The heavens are telling of the glory of God;
And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. -Psalm 19:1.
Want to hear a word from God? Turn off your own porch light and look up.
Dec 172013
Dec 092013
In wild pursuit of a skirt, he left his beloved for a temporary Venus. But when the cash for goods exchange was through, the rosy lens faded, briefly removing the cloak from his eye and revealing what had become the cruel prison of his desire.
Words from The Sunday Whirl : pursuit, prison, lens, wild, cruel, Venus, cloak, become, beloved, cash, goods, skirt
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We are studying the book of James in our group at church. The scripture for this Wednesday is below. When I took a look at Brenda’s word list, I couldn’t resist. It just fit too well. . . in two sentences even.
Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? 2 You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. 4 Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
– James 4:1-4
Dec 092013
December is here. The stress level is high. It seems odd that for this one month out of the year, people feel obligated to be givers. Perhaps that’s why it’s so stressful. Most of us are not used to it.
Each one of you should give just as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, because God loves a cheerful giver. – 2 Corinthians 9:7 NET
Nov 282013
Thankfulness is gone
Black Friday is Black Thursday
Always wanting more
Nov 252013
Typically, the neurons in his brain would fire with no regard for reality. He had begun to replace choices with habits from the time he was born, gathering thought patterns that had worked to define him. Now, locked in a cycle of suffering, he needed a way of undoing what had been done. But what could he do to lessen the gap between the habits that made him and the virtue that inspired him? No matter how much he tried, he could not create himself as he wanted to be. However, he knew there was One for which all things were possible, and thankfully, he knew the One.
Words from The Sunday Whirl: regard, lessen, create, gap, gathering, however, choice, undoing, cycle, habits, virtue, suffering
Nov 122013
My typical drive to work involves a left turn from a neighborhood side street unto a busy, two lane highway. Several factors make this a bit of a challenge. There is a hill on the left, which prevents me from seeing very far down the road. There are trees on the right, which require me to pull way out toward the highway in order to see around them. There is no traffic light, and at 8 o’clock on a weekday morning, an almost constant line of traffic. This could make for a very harrowing experience except for one thing. I am used to it.
This morning was a typical morning. Lots of traffic and a difficult situation. I waited for a small gap coming from the right, looked left and saw the Southeast Freight-line tractor-trailer flying over the hill, then popped out the clutch and floored it. I squeezed in the gap with wheels spinning, just as the huge truck zipped past me.
As I cruised down the road, I began to think just how insane life can get without me even noticing it. I thought about the early days of learning to drive a vehicle with a standard shift and a clutch. How scary it could be having to stop and start on a hill, or pull out in front of oncoming traffic. I thought about my son Sam, who is just learning to drive a standard shift and will not pull out if there is anything in sight at all. Why? Because he knows there is a chance he will stall right in the middle of the road. He has not yet learned the delicate technique of releasing the clutch with his left foot while adding gas with his right. I have done it for so long that I do it now without even thinking. But this morning after I pulled out in front of that big truck, I did think.
I thought about what could have happened if my foot slipped. I thought about what would have happened if the engine stalled. I have been conditioned to take the risk, depending on the performance of my car and my own skill. Today I realized that might be a bad thing. I have little doubt that my car and my skill are not as reliable as my actions have been conditioned to suggest. Unfortunately, I believe similar conditions exist in other areas of my life as well. Anytime I become accustomed to relying on my self, I’m in trouble.
Oct 252013
Most of my life, I have had pet fish. They are not typically affectionate pets. You can’t get them to fetch a ball or come when you whistle. You can’t teach them to roll over and play dead. (Although the really expensive ones are pretty good at doing it for real.) I did have one big fish named “Jack” who learned to beg for food. But you really can’t get them to do much of anything they don’t want to do. Come to think of it, fish are really about the same thing as a wet cat.
So, given all their shortcomings, why would anyone want to keep a fish as a pet? I am not sure why anyone would, but I think I know one reason why I like to, and it doesn’t sound good. For me, keeping fish for pets is a little like playing god. Or maybe it’s a little like playing what we think of as god. We buy the aquarium, rocks, plants, filters . . . add a flourecent hood and say “let there be light.” We create a nice, self contained world, then drop in the fish, sit back, and watch what happens. I think some people’s impression of God might be very similar.
Honestly, I suppose there may be a few similarities between my fish world and the real world. There is more involved than just sitting back and watching the fish. I do care for them. But what interest I have in my fish could never really compare to what God feels for us. God is so infinitely more involved in our lives than I am with my fish. No matter how much I like my fish, I would never love them enough to even consider making myself a guppy and jumping in the tank.
Oct 192013
Coke or Water?
Have you ever ordered the value meal without the drink? I mean, walk into a Krystal or McDonalds and order the “Number 1” but when they ask what you want to drink, just choose water. Not bottled water. Not sparkling water. Just tap water. Water you could get for free. It may seem silly, but it’s hard for me to do. Water is what I want. Water is the most healthy choice. But I paid for a “Number 1” meal and that often includes a free or almost free Coke . . . a Coke which is actually more valuable . . . a Coke that actually costs the restaurant to provide to me. I want my Coke because that’s what I paid for. Ordering the combo meal and selecting water to drink is like getting the all-you-can-eat buffet and then getting just half a plate of salad. I did it the other day and walked away feeling like I had won some kind of internal battle.
I’ve tried to figure out why this bugs me, and I think it relates to a feeling of missed opportunity and a sense of value influenced by the world. I had an opportunity to get something most people would consider more valuable than water, and I passed it up. I could have had nice, tasty, fizzy, exciting option “A” but instead, I chose plain old common option “B”. I did it because option “B” was what was best for me. And besides that, I wasn’t even that enthused about getting sugary, calorie filled option “A”.
This whole episode has got me wondering about other options in my life. How many other “option As” am I living with simply because it’s what the world values most? Choices for careers, possessions, attitudes, how I spend my time . . . The world has a way of defining the “most valuable” option for us, but is it what we really want? Is it what would be best for us? Is it what will make us most happy and fulfilled in the long run? I am reevaluating my choices these days. With God’s help, I want to choose wisely. I want to choose the things that have value, not because everyone else seems to think so, but because God thinks so. Choosing based on the world’s value proposition instead of God’s would be the real missed opportunity.
So, if you know me and sometimes wonder why I choose “option B” when the world would have said “option A” is better, please consider one thing. Value, like beauty, is often times in the eye of the beholder. Or perhaps, it’s a little farther down. Maybe value truly resides, in the heart.
So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.
– Collossians 2:16-17 NKJV
Oct 072013
Beautiful sunset, bad vantage point
The sunset was beautiful this evening. At least I think it was. There was so much stuff in the way it was hard to see it. But I could see enough to know there was beauty there, even if the worldly stuff was in the way. Just imagine what it would have looked like if the view of the heavens was unobstructed. Someday, it will be.
Sep 222013
Peering past the cradle of creation,
God saw the claws of evil sink deep into the stories of so many yet to come.
Evil spirits, long sent in exile,
Would pile their garbage on a beautiful world, invoking rash behavior from all but One.
Prophets penning clues of our salvation,
Spoke of apples and sins and battles won and lost by a special chosen some.
When evil would do its act most vile,
Good had a secret purpose, three days later turning death to living victory by the Son.