Don't look it up. This should be fairly easy.
------------------
"Peace on earth will come to all if we just follow the light..."
Makes you think, eh?
;-\
Wednesday, December 17, 2014
Sunday, December 7, 2014
An Insight from Today's Mediation Walk with the Dog
Biblically speaking, a worship service is neither.
Friday, December 5, 2014
What's Wrong with this Picture?
Below is a quotation of Titus 1:5 from the new version of the NIV. I have removed one word from that verse and substituted another word in its place.
Without looking it up, can you tell which is the word in question?
Do you know what word it has replaced?
(If you reply on the blog, please do so in a way that will not give the answer away to people who find this after you.)
The reason I left you in Crete was that you might put in order what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every church, as I directed you.
Without looking it up, can you tell which is the word in question?
Do you know what word it has replaced?
(If you reply on the blog, please do so in a way that will not give the answer away to people who find this after you.)
Friday, October 10, 2014
Francis Chan on the American Church
The--what many would call--house church with which I meet on Thursday evenings is devoting some of its time many of the times it gathers to the reading of Francis Chan's book, Crazy Love.
Yesterday I came across this comment on page 68 of the earlier edition:
Right on, Francis. Continue to live it and preach it, brother!
Yesterday I came across this comment on page 68 of the earlier edition:
...the American church is a difficult place to fit in if you want to live out New Testament Christianity...Taking the word of Christ seriously and literally is rarely considered. That's for the "radicals" who are "unbalanced" and who go "overboard." Most of us want a balanced life that we control, that is safe, and that does not involve suffering.
Right on, Francis. Continue to live it and preach it, brother!
Thursday, September 4, 2014
My Recent Sin of "Merciful-less-ness"
I blew it the other night. I sinned very seriously.
Core to my walk with Jesus is the conviction that His statements, "Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy," and His reference to Hosea's, "I desire mercy not sacrifice," mean that a life of mercy is required for anyone who would be His disciple. It is Jesus 101, intro level righteousness.
And, based on that conviction, I am ashamed of what I did/didn't do the other evening.
I had worked a long, tiring day. At the end of my shift, my wife picked me up at the store so we could drive and meet friends for dinner. We chatted longer than I would have liked.
After that, we drove back to the store to pick up the other car and, then, to head home. I was physically and emotion whipped when I started out on the last leg of the journey to go home.
As I was pulling out of the parking lot, I saw a guy sitting on the curb with his head down hold up a sign that said,
"I am a war veteran. Would like money for food."
And, I said, to myself, "Yeah right. I know exactly where that money will go!"
I pulled into traffic and headed home. And, as I drove, I couldn't find my wife's headlights in my rear view mirror.
You (especially those of you who know her) know what comes next.
I got home. Took my phone out and saw I had three text from her saying, "I'm getting food for the guy." "Do you want to come back?" And, "It's okay. Don't bother."
I have to admit that there are more times than I'd like to admit that I don't walk what I talk. And, I am ashamed.
I thank God that Jesus also said that we can pray, "Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors."
Core to my walk with Jesus is the conviction that His statements, "Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy," and His reference to Hosea's, "I desire mercy not sacrifice," mean that a life of mercy is required for anyone who would be His disciple. It is Jesus 101, intro level righteousness.
And, based on that conviction, I am ashamed of what I did/didn't do the other evening.
I had worked a long, tiring day. At the end of my shift, my wife picked me up at the store so we could drive and meet friends for dinner. We chatted longer than I would have liked.
After that, we drove back to the store to pick up the other car and, then, to head home. I was physically and emotion whipped when I started out on the last leg of the journey to go home.
As I was pulling out of the parking lot, I saw a guy sitting on the curb with his head down hold up a sign that said,
"I am a war veteran. Would like money for food."
And, I said, to myself, "Yeah right. I know exactly where that money will go!"
I pulled into traffic and headed home. And, as I drove, I couldn't find my wife's headlights in my rear view mirror.
You (especially those of you who know her) know what comes next.
I got home. Took my phone out and saw I had three text from her saying, "I'm getting food for the guy." "Do you want to come back?" And, "It's okay. Don't bother."
I have to admit that there are more times than I'd like to admit that I don't walk what I talk. And, I am ashamed.
I thank God that Jesus also said that we can pray, "Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors."
Monday, August 25, 2014
Sleeping in On Sundays--Can the Institutional American Church Compete?
During the past three or four months, Evelyn and I have decided to take off one Sunday during the month. There was never a moment that we said, "Hey, let's take one Sunday a month and skip the Sunday morning show," but that has become the case without a long-range plan.
And, it's a habit that will be hard to break.
One of those Sundays we drove about an hour to visit Ev's brother Dave's church so we could hear him, uh, preach. His is the only sermon we've heard in longer than you can imagine.
But, on the other Sundays, we did what most Americans these days do. We slept in and simply lazed a good part of the day.
Ironically, joining the people of the world, we Sabbathed. We rested.
And, I have to tell you that those lazy Sundays were the most healthful and enjoyable times I've spent doing anything in years.
Over the years, there were a handful of Sundays that I didn't "go to church." But not many.
