In today’s culture, the idea of guys showering together has an ugly tinge to it, and who wants to go through the day smelling to high heaven.
Besides that, exercising is competitive, and someone might lose. Since everybody has to win today, you can’t do that.
So the kids are fat.
Add to that the fast food culture and the fact that everybody eats all the time. Everything they eat is high fat and calorie laden. Instead of the small Cokes we drank, people drink 44 oz high sugar drinks.
I know that things were always better when we were young. The world was rounder and better and stuff like that.
But in this case, it is true. The people in the movie Wall-E were very fat. And that is how we are heading.
I recognize that I am not a poster child for a lean America, but still.
The second is the amount of tattoos. It is sad to see our young people so defaced. There will be one day when they will regret it and there will be some very rich dermatologists.
One young woman had several tattoos in various places almost at random on her upper body. None of them made any real sense. It was almost as if she had just gotten a tattoo package of small tattoos and had them “just put anywhere.”
Half the people, it seemed had at least a tattoo on their leg.
A defaced culture.
And a fat culture.
A nihilist culture, it seems.
These are sad things to see. Where is our country headed?
Saturday, June 19, 2010
an open letter to my dad, john thomas cliver, sr
Dear Dad:
Happy Father’s Day! I hope you are having a good one.
You were a good father. I wanted to take this time to write you a note telling you about a few of the things I remember that made an impression on me. There are things you taught me that I will carry with me to the grave, values that you gave me, impressions that you made.
I remember you coming in and playing cars when I was little. I was pretty young, but you got down on the floor and played with the cars. It impressed me that one so great would come down to play with a little boy.
To this day, I can still remember that.
You worked hard one day sawing out wooden machine guns for Gerald and me. We paid no real attention to what you were doing, just something like you ordinarily did. Then you presented us with wooden machine guns. We played with them for a long time. I don’t know what happened to them, but they were fun.
We went into a café and had dinner. I may have been 10 or so. On the way out, a man told you we looked like fine boys, I remember that you almost swelled up with pride.
We wanted to mow yards and a guy had us come and mow his yard. You went over and helped him do something in his garden primarily because he helped us in our jobs.
You taught me to drive. I would hold the steering wheel on your 1956 red and white Plymouth station wagon as we drove and then I even drove it some. It had a push button transmission. You taught me to drive a standard shift. I drove your black 1955 Ford pickup. You also gave me the chance to drive your 1958 light blue Buick Special, to me still this day a beautiful car. I took my first girl friend somewhere in that car.
You helped me find my first car, a 1962 Mercury Meteor. It had a dent in the back fender. Then you came to Houston to fix my clutch when it went out when I was looking for a job.
You always came up with some money when I needed it. You were always there when I needed advice, even after I got older.
I remember seeing how sun burned you were, wearing your black t shirts. You were the physically strongest man I knew. I know how hard you worked getting money for us, even working construction on your vacation.
One day Gerald and I rode our bicycles out to meet you after work and you took us home in the Plymouth.
I remember the look on your face when I was drafted. I came in the door after taking money out of pay phones in Texas City. I usually came to get a glass of iced tea or something, really just to connect, and you handed me the letter from the Selective Service telling me to report for duty.
I went into the army and came out of the army both the week you were directing Camp Mohawk.
I remember you marrying us in 1971 at Sun Valley Church of Christ.
I remembering going to HOPES with you one semester in the early 1970’s and we had a chance to sit together in class.
You were always glad to see me when I came home.
And I was always glad to see you.
What you tried to teach me: Honor, responsibility, love for God and my church, love for my family, duty to my country, honesty, integrity.
I didn’t learn some things as well as I should have, but I have always held you in highest esteem. You gave me a picture of God the Father that most didn’t get: one who was self-sacrificing and loving.
We didn’t always see eye to eye and disagreed a lot, but you could not have been a better father.
I have always tried to be the kind of father to my children that you were to me.
And I love you.
Happy Father’s Day.
Happy Father’s Day! I hope you are having a good one.
You were a good father. I wanted to take this time to write you a note telling you about a few of the things I remember that made an impression on me. There are things you taught me that I will carry with me to the grave, values that you gave me, impressions that you made.
I remember you coming in and playing cars when I was little. I was pretty young, but you got down on the floor and played with the cars. It impressed me that one so great would come down to play with a little boy.
To this day, I can still remember that.
You worked hard one day sawing out wooden machine guns for Gerald and me. We paid no real attention to what you were doing, just something like you ordinarily did. Then you presented us with wooden machine guns. We played with them for a long time. I don’t know what happened to them, but they were fun.
We went into a café and had dinner. I may have been 10 or so. On the way out, a man told you we looked like fine boys, I remember that you almost swelled up with pride.
We wanted to mow yards and a guy had us come and mow his yard. You went over and helped him do something in his garden primarily because he helped us in our jobs.
You taught me to drive. I would hold the steering wheel on your 1956 red and white Plymouth station wagon as we drove and then I even drove it some. It had a push button transmission. You taught me to drive a standard shift. I drove your black 1955 Ford pickup. You also gave me the chance to drive your 1958 light blue Buick Special, to me still this day a beautiful car. I took my first girl friend somewhere in that car.
You helped me find my first car, a 1962 Mercury Meteor. It had a dent in the back fender. Then you came to Houston to fix my clutch when it went out when I was looking for a job.
You always came up with some money when I needed it. You were always there when I needed advice, even after I got older.
I remember seeing how sun burned you were, wearing your black t shirts. You were the physically strongest man I knew. I know how hard you worked getting money for us, even working construction on your vacation.
One day Gerald and I rode our bicycles out to meet you after work and you took us home in the Plymouth.
I remember the look on your face when I was drafted. I came in the door after taking money out of pay phones in Texas City. I usually came to get a glass of iced tea or something, really just to connect, and you handed me the letter from the Selective Service telling me to report for duty.
I went into the army and came out of the army both the week you were directing Camp Mohawk.
I remember you marrying us in 1971 at Sun Valley Church of Christ.
I remembering going to HOPES with you one semester in the early 1970’s and we had a chance to sit together in class.
You were always glad to see me when I came home.
And I was always glad to see you.
What you tried to teach me: Honor, responsibility, love for God and my church, love for my family, duty to my country, honesty, integrity.
I didn’t learn some things as well as I should have, but I have always held you in highest esteem. You gave me a picture of God the Father that most didn’t get: one who was self-sacrificing and loving.
We didn’t always see eye to eye and disagreed a lot, but you could not have been a better father.
I have always tried to be the kind of father to my children that you were to me.
And I love you.
