Friday, October 16, 2009

Friday, October 09, 2009

Bo's Cafe

I just finished reading it. It normally takes me a couple of weeks to read a book, but I read this one in two days. To me, it's kind of got the "feel" of some of the other books Windblown has published, but without all the buzzwords. I highly recommend it. Here is one of my favorite passages:

"Grace is a gift that only the nonreligious can accept. They're the only ones who can get it. They're the only ones who can use it. Religious folks see grace as soft. So they keep trying to manage their junk with their own willpower and tenacity. Nothing defines religion quite as well as a bunch of people trying to do impossible tasks with limited power while bluffing to themselves that it's working...It takes a whole lot more than willpower to get anything done in the human heart. You gotta allow yourself to receive something you can't find on your own."

Thursday, October 08, 2009

Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah

One of my favorite movies...

Tuesday, October 06, 2009

Hear here

I saw this and thought of Joel's Desperate Housewives Facebook post.








Thursday, October 01, 2009

Dear Friend,

I make the glad announcement to you that the Lord is in your heart. Since the day of your conversion He has been dwelling there, but you have lived on in ignorance of it. Every moment during all that time might have been passed in the sunshine of His sweet presence, and every step have been taken under His advice. But because you knew it not, and did not look for Him there, your life has been lonely and full of failure.

But now that I make the announcement to you, how will you receive it? Are you glad to have Him? Will you throw wide open every door to welcome Him in? Will you joyfully and thankfully give up the government of your life into His hands? Will you consult Him about everything, and let Him decide each step for you, and mark out every path?

Will you invite Him into your innermost chambers, and make Him the sharer in your most hidden life? Will you say "YES" to all His longing for union with you, and with a glad and eager abandonment hand yourself and all that concerns you over into His hands? If you will, then shall your soul begin to know something of the joy of union with Christ.



Hannah Whitall Smith

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

The Best Place Ever

No, I'm not talking about Alabama, but it's close. Actually the best place to be is at the end our your rope. I know that doesn't sound very pleasant. The image that pop's into my mind is in the movie, "Trading Places." Winthorpe, the character played by Dan Aykroyd, lost his job, his home, his fiancee and his wealth. He finally reaches the point where he dons a Santa Claus suit, gets a gun, gets drunk and goes on a rampage at his former company's Christmas party. He finally reaches the end of his rope standing in the street still wearing the Santa suit. A dog pees on his leg, the rain starts to pour, he puts the gun to his head and - CLICK - nothing happens. Disgusted, he throws the gun to the ground and it goes off. That was the beginning of his climb out of the hole.

I have heard the testimonies of people who have come to the end of their ropes not too much differently than Winthorpe did and it is always in regard to salvation. But there is a type of "coming to the end of our rope" that occurs in the life of every Christian. I remember reading an illustration in a Hannah Whitall Smith book. I will paraphrase it as best I can.

There was a man that was compelled to climb down a rope into a dry well. The rope that was provided was supposed to be of sufficient length for him to reach the bottom. As he climbed down the rope, he soon reached the end of it and, much to his dismay, his feet weren't touching the bottom. His mind raced, "what now?" The well was pitch dark and he couldn't see anything below him. He looked up and could see to the opening of the well and decided to climb up. He climbed up a little way and was soon exhausted and could climb no farther. He lowered himself back down to the end of the rope and waited there. He soon lost all of his strength and let go of the rope just knowing that he was going to fall to his death. He fell about three inches and found himself standing safely on the rock bottom of the well.

God does the same with each of us. He brings us to the end of our rope of self effort, to the end of our struggling, to the end of our pride. God doesn't want us to hang there and struggle on the rope, He simply wants us to let go and stand firmly on the solid rock of Jesus. So you see, the end of your rope is the best place you can be; it's not meant to be a struggle, it's meant to be a blessing and a cause for rejoicing. You are about to enter the rest that God wants for all his Children and all that is required is that you let go and stand on the Rock, to put your faith completely in Him and surrender your work to Him.

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Saturday, September 05, 2009

Source

A couple of years ago I posted a statement:

"I am a child of God, absolutely loved, and totally acceptable in His sight."


I had someone email me ask where the quote came from. He said several people told him it was from "Classic Christianity," but he has read the book and can't find it. I don't remember if I came up with it or if I read it somewhere. Does anyone recognize it?