Since I was a boy, going to church has been an important duty in my life. So, on those Sundays that I didn't take in a Sunday morning show, there was always at least a dull pang of guilt--and never the joy I've experience in recent months when I skedaddled from the Sunday morning show tradition.
It took a long spiritual journey for me to be able not to "go to church" and also feel no hint of guilt about it.
It took a ton of Bible study and meditation on the Word to realize that attending a Sunday morning show is, in no way, a form of righteousness that pleases the Lord. But, clearly, that realization has now taken hold in my life.
---------------------------------------
Now that I've gotten point that I can not take in a Sunday morning show and be guiltless, I realize what a formidable task faces institutionalized American churchianity.
Not going to church is a wonderful way to live! It can be one of the few positive addictions a person can fall prey to. It can be a profoundly positive spiritual lifestyle!
And, here's the point: Now that I've tried it, I can't see the church competing with not going to church.
And, I'm guessing that, in the era in which so-called millennials' values are becoming increasingly dominant, the Christian movement is going to have to adapt and define being a follower of Jesus in a more biblical way--than assuming that church attendance is central.
This Middle Ages notion of Christianity--rooted in attending the Mass/Worship Service/Show--no matter how attractional the event may be, is, very likely, a thing of the past.
It will not, in the future, be able to compete with simply sleeping in--even for a geezer like me!
And, it's a habit that will be hard to break.
One of those Sundays we drove about an hour to visit Ev's brother Dave's church so we could hear him, uh, preach. His is the only sermon we've heard in longer than you can imagine.
But, on the other Sundays, we did what most Americans these days do. We slept in and simply lazed a good part of the day.
Ironically, joining the people of the world, we Sabbathed. We rested.
And, I have to tell you that those lazy Sundays were the most healthful and enjoyable times I've spent doing anything in years.
Over the years, there were a handful of Sundays that I didn't "go to church." But not many.
Since I was a boy, going to church has been an important duty in my life. So, on those Sundays that I didn't take in a Sunday morning show, there was always at least a dull pang of guilt--and never the joy I've experience in recent months when I skedaddled from the Sunday morning show tradition.
It took a long spiritual journey for me to be able not to "go to church" and also feel no hint of guilt about it.
It took a ton of Bible study and meditation on the Word to realize that attending a Sunday morning show is, in no way, a form of righteousness that pleases the Lord. But, clearly, that realization has now taken hold in my life.
---------------------------------------
Now that I've gotten point that I can not take in a Sunday morning show and be guiltless, I realize what a formidable task faces institutionalized American churchianity.
Not going to church is a wonderful way to live! It can be one of the few positive addictions a person can fall prey to. It can be a profoundly positive spiritual lifestyle!
And, here's the point: Now that I've tried it, I can't see the church competing with not going to church.
And, I'm guessing that, in the era in which so-called millennials' values are becoming increasingly dominant, the Christian movement is going to have to adapt and define being a follower of Jesus in a more biblical way--than assuming that church attendance is central.
This Middle Ages notion of Christianity--rooted in attending the Mass/Worship Service/Show--no matter how attractional the event may be, is, very likely, a thing of the past.
It will not, in the future, be able to compete with simply sleeping in--even for a geezer like me!
Tuesday, August 5, 2014
APE Rape
I'm including on this blog a link to fellow prophet Dan Horwedel's blog post, APE Rape. Click and check it out if you have the spiritual courage.
This is powerful stuff and, I believe it is genuinely prophetic.
----------------------------
A few comments about Dan and this post:
1. These days Dan appears to be growing in his prophetic gift at an exponential rate. He is a genuine blessing to me.
2. Dan's image takes my own "Shepherd Mafia" image and makes it seem like Dick and Jane stuff.
3. I believe that Dan's rape image is from the Lord and that it is consistent with the powerful messages and the images that the Lord spoke through His prophets in the Word. If this vivid image itself offends you, you need to read the books of the prophets in the Word.
4. You should ask yourself: Who are the APE rapists among us?
5. You also need to ask: Am I an APE rapist?
6. While Dan doesn't claim to be a victim of APE rape, I think he is one and, further, that he is a victim of gang rape and, beyond that, that his rapists need to apologize and make restitution to him and to confess their sin to the Lord and to the church.
This is powerful stuff and, I believe it is genuinely prophetic.
----------------------------
A few comments about Dan and this post:
1. These days Dan appears to be growing in his prophetic gift at an exponential rate. He is a genuine blessing to me.
2. Dan's image takes my own "Shepherd Mafia" image and makes it seem like Dick and Jane stuff.
3. I believe that Dan's rape image is from the Lord and that it is consistent with the powerful messages and the images that the Lord spoke through His prophets in the Word. If this vivid image itself offends you, you need to read the books of the prophets in the Word.
4. You should ask yourself: Who are the APE rapists among us?
5. You also need to ask: Am I an APE rapist?
6. While Dan doesn't claim to be a victim of APE rape, I think he is one and, further, that he is a victim of gang rape and, beyond that, that his rapists need to apologize and make restitution to him and to confess their sin to the Lord and to the church.
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