Happy Father’s Day.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
my dad
My dad is still alive and I hope to see him again soon, but I will never talk to him again. Not really. He has Alzheimer's and is progressing strongly. When I was there last, he had a lot of problem placing me in the family, so I know that after this length of time, he will probably not know me at all.
That means I will never see him again, even though I will stand and visit with his body.
There are things that I would like to ask him, ideas I would like to bounce off him. But I won’t be able to.
And it hurts.
My father is a good man who tried his best to be a good father. He and my mother lived in a traditional marriage. He worked all day as a light company lineman and brought his money home to my mother who spend it on groceries and kids’ clothes and bills.
They loved each other and loved their three kids, went to church where my father became a deacon and then an elder. He was even a part-time minister in the Church of Christ and married Ella and me.
He knew a lot about cars and was a great people person. He was a safety representative for Houston Lighting and Power. This is a job that many times made a lot of friction between the safety man and the linemen. Safety men often tried to find the linemen in unsafe situations and would fine them. But he had a way about him that caused him to know all about everybody. He remembered kids being in the hospital and wives who had surgery, birthdays and such. Men who would ordinarily dislike a safety man loved him.
He is a gregarious man. In fact, even though he many times has no idea of where he is or what he is doing there, he will carry on great conversations with total strangers. He just likes people.
Even though he has not died, I miss him. Alzheimer's is one of the worst thing to ever hit the planet, in my opinion. To take the mind and leave the body healthy. It has taken quite a toll on my mother, losing her love and yet keeping his body.
Sure, he had problems in raising me. He was too heavy handed on the discipline, but I always knew he loved me. And he did the best he could.
He is in many ways the man the Bible talks about when it mentions good fathers.
And I love him.
I also miss him.
That means I will never see him again, even though I will stand and visit with his body.
There are things that I would like to ask him, ideas I would like to bounce off him. But I won’t be able to.
And it hurts.
My father is a good man who tried his best to be a good father. He and my mother lived in a traditional marriage. He worked all day as a light company lineman and brought his money home to my mother who spend it on groceries and kids’ clothes and bills.
They loved each other and loved their three kids, went to church where my father became a deacon and then an elder. He was even a part-time minister in the Church of Christ and married Ella and me.
He knew a lot about cars and was a great people person. He was a safety representative for Houston Lighting and Power. This is a job that many times made a lot of friction between the safety man and the linemen. Safety men often tried to find the linemen in unsafe situations and would fine them. But he had a way about him that caused him to know all about everybody. He remembered kids being in the hospital and wives who had surgery, birthdays and such. Men who would ordinarily dislike a safety man loved him.
He is a gregarious man. In fact, even though he many times has no idea of where he is or what he is doing there, he will carry on great conversations with total strangers. He just likes people.
Even though he has not died, I miss him. Alzheimer's is one of the worst thing to ever hit the planet, in my opinion. To take the mind and leave the body healthy. It has taken quite a toll on my mother, losing her love and yet keeping his body.
Sure, he had problems in raising me. He was too heavy handed on the discipline, but I always knew he loved me. And he did the best he could.
He is in many ways the man the Bible talks about when it mentions good fathers.
And I love him.
I also miss him.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
observed at the doctor’s office today
Observed at the doctor’s office today: People dress stupidly.
Women dress like they did when cute little hippie chicks and are now in their 60’s. It is kind of sad to see a woman who is dressing as she did 40 years ago but is now a rather chubby person, not to mention gray and everything else. She doesn’t realize that she looks like a fool in what she is wearing.
Men also sometimes dress like they did 40 years ago, too. A guy was at the doctor’s office with a really bad wig parted down the center and a very big, very gray mustache. He was dressed somewhat normally except for hippie sandals.
Men dress like slobs with cargo shorts paired with stupid slogans on t shirts. They sit there feeling like they look normal but look rather foolish.
There was an old man in a wheelchair tried several times to get an envelope into his shirt. He would fold it and try to put it into the collar of a buttoned up polo shirt and failed each time. He suddenly looked at me and said, “Amtrak!” about that time a woman from a bus service for older people came in and took him away. I never figured out the Amtrak remark.
Another thing is that people talk entirely too loudly in public on their phones. They seem to think themselves invisible or possibly that they are sociopaths that have no idea that others are real. One of the problems of modern society is that we get to hear the thoughts of fools, where in times past they had to be quiet.
I, of course, was dressed impeccably. Cargo shorts, crocs and a Hawaiian shirt. Or at least I was comfortable and didn’t look too stupid.
Women dress like they did when cute little hippie chicks and are now in their 60’s. It is kind of sad to see a woman who is dressing as she did 40 years ago but is now a rather chubby person, not to mention gray and everything else. She doesn’t realize that she looks like a fool in what she is wearing.
Men also sometimes dress like they did 40 years ago, too. A guy was at the doctor’s office with a really bad wig parted down the center and a very big, very gray mustache. He was dressed somewhat normally except for hippie sandals.
Men dress like slobs with cargo shorts paired with stupid slogans on t shirts. They sit there feeling like they look normal but look rather foolish.
There was an old man in a wheelchair tried several times to get an envelope into his shirt. He would fold it and try to put it into the collar of a buttoned up polo shirt and failed each time. He suddenly looked at me and said, “Amtrak!” about that time a woman from a bus service for older people came in and took him away. I never figured out the Amtrak remark.
Another thing is that people talk entirely too loudly in public on their phones. They seem to think themselves invisible or possibly that they are sociopaths that have no idea that others are real. One of the problems of modern society is that we get to hear the thoughts of fools, where in times past they had to be quiet.
I, of course, was dressed impeccably. Cargo shorts, crocs and a Hawaiian shirt. Or at least I was comfortable and didn’t look too stupid.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
daily java
Daily Java: The father of a righteous man has great joy; he who has a wise son delights in him. (Proverbs 23:24)
Any fool can be a father. That is the absolute truth.
All you need is a woman and time to have sex. Then you can be a father. Or maybe sperm donor is more accurate.
But a Dad. It takes a special person to be a Dad.
Being a good father is hard. Taking care of and raising you children with love and compassion is only part of the job. And when a father sees his children turn out good, it is worth everything.
You want what is best for your children. That is normal. After all, you love them and do not want them to go through life without some preparation and guidance.
And a good father is called on throughout his life for advice. There is always something you get yourself into that you need to ask someone’s opinion on.
That is what a father does. Provide a life-long support level.
And of course, any child will see God as he or she sees his or her father.
If their father is mean, God is mean. If their father is lazy, God will be lazy. If their father is loving and generous, God will be, too. Not because God mirrors us, but because that is our model.
Fathers that do not provide their children with a good role model rob them of something great: a picture of God.