Tuesday, September 01, 2009

Jesus Laid Himself Down

When you're weary
Feeling small
When tears are in your eyes
I will dry them all
I'm on your side
When times get rough
And friends just can't be found
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down

When you're down and out
When you're on the street
When evening falls so hard
I will comfort you
I'll take your part
When darkness comes
And pain is all around
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down


Paul Simon

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Do you see?

Don't fight against the darkness, turn on the light.





Chuck Smith

Friday, July 17, 2009

Pure Intention

The perfect love of God's will is a union so close that God Himself both utters and fulfills His will at the same instant in the depths of my own soul. Pure intention, in this highest sense, is a secret and spiritual word of God which not only commands my will to act, or solicits my co-operation, but fulfills what He says in me. The action is at once perfectly mine and perfectly His. But its substance comes entirely from Him. In me, it is entirely received: only to be offered back to Him in the silent ovation of His own inexpressible love.




Thomas Merton

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

True Grace

We can never grow in grace by our own efforts. True grace flows from the heart of the Father through the love of Christ. To know God is for you, that He loves you, is the greatest source of security you will ever know. That is grace --- and that is what makes life worth living.


Chuck Smith

Friday, July 10, 2009

Introducing the new Grandboy

Waiting...

At last


Happy Family

I don't know about you, but I'm tired

Hi there

My baby brother


Getting ready to go home

First elevator ride

Home at last


Saturday, June 27, 2009

The Line

There's a line in the sand with religion on one side and Jesus Christ on the other. Religion harshly judges the people that Jesus loves. I want to spend the rest of my life being on the right side of the line, don't you? Who knows what difference you will make in somebody's life if you do.



Steve McVey

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Ye shall be My witnesses

Our joy in Christ speaks a language that all hearts can understand, and is a testimony for Him, such as mere knowledge and utterance can never give.

Robert C. Chapman


We are not called to do witnessing; we are called to be witnesses.

Paul Anderson-Walsh

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

The Gospel

How is it then that we've come to imagine that Christianity consists primarily in what we do for God? How has this come to be the good news of Jesus? Is the kingdom that He proclaimed to be nothing more than a community of men and women who go to church on Sunday, take an annual spiritual retreat, read their Bibles every now and then, vigorously oppose abortion, don't watch x-rated movies, never use vulgar language, smile a lot, hold doors open for people, root for their favorite team, and get along with everybody?

Is that why Jesus went through the bleak and bloody horror of Calvary? Is that why He emerged in shattering glory from the tomb? Is that why He poured out His Holy Spirit on the church? To make nicer men and women with better morals?

The Gospel is absurd and the life of Jesus is meaningless unless we believe that He lived, died, and rose again with but one purpose in mind: to make brand-new creations.



Brennan Manning

Friday, May 29, 2009

The Gospel

The Gospel can be summed up by saying that it is the tremendous, tender, compassionate, gentle, extraordinary, explosive, revolutionary, revelation of Christ's love.





Catherine de Hueck Doherty

The Finger

No not THAT finger, I am referring to the one we Christians might use to point out what’s wrong with the world and pass judgment on the behavior of others. It’s the one we use when we yell “murderer” to the woman walking into the abortion clinic or to point out our distaste at the drunk laying in the gutter or when we are whispering about the couple in the church that just filed for divorce. I am not saying that any of those things are OK, but in our fervor to pass judgment on the actions of others we often overlook the fact we are pointing at people who are really no different than we are. They are often faced with circumstances that have completely shaken up the world they knew. They are placed in situations, not always by choice, they see no way out of and every choice they are presented with looks no better than the other.

Yet it seems that many Christians when given the blessed opportunity to minister to the needs of a hurting person instead choose to act as if they have some sort of moral imperative to point out their failures and to tell them, in their view, just what God thinks about it. Where is the love of God in that? Where is the love and grace from them that Jesus showed the woman who was caught in adultery? Instead of condemning her as the Law required and the self-righteous demanded; Jesus chose instead to give her the one thing she really needed and desired, love and acceptance. Not acceptance of her sin, but He loved HER and he accepted HER just the way she was.