Sunday is Father’s Day. I am sending my dad a card and a letter telling him what I remember about him. I don’t know if it will do any good, as he has Alzheimer's and doesn’t remember much.
But I do. And I want him to, also.
More on him this week.
Any fool can be a father. That is the absolute truth.
All you need is a woman and time to have sex. Then you can be a father. Or maybe sperm donor is more accurate.
But a Dad. It takes a special person to be a Dad.
Being a good father is hard. Taking care of and raising you children with love and compassion is only part of the job. And when a father sees his children turn out good, it is worth everything.
You want what is best for your children. That is normal. After all, you love them and do not want them to go through life without some preparation and guidance.
And a good father is called on throughout his life for advice. There is always something you get yourself into that you need to ask someone’s opinion on.
That is what a father does. Provide a life-long support level.
And of course, any child will see God as he or she sees his or her father.
If their father is mean, God is mean. If their father is lazy, God will be lazy. If their father is loving and generous, God will be, too. Not because God mirrors us, but because that is our model.
Fathers that do not provide their children with a good role model rob them of something great: a picture of God.
Sunday is Father’s Day. I am sending my dad a card and a letter telling him what I remember about him. I don’t know if it will do any good, as he has Alzheimer's and doesn’t remember much.
But I do. And I want him to, also.
More on him this week.
Monday, June 14, 2010
youtube videos
Not long ago, I watched a YouTube video of a young woman who was trying to keep a large black and white cow out of her bathroom. It insisted on coming through the door squashing her behind the door while she cried.
Why was I watching this, you ask?
To tell you the truth, because it was there. Ella and I were watching videos of cats doing stuff, and this one was referenced on the video as another something to watch, so we did.
Several things came to mind. One was what was a cow doing in the house? I barely like the cat in the house, much less livestock.
Second, why was she trying to keep it out of the bathroom. If you are going to let the cow in the house, you might as well let it come in the bathroom. At least that is what I figure.
And third, what is it that possesses a grown man to watch a video of a cow mashing a woman in its desire to come into a bathroom?
Ella said, because it was funny. And who was filming it? And why was he not doing anything about it while his wife cried being mashed behind a door by a large cow?
Of course, I also watched a video of chickens attacking a woman and then getting into a Volkswagen and driving over her. There was a lot of blood.
I will have to admit: the internet is full of stuff to do.
But it also can be a black hole for your time if you let it.
In fact lots of things can be. TV, reading, internet – anything that occupies more of your time than God. If you read stuff more than you read your Bible, it will not be surprising if you don’t think in terms of godliness.
The old expression says Garbage In, Garbage Out. In other words, you are what you eat. If you “eat”, or take in, junk, junk will come out. If you take in things of God, they will come in.
That is why the Bible says, Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. (Colossians 3:1-3).
YouTube videos are good and fun, and there is a lot of good stuff there. And don’t let anyone tell you there is not a place for everything in the Christian’s life.
But don’t let them rule your life
Why was I watching this, you ask?
To tell you the truth, because it was there. Ella and I were watching videos of cats doing stuff, and this one was referenced on the video as another something to watch, so we did.
Several things came to mind. One was what was a cow doing in the house? I barely like the cat in the house, much less livestock.
Second, why was she trying to keep it out of the bathroom. If you are going to let the cow in the house, you might as well let it come in the bathroom. At least that is what I figure.
And third, what is it that possesses a grown man to watch a video of a cow mashing a woman in its desire to come into a bathroom?
Ella said, because it was funny. And who was filming it? And why was he not doing anything about it while his wife cried being mashed behind a door by a large cow?
Of course, I also watched a video of chickens attacking a woman and then getting into a Volkswagen and driving over her. There was a lot of blood.
I will have to admit: the internet is full of stuff to do.
But it also can be a black hole for your time if you let it.
In fact lots of things can be. TV, reading, internet – anything that occupies more of your time than God. If you read stuff more than you read your Bible, it will not be surprising if you don’t think in terms of godliness.
The old expression says Garbage In, Garbage Out. In other words, you are what you eat. If you “eat”, or take in, junk, junk will come out. If you take in things of God, they will come in.
That is why the Bible says, Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. (Colossians 3:1-3).
YouTube videos are good and fun, and there is a lot of good stuff there. And don’t let anyone tell you there is not a place for everything in the Christian’s life.
But don’t let them rule your life
daily java
Daily Java: But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ. (Philippians 3:20)
Election season is here with campaigning and politics. All of the candidates are jockeying for position and wanting our attention.
There are a lot of things that are at stake in this next election. In many ways, the future course of the nation will be determined. Will it become a more socialist state or will it remain a capitalist nation?
These are important things. And they will help determine how much our government will rule us.
But there is a problem. We have to remember that we are just here for a short time. Our real allegiance is to God and the Kingdom of Heaven.
Voting is good, and part of our privileges as Americans. Other countries would love to have this privilege guaranteed them by law. But no matter who wins, God is supreme. And we are his people, first and foremost.
I intend to vote and feel strongly about politics. I am a conservative libertarian in politics and am one who does not like nor enjoy the coddling presence of the government.
I do not like to be told what to do and when I can do it by someone in an office building in Washington, DC. Thomas Jefferson was the one who said that any government that could be felt was too big. And I believe in limited government.
But whatever happens next election cycle, I am still a Christian. And if the nation becomes more and more socialist and finally even into communism, I will still be a Christian.
That will not change no matter who is in office.
We have the privilege of voting and changing how things in our country go.
However, as the scripture above says, our citizenship is in heaven. We are members of the Kingdom of Heaven and as such are God’s people. We stand above all earthly things.
Jesus said in John 18:36, My kingdom is not of this world. That means that we risk becoming over-involved in the world at the risk of losing our involvement in heavenly matters.
It was also Jesus who said, Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s. We have the right to be involved in politics and electing people we want to have govern us. We have the right to change our country by political means if we want to.
But Jesus also said, You cannot serve two masters at once. In other words, if your life is totally politics, your life cannot be God’s. You can be in politics, and more Christians need to be; but the more you are in politics and the more politics consumes you, the less time you have for that which is truly important.
We are first and foremost Christ followers. We are secondly Americans. We need to put that in perspective.
Election season is here with campaigning and politics. All of the candidates are jockeying for position and wanting our attention.
There are a lot of things that are at stake in this next election. In many ways, the future course of the nation will be determined. Will it become a more socialist state or will it remain a capitalist nation?
These are important things. And they will help determine how much our government will rule us.
But there is a problem. We have to remember that we are just here for a short time. Our real allegiance is to God and the Kingdom of Heaven.
Voting is good, and part of our privileges as Americans. Other countries would love to have this privilege guaranteed them by law. But no matter who wins, God is supreme. And we are his people, first and foremost.
I intend to vote and feel strongly about politics. I am a conservative libertarian in politics and am one who does not like nor enjoy the coddling presence of the government.
I do not like to be told what to do and when I can do it by someone in an office building in Washington, DC. Thomas Jefferson was the one who said that any government that could be felt was too big. And I believe in limited government.
But whatever happens next election cycle, I am still a Christian. And if the nation becomes more and more socialist and finally even into communism, I will still be a Christian.
That will not change no matter who is in office.
We have the privilege of voting and changing how things in our country go.
However, as the scripture above says, our citizenship is in heaven. We are members of the Kingdom of Heaven and as such are God’s people. We stand above all earthly things.
Jesus said in John 18:36, My kingdom is not of this world. That means that we risk becoming over-involved in the world at the risk of losing our involvement in heavenly matters.
It was also Jesus who said, Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s. We have the right to be involved in politics and electing people we want to have govern us. We have the right to change our country by political means if we want to.
But Jesus also said, You cannot serve two masters at once. In other words, if your life is totally politics, your life cannot be God’s. You can be in politics, and more Christians need to be; but the more you are in politics and the more politics consumes you, the less time you have for that which is truly important.
We are first and foremost Christ followers. We are secondly Americans. We need to put that in perspective.
Friday, June 11, 2010
daily java
Daily Java: In Exodus 12:37-38, as the Israelites left Egypt, a count was taken. The Israelites journeyed from Rameses to Succoth. There were about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children. Many other people went up with them, as well as large droves of livestock, both flocks and herds.
In Ezra 2:64, as they came back to Israel from Babylonian captivity 1000 years later, there were: The whole company numbered 42,360, besides their 7,337 menservants and maidservants; and they also had 200 men and women singers. They had 736 horses, 245 mules, 435 camels and 6,720 donkeys.
So few. Israel had started out so great. In the time of David and Solomon, the kingdom of Israel was the greatest world empire of its day, numbering in the millions.
Now, just 500 years later, they straggle home with less that 43,000 people. They had been conquered by other nations and enslaved, whittled down until they just had a small city worth of people.
Will America be the same?
In its heyday, the temple was covered in gold in the entire inside. The amount of stuff listed in the books of Chronicles was astonishing.
When they came back from Babylon? Ezra 1:9-11: Moreover, King Cyrus brought out the articles belonging to the temple of the LORD, which Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and had placed in the temple of his god. Cyrus king of Persia had them brought by Mithredath the treasurer, who counted them out to Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah. This was the inventory: gold dishes 30, silver dishes 1,000, silver pans 10, gold bowls 30, matching silver bowls 410, other articles 1,000. In all, there were 5,400 articles of gold and of silver. Sheshbazzar brought all these along when the exiles came up from Babylon to Jerusalem.
So few things left from the riches of Solomon. All of that stuff gone.
Where did it go? Mainly it paid off all of the people attacking Israel and Judah, and was stolen when they were conquered.
The glory of Israel could now be carried in a couple of carts.
It makes one wonder about us as a civilization. There are those in our country who seem bound and determined to destroy us as a civilization.
Which brings up a sad question: will there be anything left from the riches of our heritage in our country in the near future?
We started and grew so great. The Christian basis upon which we founded our country was a strong one.
But when that began to go, America began to founder. Without God, we will become like the nation of Israel: conquered by somebody and a remnant nation, a shadow of what we were.
A sad ending to a great nation. Israel was never again what they were before. In fact, until the 1940’s, there wasn’t even a nation of Israel. And the one today is different than that one.
If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land (2 Chronicles 7:14).
I pray we can turn back. But I am afraid it is too late.
In Ezra 2:64, as they came back to Israel from Babylonian captivity 1000 years later, there were: The whole company numbered 42,360, besides their 7,337 menservants and maidservants; and they also had 200 men and women singers. They had 736 horses, 245 mules, 435 camels and 6,720 donkeys.
So few. Israel had started out so great. In the time of David and Solomon, the kingdom of Israel was the greatest world empire of its day, numbering in the millions.
Now, just 500 years later, they straggle home with less that 43,000 people. They had been conquered by other nations and enslaved, whittled down until they just had a small city worth of people.
Will America be the same?
In its heyday, the temple was covered in gold in the entire inside. The amount of stuff listed in the books of Chronicles was astonishing.
When they came back from Babylon? Ezra 1:9-11: Moreover, King Cyrus brought out the articles belonging to the temple of the LORD, which Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and had placed in the temple of his god. Cyrus king of Persia had them brought by Mithredath the treasurer, who counted them out to Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah. This was the inventory: gold dishes 30, silver dishes 1,000, silver pans 10, gold bowls 30, matching silver bowls 410, other articles 1,000. In all, there were 5,400 articles of gold and of silver. Sheshbazzar brought all these along when the exiles came up from Babylon to Jerusalem.
So few things left from the riches of Solomon. All of that stuff gone.
Where did it go? Mainly it paid off all of the people attacking Israel and Judah, and was stolen when they were conquered.
The glory of Israel could now be carried in a couple of carts.
It makes one wonder about us as a civilization. There are those in our country who seem bound and determined to destroy us as a civilization.
Which brings up a sad question: will there be anything left from the riches of our heritage in our country in the near future?
We started and grew so great. The Christian basis upon which we founded our country was a strong one.
But when that began to go, America began to founder. Without God, we will become like the nation of Israel: conquered by somebody and a remnant nation, a shadow of what we were.
A sad ending to a great nation. Israel was never again what they were before. In fact, until the 1940’s, there wasn’t even a nation of Israel. And the one today is different than that one.
If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land (2 Chronicles 7:14).
I pray we can turn back. But I am afraid it is too late.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
being suddenly noticed
I was sitting there in my chair and suddenly Ella’s cat looked at me. It was kind of strange. He (Mordecai was his name. He is gone now) was lying on the couch when he suddenly sat up and looked at me.
That is an odd moment of communication. Especially since I do not know what he was communicating. But I really saw him for a moment and we connected.
Maybe he wanted some milk. He could drink a lot if we gave it to him, but then so can I. Maybe he thought of something, except what a cat would think of with that clarity of perception, I cannot imagine.
Whatever it was he wanted, in a minute something else caught his attention and he went to do something else.
Sudden moments of being noticed are strange. It is like when you are walking down the street and there is a person looking at you, or watching your car. When someone is watching my car drive by, my first thought is something is wrong with the car. Sometimes I will even get out and walk around it looking.