The longer I am a Christian the more I am convinced that people can’t come to Christ simply to avoid eternal punishment, to get a “get out of hell free pass.” Yet that seems to be the message that I have heard preached in most of the churches I have been part of in the past. It is summed up in the phrase “turn or burn.” I simply don’t believe someone can be saved with a message like that. I think it leads to many false conversions. I know it did in my case many years ago when a preacher scared me down to the front of the church to say a prayer and get dunked.

No, people come to Christ by being convinced in their hearts of His love and acceptance and forgiveness for them and to be joined to the One who can give them, eternally, His life and hope and love. That is the good news that Christ died for. But people will not come to Christ unless the love and acceptance of Jesus is made real to them in the way we Christians live out our lives. Unless they see the love of Jesus in us, they will walk the other way. That love isn’t best expressed by trying to change their behavior. A change of behavior isn’t what they need the most. What they need is Jesus and to see His love expressed in us.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

It's all about....ME

The beginning of love is to let those we love be perfectly themselves, and not to twist them to fit our own image. Otherwise we love only the reflection of ourselves we find in them.


We are so obsessed with doing that we have no time and no imagination left for being. As a result, men are valued not for what they are but for what they do or what they have - for their usefulness.


To consider persons and events and situations only in the light of their effect upon myself is to live on the doorstep of hell.



Thomas Merton

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

CelebrateGrace 2

I didn't get any feedback, so I am not sure if anyone listened to the audio I linked in my first post about our first annual CelebrateGrace Conference. I said I would post the other two sessions, so below is the link to the audio from the second session:


Part 2

Friday, May 01, 2009

CelebrateGrace

This past weekend our church hosted its first annual CelebrateGrace Conference. The primary speaker, Dr. Murray Wilton, spoke twice on Saturday and again on Sunday morning. Murray is originally from South Africa, but now lives in the Huntsville area. If you have never heard him speak before, you are in for a blessing. I will provide the next two parts in subsequent posts.


Part 1

Part 1 (Downloadable)

()

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Why I Follow Christ

by John C. Hutchinson Jr

I have not seen clear statistical evidence that fewer Christians die of cancer than non-believers or that they are immune in greater degree from the diseases that afflict the human race.

Some of the kindest, most selfless persons I have known have had more than their share of bad health. The fact that they belong to Christ did not insulate them from disease.

Therefore, I will not follow Christ for promised healing.

I will not deny or dispute evidence of restoration of health. I will rejoice at every recovery from what seems to be hopeless, threatened death. I will not hesitate to pray for recovered health for my loved ones and acquaintances. I will set no limits on what God may do but I will not follow Christ for promised healing.

I see no sign that Christians escape disaster and accident more often than others. I've helped dear friends empty muddy water out of dresser drawers and new appliances after a disastrous flood. I remember as a child taking clothes to a widow with five children whose house had burned to the ground. A bullet makes no detour around the body of a believer.

Therefore, I will not follow Christ for any promised protection from disaster.

I will not scoff at amazing survivals nor deny that providence has and continues to work for the good of God's own. I will continue to pray for protection from wicked men and tragedy, but I will not follow Christ for promised protection from accident or catastrophe.

I do not observe that Christians are especially favored with prosperity. Like James, we've all seen the rich oppressing the poor and justice is rarely perfect in this world. The psalmist has said that he "had not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread" and in the deepest needs of this life, that is certainly true but all of us have known people of integrity who have not prospered.

Therefore, I will not follow Christ for promised freedom from physical want or hope of affluence.

I'm not sure that Christians have stronger personalities or fewer neuroses than non-believers. I do know that there is no bitterness like religious bitterness and no arrogance more insufferable. I have watched Christians suffer emotional and mental disabilities and though it may seem heretical, I am not sure that I would really enjoy living in the same house with either the Apostle Peter or Paul.

God wills that the mind of Christ be formed in us and there is no doubt in my mind that the Christian's attitudes and actions will be improved by his Christianity, but I will not follow Christ for any promise of personality enhancement or perfection.

Why then follow Christ? Why become a disciple of Jesus when life may become more complicated as He so often warned?

For one reason alone:

In Jesus we behold the face of God. He is the truth, the everlasting truth, God in the flesh. I know that in His life, death, and resurrection, I am reconciled to God, the giver of life.