I suppose they were just taken with the handsome man in the gold van. Yeah, that’s probably it.
If they are looking at me and smiling, it always bothers me. I tend to want to check my fly.
Things like that happen in a spiritual sense sometimes too. In Isaiah 6, the prophet Isaiah was standing around when suddenly the Lord appeared to him and Isaiah saw his glory, along with a lot of the heavenly glory.
Quite a startlement to Isaiah. The last thing he expected that day was the notice of God. And the Lord gave him his commission and told him he would probably fail at it because no one would listen anyway. The problem would be, no one would connect with him. Even though he spoke for the Lord.
Now mind you, I am not comparing my wife’s cat, Mordecai, to Isaiah. But still. It is funny sometimes when you see something so strong in something so daily and commonplace.
When God looks at us, we want to notice it. When he speaks to us, we need to listen. When he tells us what he wants us to do, we obey.
It would truly be a shame to miss an opportunity to receive something great from God because we were not paying attention.
That is an odd moment of communication. Especially since I do not know what he was communicating. But I really saw him for a moment and we connected.
Maybe he wanted some milk. He could drink a lot if we gave it to him, but then so can I. Maybe he thought of something, except what a cat would think of with that clarity of perception, I cannot imagine.
Whatever it was he wanted, in a minute something else caught his attention and he went to do something else.
Sudden moments of being noticed are strange. It is like when you are walking down the street and there is a person looking at you, or watching your car. When someone is watching my car drive by, my first thought is something is wrong with the car. Sometimes I will even get out and walk around it looking.
I suppose they were just taken with the handsome man in the gold van. Yeah, that’s probably it.
If they are looking at me and smiling, it always bothers me. I tend to want to check my fly.
Things like that happen in a spiritual sense sometimes too. In Isaiah 6, the prophet Isaiah was standing around when suddenly the Lord appeared to him and Isaiah saw his glory, along with a lot of the heavenly glory.
Quite a startlement to Isaiah. The last thing he expected that day was the notice of God. And the Lord gave him his commission and told him he would probably fail at it because no one would listen anyway. The problem would be, no one would connect with him. Even though he spoke for the Lord.
Now mind you, I am not comparing my wife’s cat, Mordecai, to Isaiah. But still. It is funny sometimes when you see something so strong in something so daily and commonplace.
When God looks at us, we want to notice it. When he speaks to us, we need to listen. When he tells us what he wants us to do, we obey.
It would truly be a shame to miss an opportunity to receive something great from God because we were not paying attention.
people who do ugly things wear normal faces
My wife is funny. The other day, I said, you did that on purpose.
Her response: yes, I decided to do it. When she said this, she put a look on her face that was part grim satisfaction and part spite. And funny because none of it was real.
I think she figured that people who do bad things on purpose wear a look like that. It was funny because it was absolutely out of her character.
She is a sweet and loving person and is one who is totally transparent. She doesn’t hide behind ulterior motives or anything else. She is who she is: sweet and loving.
She also cannot imagine how people can be otherwise. But she has, unfortunately, learned that others can be otherwise.
People who do ugly things do not often wear a look of grim satisfaction or spite on their faces. Sometimes they look just like everyone else. At first glance you cannot tell them apart from normal people.
People who do wrong things, especially those who do them in the name of God, have normal looks on their faces. Otherwise, you would know they are bad.
When my son and I were listening to someone sing who was known to be a jerk, he asked, why are people who are bad so talented? My response, because the devil can use them. If they were not talented, no one would listen to them and they would have no influence.
If people who were intent on tearing up the church wore a look on their faces that said they were divisive, everyone would know and not listen to them.
But they look normal and, sometimes, holy, so we don’t know what is in their hearts.
Only people like my wife, who are sweet and good, would wear an ugly face when they are pretending to do something ugly.
After all, in 2 Corinthians 11:14 and 15, the apostle Paul said, Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness.
People who do bad things, especially in the name of God, wear faces that make other people think they are loving and good. But they are not.
In jest, the look is funny. In real life it is ugly and against what God wants. Don’t do it.
Her response: yes, I decided to do it. When she said this, she put a look on her face that was part grim satisfaction and part spite. And funny because none of it was real.
I think she figured that people who do bad things on purpose wear a look like that. It was funny because it was absolutely out of her character.
She is a sweet and loving person and is one who is totally transparent. She doesn’t hide behind ulterior motives or anything else. She is who she is: sweet and loving.
She also cannot imagine how people can be otherwise. But she has, unfortunately, learned that others can be otherwise.
People who do ugly things do not often wear a look of grim satisfaction or spite on their faces. Sometimes they look just like everyone else. At first glance you cannot tell them apart from normal people.
People who do wrong things, especially those who do them in the name of God, have normal looks on their faces. Otherwise, you would know they are bad.
When my son and I were listening to someone sing who was known to be a jerk, he asked, why are people who are bad so talented? My response, because the devil can use them. If they were not talented, no one would listen to them and they would have no influence.
If people who were intent on tearing up the church wore a look on their faces that said they were divisive, everyone would know and not listen to them.
But they look normal and, sometimes, holy, so we don’t know what is in their hearts.
Only people like my wife, who are sweet and good, would wear an ugly face when they are pretending to do something ugly.
After all, in 2 Corinthians 11:14 and 15, the apostle Paul said, Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness.
People who do bad things, especially in the name of God, wear faces that make other people think they are loving and good. But they are not.
In jest, the look is funny. In real life it is ugly and against what God wants. Don’t do it.
daily java
Daily Java: Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. (Colossians 3:13).
Ideally, church is the place where people come for forgiveness.
There has to be somewhere that people can find some kind of relief from the constant blaming the world engages in. And it should be church.
After all, Jesus forgave us and counted us as his children. It is our duty as his family to forgive each other.
If he treated us as we treat each other, hell would be full and overflowing. There wouldn’t be enough room for all of the people that would be there.
Any little mistake, any misplaced word, anything small thing done wrong – all would be on permanent record with God. If, that is, he treated us as we treat each other.
But we shouldn’t do that. Of course, that is the Pollyanna way of looking at things. Like that moronic song John Lennon did, Imagine. Just imagine if everything was fine, and we were all loving.
On the other hand, there is the ideal of the church: a group of people loving, healing and forgiving.
That is what God wanted in the first place. And that is what a church should be – a refuge.
It is not, but that is to our shame.
Don’t hold grudges, don’t remember slights. Love and forgive.
Ideally, church is the place where people come for forgiveness.
There has to be somewhere that people can find some kind of relief from the constant blaming the world engages in. And it should be church.
After all, Jesus forgave us and counted us as his children. It is our duty as his family to forgive each other.