I believe that nothing can separate us from the love of God. He has all power and goodness and I trust Him and His promises. To him, I offer my life, damaged or whole, brief or full of years. It matters not. He is the one certain thing in an uncertain world. He is to be worshiped, not so something will happen to me or to the world. Something already has happened to me and the world, but because He is God who, through Christ, has reconciled the world to Himself. He saves me. He is my justification. He is the center that holds. To worship the God of our salvation, to offer sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving; that alone is our vocation. We offer our lives to God, not so as to be healthy, wealthy, or wise, not even so to gain the strength to do great things for Him; we offer our lives to Him because He alone has claim upon us. God is not a means to an end.

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Chile

Most of you probably didn't know it, but I just returned yesterday from nearly a week in Santiago Chile. I was there on business visiting with several different organizations:

Chilean Army -
Directorate of Technology Development
War Academy, Center for modelling and simulation (CEMSE)
FAMAE who manufactures Chilean Army weaponry

Chilean Navy - They are teaming with an American company (Thorpe SEEOP) to develop Spin Wing UAV technology.

Contractors -
IDETEC, Technology Institute who manufactures UAVs for commercial and military applications.

I enjoyed the trip...mostly. Spending 10 hours on an airplane in economy class SUCKS. We took the red-eye from and to Atlanta with, I assume, the goal of sleeping during the trip. As it turns out, I can't sleep very well on a plane. Needless to say, I am tired. I slept some when I got home from 11am to 5 pm. We went out to eat last night and I went to bed at my normal time and slept all night. I got up about 7 this morning, but I could have slept longer.

Santiago is a very modern city of 6 million and the people are small town friendly. Most of the people I met spoke a little bit of English and a few spoke it very well. I only know a couple of words and phrases in Spanish. We were escorted by someone from the US Embassy that also translated for us when needed. The part of the city where we were staying was very nice with stores and restaurants within walking distance. We felt safe walking around even at night because crime is low in that area. We did drive through some of the poorer areas and living conditions looked pretty bad. The air pollution was very bad because of all the factories and automobiles. Santiago is surrounded by mountains so the pollution is trapped especially in the winter due to atmosphere inversion.


When we got to the airport we found an ATM and got a cash advance in pesos. There was a Chilean man (not our driver) waiting there as we walked outside to the van...he grabbed the luggage from my traveling companions and carried it to the van. I carried my own. When we got to the van he loaded their luggage into the van. He grabbed mine and loaded it into the van as well. He then started saying, "Tip....Tip..." Each of of us reached into our pockets and gave him the smallest bill we had from the ATM (5,000 pesos), which we calculated later to be about $10 each (three of us). It aggravated me some that I gave a man $10 just for putting my bag into the van, but I got over it.


All-in-all, it was an enjoyable trip. We stayed in a nice hotel, the InterContinental. We had very little free time so we didn't get to do any sight-seeing. I did take a few pictures, mostly around the hotel. Here are a few:




My traveling companions in the hotel sitting area




Hotel entrance


View of the mountains from the hotel (barely see them due to pollution)



One of the restaurants where we ate (served Argentinian beef...good)



Another restaurant


US Embassy


Hotel lobby



View from the hotel room

We also ate at another restaurant, Los Adobes de Argomedo, which was very nice. It had a live band and Chilean dancers and also dancers from Easter Island, which is a territory of Chile. The dancers from Easter Island kind of reminded me of hula dancers in Hawaii.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

For Fun...

Have fun with this.
Copy and paste this list into your own blog and bold the items that you have done.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo (so low you couldn't hear)
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked

23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud

54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Gotten flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox

89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

Saturday, April 11, 2009

He is Risen!