If he treated us as we treat each other, hell would be full and overflowing. There wouldn’t be enough room for all of the people that would be there.
Any little mistake, any misplaced word, anything small thing done wrong – all would be on permanent record with God. If, that is, he treated us as we treat each other.
But we shouldn’t do that. Of course, that is the Pollyanna way of looking at things. Like that moronic song John Lennon did, Imagine. Just imagine if everything was fine, and we were all loving.
On the other hand, there is the ideal of the church: a group of people loving, healing and forgiving.
That is what God wanted in the first place. And that is what a church should be – a refuge.
It is not, but that is to our shame.
Don’t hold grudges, don’t remember slights. Love and forgive.
Saturday, June 5, 2010
communion
Ella and I are hosting communion tomorrow morning.
We come from a church background (the Church of Christ) where we had communion every Sunday and only on Sundays. We liked it and enjoyed the taking of the Lord’s Supper from the time we came to Jesus as children. In fact, every Sunday, when I was a little boy, I would watch the bread and the juice go by and pretend to take it.
I would always enjoy it when my parents’ turn came to clean the communion ware. Then my little brother and I could drink the left-over juice and eat the left-over bread. The Church of Christ used large matzoh crackers (they felt each had to break the bread individually) and threw them away after using them. They didn’t taste particularly good, but they were such a part of church life.
It was surprising to see the little tiny pieces of tasteless paper looking crackers when we came into the Christian Church. We still took communion every Sunday like in the Church of Christ and I liked that.
The Assembly of God was like Foursquare in the way they do it, generally whenever the Pastor calls for it.
That was different to us. We expanded our taking to other times besides Sundays: Bible class, special meeting times, when we just wanted to bind ourselves together.
And that is why I like communion. It is a binding of the people of God around the Lord’s table. Just like a family is brought together by meals around a common table, so is the family of God brought together by meals around a common table.
That is why I think that Jesus set it up that way. It was designed to bring us together. It is a shame that so many use it to pull apart. Limited communion, closed communion, certain elements mandatory or God will be angry, treating it lightly, as if it were nothing.
The apostle Paul said that we need to treat it as terribly important, yet remember that it was designed to bring us together
It is so terribly important to our well-being as Christians. Without it we can no longer live lives as a family than an earthly family that only eats solely on TV trays and never eats together. It is so easy to just grow apart that way.
Join with us tomorrow morning at the table of the Lord and reaffirm your place in the family and in his kingdom.
We come from a church background (the Church of Christ) where we had communion every Sunday and only on Sundays. We liked it and enjoyed the taking of the Lord’s Supper from the time we came to Jesus as children. In fact, every Sunday, when I was a little boy, I would watch the bread and the juice go by and pretend to take it.
I would always enjoy it when my parents’ turn came to clean the communion ware. Then my little brother and I could drink the left-over juice and eat the left-over bread. The Church of Christ used large matzoh crackers (they felt each had to break the bread individually) and threw them away after using them. They didn’t taste particularly good, but they were such a part of church life.
It was surprising to see the little tiny pieces of tasteless paper looking crackers when we came into the Christian Church. We still took communion every Sunday like in the Church of Christ and I liked that.
The Assembly of God was like Foursquare in the way they do it, generally whenever the Pastor calls for it.
That was different to us. We expanded our taking to other times besides Sundays: Bible class, special meeting times, when we just wanted to bind ourselves together.
And that is why I like communion. It is a binding of the people of God around the Lord’s table. Just like a family is brought together by meals around a common table, so is the family of God brought together by meals around a common table.
That is why I think that Jesus set it up that way. It was designed to bring us together. It is a shame that so many use it to pull apart. Limited communion, closed communion, certain elements mandatory or God will be angry, treating it lightly, as if it were nothing.
The apostle Paul said that we need to treat it as terribly important, yet remember that it was designed to bring us together
It is so terribly important to our well-being as Christians. Without it we can no longer live lives as a family than an earthly family that only eats solely on TV trays and never eats together. It is so easy to just grow apart that way.
Join with us tomorrow morning at the table of the Lord and reaffirm your place in the family and in his kingdom.
Friday, June 4, 2010
a gentle answer turns away wrath
A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. (Proverbs 15:1)
One of the hardest things in the world to do is to sit quietly while someone lambastes you. It is easy to answer back in kind, but it does nothing but fan the flames.
When people malign you, it hurts. The first tendency when hurt is to hurt back in kind.
But it does no good. All it does is fan the flames of an already burning anger. It does not help, it escalates.
Remember what Jesus did when confronted by people maligning him: he said nothing. He knew it would do not good, and it set him above their pettiness.
One of the hardest things in the world to do is to sit quietly while someone lambastes you. It is easy to answer back in kind, but it does nothing but fan the flames.
When people malign you, it hurts. The first tendency when hurt is to hurt back in kind.
But it does no good. All it does is fan the flames of an already burning anger. It does not help, it escalates.
Remember what Jesus did when confronted by people maligning him: he said nothing. He knew it would do not good, and it set him above their pettiness.
daily java
Daily Java: Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. (1 Chronicles 29:11.)
A God who is not all-powerful is not worth worshipping. God has to be over all and above all, exalted as head over all, or he can be no god at all.
Any god that can be manipulated, or second guessed, or bribed or anything is not a god.
It is weird to hear people talk about what God likes, or what Jesus would do if he were here today. God likes environmental causes, Jesus would drive a hybrid to save the environment, or be a vegetarian so as to not offend people, or this or that.
Any God that would pander to the desires and complaints of people would be false.
If the Bible is real, and I believe it is, it says that God is the holder of greatness and glory and majesty and splendor. His is everything in heaven and earth. His is the kingdom and he is exalted as head over all.
If any of these things are not true, then it is all a lie and we waste our time worshipping him. We might as well worship a stick picked up at random from the yard, or our car or our wife or anything else. If he is not god, he is not worth worshipping.
As the songs says, our God is an awesome God, and he reigns from heaven above. Our God is a God that is all-powerful, yet loves us. He operates independently of us and yet loves us. He hears us when we call out, yet he is not a catalog order service giving us whatever we want whenever we want it.
He is God, and he is above our desires and our wants. He wants the best for us, and he knows what is best. He is God.
And one thing about him. As the faun said in the Lion, Witch and Wardrobe, he is good but he is not safe. He will do whatever he wants when he wants to do it. After all, Job found that out.
Jesus was known for the fact that he made people really mad. The reason that Jesus was killed was not because of his fashion sense, or anything else. It was because he came to do the will of the Father who sent him. His mission, his mandate was from God, not people. He plain old did not care who he made mad, as long as he did the will of God.
The religious leaders of his day complained that he didn’t follow their interpretation of the laws, that he ate and drank with sinners, and in fact, that he ate and drank what they didn’t think he should eat and drink. He just did not do things the way they wanted. He did things the way God wanted, and God worked in him.
For it is God who works in us to will and to act according to his good purpose (Philippians 2:13). Trusting him is our act of faith. We know he knows what is best and we love him and know he loves us.
And we know he is God.
A God who is not all-powerful is not worth worshipping. God has to be over all and above all, exalted as head over all, or he can be no god at all.
Any god that can be manipulated, or second guessed, or bribed or anything is not a god.
It is weird to hear people talk about what God likes, or what Jesus would do if he were here today. God likes environmental causes, Jesus would drive a hybrid to save the environment, or be a vegetarian so as to not offend people, or this or that.
Any God that would pander to the desires and complaints of people would be false.
If the Bible is real, and I believe it is, it says that God is the holder of greatness and glory and majesty and splendor. His is everything in heaven and earth. His is the kingdom and he is exalted as head over all.
If any of these things are not true, then it is all a lie and we waste our time worshipping him. We might as well worship a stick picked up at random from the yard, or our car or our wife or anything else. If he is not god, he is not worth worshipping.
As the songs says, our God is an awesome God, and he reigns from heaven above. Our God is a God that is all-powerful, yet loves us. He operates independently of us and yet loves us. He hears us when we call out, yet he is not a catalog order service giving us whatever we want whenever we want it.
He is God, and he is above our desires and our wants. He wants the best for us, and he knows what is best. He is God.
And one thing about him. As the faun said in the Lion, Witch and Wardrobe, he is good but he is not safe. He will do whatever he wants when he wants to do it. After all, Job found that out.
Jesus was known for the fact that he made people really mad. The reason that Jesus was killed was not because of his fashion sense, or anything else. It was because he came to do the will of the Father who sent him. His mission, his mandate was from God, not people. He plain old did not care who he made mad, as long as he did the will of God.
The religious leaders of his day complained that he didn’t follow their interpretation of the laws, that he ate and drank with sinners, and in fact, that he ate and drank what they didn’t think he should eat and drink. He just did not do things the way they wanted. He did things the way God wanted, and God worked in him.
For it is God who works in us to will and to act according to his good purpose (Philippians 2:13). Trusting him is our act of faith. We know he knows what is best and we love him and know he loves us.
And we know he is God.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
breaking my big screen tv
Right before we left Missouri, Ella knocked the TV off the stand onto the floor and killed it. It was an accident with her scooter, and really (he said with a clenched grin) not her fault.
We don’t watch a lot of TV in general, since we got rid of our satellite dish stuff a while back. We got cable with a DVR when we came to Nebraska, but we find ourselves listening to one of the music channels more than anything else.
But we did like to watch movies.
When the TV broke and I had to throw it away, we watched a little 13 incher I had bought for the kitchen.
Since we like wide-screen movies, that meant that the picture on the little tiny TV was smaller than the one on the laptop. But, of course, I like to look at the computer while I watch movies. I like to go on IMDb.com and see who is in the movie and stuff like that. So if we watched the computer, I couldn’t do that.
So we watched the little bitty one.
I had a strong problem. On the one hand, I liked my large screen TV. We had it for several years and it has been fun.
On the other hand, as my friend Pastor Mel likes to hear, I also love my wife, who killed my TV.
That presents a difficulty. How do you get irritated with someone you love when they hurt something else you love by accident.
Not that the similarity is completely good, but it is kind of like when the kitten knocked our laptop off the table and broke the hinges. Now it holds up with a Velcro strap. The kitten was just being a kitten and didn’t set out to hurt the laptop. Stupid cat.
Ella didn’t mean to knock the TV off the stand and break it. She, after all, likes to watch her Steven Seagal movies and all (I know. Weird, isn’t it?)
Sometimes things are just an accident. We live in a world that has to try to blame someone for everything and sometimes you cannot.
As Christians we should think the best of everyone and everything. In Titus 1:15, the apostle Paul said, To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted. Our minds should be pure of casting blame.
We need to not look for things that are wrong. When someone does something bad, we forgive them. And we love them.
Even when they break our large screen TV.
We don’t watch a lot of TV in general, since we got rid of our satellite dish stuff a while back. We got cable with a DVR when we came to Nebraska, but we find ourselves listening to one of the music channels more than anything else.
But we did like to watch movies.
When the TV broke and I had to throw it away, we watched a little 13 incher I had bought for the kitchen.
Since we like wide-screen movies, that meant that the picture on the little tiny TV was smaller than the one on the laptop. But, of course, I like to look at the computer while I watch movies. I like to go on IMDb.com and see who is in the movie and stuff like that. So if we watched the computer, I couldn’t do that.
So we watched the little bitty one.
I had a strong problem. On the one hand, I liked my large screen TV. We had it for several years and it has been fun.
On the other hand, as my friend Pastor Mel likes to hear, I also love my wife, who killed my TV.
That presents a difficulty. How do you get irritated with someone you love when they hurt something else you love by accident.
Not that the similarity is completely good, but it is kind of like when the kitten knocked our laptop off the table and broke the hinges. Now it holds up with a Velcro strap. The kitten was just being a kitten and didn’t set out to hurt the laptop. Stupid cat.
Ella didn’t mean to knock the TV off the stand and break it. She, after all, likes to watch her Steven Seagal movies and all (I know. Weird, isn’t it?)
Sometimes things are just an accident. We live in a world that has to try to blame someone for everything and sometimes you cannot.
As Christians we should think the best of everyone and everything. In Titus 1:15, the apostle Paul said, To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted. Our minds should be pure of casting blame.
We need to not look for things that are wrong. When someone does something bad, we forgive them. And we love them.
Even when they break our large screen TV.
daily java
Daily Java: Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matthew 5:11-12 NIV)
What are you, stupid? People abuse me and I am happy? What kind of world is it when you are happy when people do stupid things to you?
It is the world of forgiveness, that’s what it is. Not really happiness, as such, as we think of happiness, but forgiveness. A world in which the fact that people are doing things to hurt you is a mark of your calling in Christ Jesus.
And since they are hurting you because you are acting like Jesus, is it really going to be spiritually productive to lash out at them?
That doesn’t mean to necessarily let people walk all over you all the time. The apostle Paul was quick to use his Roman citizenship to get out of problems if he felt that the problems would not help the cause.
Jesus was plain to say that people didn’t like him, so therefore they would not like us. It was only logical. We know they killed Jesus, but then we are surprised they don’t like it when we emulate him
So what do we do? As the apostle Paul did, there is nothing wrong with using the court system to help when we can.