Passover Lamb

Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. (Matthew 5:17)


Redemption Prophesied

Passover lamb was a spotless lamb
Your lamb shall be an unblemished male a year old; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats. (Exodus 12:5)

Passover lamb was a sacrificial lamb
You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month, then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel is to kill it at twilight. (Exodus 12:6)

Passover lamb was a saving lamb
Moreover, they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses in which they eat it...You shall take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood which is in the basin, and apply some of the blood that is in the basin to the lintel and the two doorposts; and none of you shall go outside the door of his house until morning. (Exodus 12:7,22)

Passover lamb was a shared lamb
They shall eat the flesh that same night, roasted with fire, and they shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. Do not eat any of it raw or boiled at all with water, but rather roasted with fire, both its head and its legs along with its entrails. (Exodus 12:8-9)


Redemption Fulfilled

Jesus is a spotless lamb
Knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ. (1 Peter 1:18-19)

Jesus is a sacrificial lamb
Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed. (1 Corinthians 5:7)

Jesus is a saving lamb
That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

Jesus is a shared lamb
Therefore let us celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. (1 Corinthians 5:8)



For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. (Matthew 5:18)

Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, "It is finished!" And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit. (John 19:30)

Friday, April 10, 2009

Thank You, Jesus

He was despised and rejected—a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care. Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins!

But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all. He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth.

Unjustly condemned, he was led away. No one cared that he died without descendants, that his life was cut short in midstream. But he was struck down for the rebellion of my people. He had done no wrong and had never deceived anyone. But he was buried like a criminal; he was put in a rich man’s grave. But it was the Lord’s good plan to crush him and cause him grief. Yet when his life is made an offering for sin, he will have many descendants. He will enjoy a long life, and the Lord’s good plan will prosper in his hands.

When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish, he will be satisfied. And because of his experience, my righteous servant will make it possible for many to be counted righteous, for he will bear all their sins.


Isaiah 53

Wednesday, April 08, 2009

Anxiety

It is a perverse malady and sad contortion of the religious mind that it seeks to find reasons to be anxious.




Paul Anderson-Walsh

Look Up

Look up to see our great God on His throne. He is Love - He longs and delights to bless. He has inconceivably glorious plans concerning each of His children to reveal in them His love and power by the power of His Holy Spirit.





Andrew Murray

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Radical Sonship Conference

My wife Sherry and I had the pleasure of attending the "Radical Sonship" conference in Atlanta Friday and Saturday. The conference was led by Steve McVey and Paul Anderson-Walsh. It was an awesome conference, which was made even better because I got to meet my some of my friends from the blogospere. There was Joel and Matthew, it was wonderful to finally get to see them face-to-face. I also met some new friends, Ryan and Jamie Weeks and John Fincher.

Here are some picts from the weekend:



Lazing around the hotel room


Me, Matt and Joel

Ryan and Jamie


John and Joel



Matt



Joel, Jamie, John, Matt, Me

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Faith, Hope, Love

Jesus replied, This is the work (service) that God asks of you: that you believe in the One Whom He has sent [that you cleave to, trust, rely on, and have faith in His Messenger].

But the LORD takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love.

For when we place our faith in Christ Jesus, there is no benefit in being circumcised or being uncircumcised. What is important is faith expressing itself in love.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Saturday, March 21, 2009

What If?

Steve McVey had a interesting post over on his blog and I thought I would pass it on...


What if we've got it all wrong about God in the modern church world? What if He is nothing like we've imagined Him to be? What if the most basic understandings we have about His nature, His personality and His approach to us completely misses the point?

What if God the Father didn't send Jesus the Son to come alone to earth so that the Father could vent His anger over sin against the Son instead of us, but instead so that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit could together come to deal a death blow against sin in order to free us from its grip before it caused us to waste away into eternal nothingness?

What if the work of Jesus on the cross wasn't to change God's mind about you, but to change your mind about God?

What if God isn't nearly as concerned about what you're doing or not doing as He is about how you see and understand Him?

What if God is smiling as He looks at you right now and you could never do anything to wipe that smile off His face?

What if the coming of Jesus wasn't God's reaction to Adam's sin, but was carrying out a plan that had been made long before Adam was even created?

What if the primary characteristic of who God is has nothing to do with being a judge, but has everything to do with being a gentle, loving, Father?

What if you could never cause God to become angry or even disappoint Him?

What if you didn't need more faith, but only need to depend on Jesus to express His faith on your behalf?

What if you were the child God always wanted?

What if fulfilling God's plan for your life didn't depend on you at all?

What if God loved Muslims and atheists and homosexuals as much as He loves you?

What if you were a part of the inner circle of love shared by the Father, Son and Holy Spirit?

What if?

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Poverty

It is a sad thing to be impoverished by the things you want, while God is waiting to give you the things you need.



Major W. Ian Thomas

Friday, March 13, 2009

Eight is Enough

I know this isn't my usual sort of post and I certainly don't want to offend anyone, but I thought this was a hoot (that's southern for, "gosh that was humorous").


Thursday, March 12, 2009

All You Need

If you are born again, all you need is what you have, and what you have is what He is! He does not give you strength - He is your strength! He does not give you victory - He is your victory!

Major W. Ian Thomas



Why is it so hard for us to rest there sometimes? Why is His grace not always sufficient in times when weakness makes the victory unclear? I don't know, but I am so glad that the Good Shepherd makes us to lie down in green pastures...He gives us rest for our souls. We grow when we are at rest and rest can only come when we know we are cared for. We see Him more vividly when we are still and hear Him more clearly when we are quiet. Our fears take flight on the wings of Love.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

We Live By Grace

We live by grace, guys! And it teaches us how to handle our freedom. It is the forgiveness of God what encourages me to forgive others. It is the love of God what motivates me to love others. It is my acceptance by God with all my weaknesses what enables me to accept others with all their weaknesses.




Bino Manjasseril

Sunday, March 01, 2009

Dour Christians

Dour Christians! Have you ever been around them? On one extreme, they are either mad at themselves or mad at the world and at the other extreme they are depressed and defeated. They are like the monks in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, continually paying penance.





I think both extremes are related and the issue is with our perception of God and how He relates to His Children. How do you see your Heavenly Father? How do you think He sees you? I think that these are the most important questions to get right, aside from "are you saved?"

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Perfected

So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?" He said to Him, "Yes, Lord; You know that I love You" He said to him, "Tend My lambs."

He said to him again a second time, "Simon, son of John, do you love Me?" He said to Him, "Yes, Lord; You know that I love You." He said to him, "Shepherd My sheep."

He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love Me?" Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, "Do you love Me?" And he said to Him, "Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You" Jesus said to him, "Tend My sheep." John 21:15-17

Most say that these three questions Jesus asked Peter relate back to Peter’s threefold denial of Jesus before His crucifixion. These denials came after Peter swore, even boasted, that he would die for Jesus; that he would sacrifice himself. They say that this reminding him of his failure is what cut Peter to the quick. This interpretation seems reasonable, but I think there is more there than meets the eye. I am not a Greek scholar, but I don’t think you need to be one in this case. The two words for love that are used in this passage are:

Agape – A divine, unconditional, self-sacrificing love.
Phileo – A friendship kind of love – brotherhood.


If you were to rewrite the passage above using the above definitions, it would read:

So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you have an unconditional, self sacrificing love for Me more than these?" He said to Him, "Yes, Lord; You know that I love You as a friend" He said to him, "Tend My lambs."

He said to him again a second time, "Simon, son of John, do you have an unconditional, self sacrificing love for Me?" He said to Him, "Yes, Lord; You know that I love You as a friend." He said to him, "Shepherd My sheep."

He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love Me as a friend?" Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, "Do you love Me?" And he said to Him, "Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You as a friend" Jesus said to him, "Tend My sheep. John 21:15-17

Isn’t that interesting! Jesus knew that Peter didn’t have an unconditional, self sacrificing love for Him, but still He asked Him anyway. Given his denial of Jesus, Peter knew it too. God is so good to reveal our hearts to us, although it can be painful. Gone was the boastful Peter who thought he was capable of loving Christ with the same love as Christ revealed on the cross. It was replaced by the Peter that knew he was only capable of loving Christ as a friend.

So it is with us! We don’t have the ability, in our flesh, to love with an unconditional, self sacrificing love. The best we can do is to love Jesus as our friend, as our brother. But, praise God, it doesn’t end there. Look what happened in verse 17 and following. Jesus met Peter where he was as if to say, "Peter, I know that you don’t have an unconditional, self sacrificing love for Me, but that’s OK; it’s enough that you love me as a friend…I can work with that.” “You abide in me Peter and I will teach you, by my Spirit, to love unconditionally and when that love is perfected in you, you will even lay down your life for My sake.” (v18-19).

May God’s love be perfected in me.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

It's Been 25 Years In The Making

Happy Anniversary Baby got you on my mind...


This picture goes back a little longer than 25 years.