But there are some times when we cannot do that for one reason or another and a wrong against us is going to go unpunished, or at the worst, unnoticed by the world. We have been hurt, and the world goes, “Eh. So what?”
God said he would avenge and repay, that vengeance is his. The hardest thing in the world is to leave it to him. But he loves us and he will notice.
And besides it puts you in the best company anyone can hang out in: the company of the saints of God. They all had the same problem.
What are you, stupid? People abuse me and I am happy? What kind of world is it when you are happy when people do stupid things to you?
It is the world of forgiveness, that’s what it is. Not really happiness, as such, as we think of happiness, but forgiveness. A world in which the fact that people are doing things to hurt you is a mark of your calling in Christ Jesus.
And since they are hurting you because you are acting like Jesus, is it really going to be spiritually productive to lash out at them?
That doesn’t mean to necessarily let people walk all over you all the time. The apostle Paul was quick to use his Roman citizenship to get out of problems if he felt that the problems would not help the cause.
Jesus was plain to say that people didn’t like him, so therefore they would not like us. It was only logical. We know they killed Jesus, but then we are surprised they don’t like it when we emulate him
So what do we do? As the apostle Paul did, there is nothing wrong with using the court system to help when we can.
But there are some times when we cannot do that for one reason or another and a wrong against us is going to go unpunished, or at the worst, unnoticed by the world. We have been hurt, and the world goes, “Eh. So what?”
God said he would avenge and repay, that vengeance is his. The hardest thing in the world is to leave it to him. But he loves us and he will notice.
And besides it puts you in the best company anyone can hang out in: the company of the saints of God. They all had the same problem.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
what do you do when people use you
John 2:23-25 Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many people saw the miraculous signs he was doing and believed in his name. 24 But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all men. 25 He did not need man's testimony about man, for he knew what was in a man.
Jesus knew that people would do anything to advance their own agenda, even to the point of tearing the church up. He knew that and he kept his own counsel about what he was doing. However, we know he was a sociable guy, doing his first miracle at a party, and was obviously someone that people liked to be around.
People will do anything to accomplish what they want. Whether it is a change they want, or that they want no change at all. They will sit at your table, eat your food and drink your coffee, while planning their coup. This is true, although I cannot understand it.
Even at his death, Jesus knew this. He said, Father forgive them for they do not know what they are doing. They thought they were doing things normally, when they were actually perverting the will of God.
People in the church think that what they are doing is normal and the way people do church. They, many times, do not realize that they are doing the opposite of what the will of God is.
Of course, sometimes they know, but do it anyway. In that way they are kind of like King Saul, who tried to kill David, knowing God’s favor was on David. He figured that if he killed David, God would have to go ahead and use him and Jonathan. He knew it was wrong, but felt compelled by his own feelings and desires to do it anyway.
A pastor needs friends and somebody outside of his wife and family. How do you reconcile the need for friends and human interaction with the knowledge that some of those people are only using you to advance their own agenda?
Jesus knew that people would do anything to advance their own agenda, even to the point of tearing the church up. He knew that and he kept his own counsel about what he was doing. However, we know he was a sociable guy, doing his first miracle at a party, and was obviously someone that people liked to be around.
People will do anything to accomplish what they want. Whether it is a change they want, or that they want no change at all. They will sit at your table, eat your food and drink your coffee, while planning their coup. This is true, although I cannot understand it.
Even at his death, Jesus knew this. He said, Father forgive them for they do not know what they are doing. They thought they were doing things normally, when they were actually perverting the will of God.
People in the church think that what they are doing is normal and the way people do church. They, many times, do not realize that they are doing the opposite of what the will of God is.
Of course, sometimes they know, but do it anyway. In that way they are kind of like King Saul, who tried to kill David, knowing God’s favor was on David. He figured that if he killed David, God would have to go ahead and use him and Jonathan. He knew it was wrong, but felt compelled by his own feelings and desires to do it anyway.
A pastor needs friends and somebody outside of his wife and family. How do you reconcile the need for friends and human interaction with the knowledge that some of those people are only using you to advance their own agenda?
daily java
Daily Java: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:13-14)
Some people think they have it all together. You may know one of these. They look great. Then one day, their lives come apart. And they themselves fall apart. They have been perfect for so long, they don’t know how to function in hard times.
Their problems is the lack of hardships. Hardships toughen us. Just like exercise makes our muscles stronger, hardships make our faith and our ability to function stronger, if we let them.
There is a lot of difference between a Texas pine and a Maine pine. Both are basically the same kind of pine trees. But the Texas pine is soft. It grows up in a warm climate with only occasional cold spells. A Maine pine is hard. It grows up under brutal conditions with hard winters and heavy winds off the Atlantic.
Both are pines, but they endure different climates. And it is the climates that make them soft or hard.
There was a story of a woman who had a beautiful voice, but no one wanted to hire her as a singer. It just seemed there was something missing. So she quit and got married and had children. Her husband and children were killed in tragic ways, one not long after the other.
After her period of grieving, she decided to try singing again. This time people wanted to hear her. The reason? Her voice showed the hardships she had undergone and it added a dimension to her voice that was lacking before;. What was merely good became beautiful because of the problems she had.
Even though we have problems, we still press on. There is something far greater in front of us than anything we have here. And we will participate in that if we just allow God to work in us through our problems.
Some people think they have it all together. You may know one of these. They look great. Then one day, their lives come apart. And they themselves fall apart. They have been perfect for so long, they don’t know how to function in hard times.
Their problems is the lack of hardships. Hardships toughen us. Just like exercise makes our muscles stronger, hardships make our faith and our ability to function stronger, if we let them.
There is a lot of difference between a Texas pine and a Maine pine. Both are basically the same kind of pine trees. But the Texas pine is soft. It grows up in a warm climate with only occasional cold spells. A Maine pine is hard. It grows up under brutal conditions with hard winters and heavy winds off the Atlantic.
Both are pines, but they endure different climates. And it is the climates that make them soft or hard.
There was a story of a woman who had a beautiful voice, but no one wanted to hire her as a singer. It just seemed there was something missing. So she quit and got married and had children. Her husband and children were killed in tragic ways, one not long after the other.
After her period of grieving, she decided to try singing again. This time people wanted to hear her. The reason? Her voice showed the hardships she had undergone and it added a dimension to her voice that was lacking before;. What was merely good became beautiful because of the problems she had.
Even though we have problems, we still press on. There is something far greater in front of us than anything we have here. And we will participate in that if we just allow God to work in us through our problems.
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