Life Goes On

I've decided to call them intentions this year instead of resolutions.  It seems that the word resolution carries with it the idea that they will be broken.  Honestly, I've not made any "resolutions" in years because most of them are usually broken before the first quarter is over.  Maybe renaming them "intentions" will bode well for keeping them.  At any rate, this is a work in progress. (about to be interrupted by an extended family foray to a local mall and theater) Here are my BIG THREE intentions for 2012. During this year I intend to make a conscious daily effort to live, think and feel as Jesus did/would. During this year I will begin to add fasting to my prayer life. During this year I will enter into an "iron sharpens iron" relationship with 2 other men. Why only three?  Because that is manageable.  I've found that if I do any more, I get lost in the process.  Also, these three will impact every area of my life and relationship...

This week as Christmas draws near, I find myself thinking about a pregnant teenager and her twenty-something fiance.  The faith they exhibited is phenomenal.  It is almost unimaginable that they would make the decisions they did in the face of the cultural mores of the time.  The dangers of being ostracized and possibly killed were very real.  I know that God is sovereign and that His play would be done, if not through them, through someone else, but I can't imagine anyone else with so much on the line.  Follow the story in Matthew 1:18ff from the new Common English Bible. 18  This is how the birth of Jesus Christ took place. When Mary his mother was engaged to Joseph, before they were married, she became pregnant by the Holy Spirit.  19  Joseph her husband was a righteous man. Because he didn’t want to humiliate her, he decided to call off their engagement quietly.  20  As he was thinking about this, an angel from the Lord ...

Common English Bible > Home : 'via Blog this' I'm participating in the "Thank you- Come again-I promise" blog tour for this new translation of the Bible for the common man. I'm enjoying doing my devotional reading from the CEB. You can go to the web sight listed in the link above and get your own free copy of the new Bible. One interesting difference I've noticed is the translating of "the Son of Man" as the "Human One". Jesus referred to Himself as the Son of Man most of the time in the Gospels, so this rendering "Human One" appears quite often. I'm sure I'll come across other changes that will at least make me pause and think through familiar passages. The tag line for the CEB is "a fresh translation to touch the heart and mind." In my reading so far, I think they have achieved this goal. CEB is also available free in @YouVersion and can be downloaded free on your @Kindle. I encourage you to check ...

I know that we have just passed Pastor Appreciation Month, but I wanted to log in my view from the other (pastor's) side.  Granted, I'm 72 and not exactly in prime physical condition, but after I preach twice on Sunday I'm wrung out.  Even after the morning service I can hardly wait to hit my recliner and nap for awhile before gearing up for the next service.  All of this to say I don't know how these guys do it who preach 3-6 times on a weekend.  I'm sure that most lay people have no clue as to the emotional and physical energy expended by most preachers in the process of preaching.  It becomes even more laborious when there is little or no response.  It is like preaching with a 1,000 lb. boulder on your back. Couple with this the well-meaning person who "un-loads" his/her problem on the pastor as he is on the way to the pulpit (that is what office hours and telephones are for) Let me hasten to say that my congregation is very conscious of the fact that...

Last night our Home Group viewed a video featuring Erwin McManus entitled "What Is Work?"  The idea that work can actually be worship was unpacked in a way that only master story-teller McManus can do.  I was reminded of Colossians 3:17 & 23.   "And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him." "Whatever you do, do it enthusiastically, as something done for the Lord and not for man." That word, "enthusiastically" comes from the words "en" (with) and "theos" (God)  When we do something enthusiastically, we do it with, or full of, God.  Erwin shared how the first commercial produced by his film company placed 3rd in the Frito-lay contest to be shown during the recent Super Bowl.  Later it was rated #8 among "viral" videos because of the millions of "hits".  All of this gave him a platform from which to share his faith st...

At our church we usually pray conversationally for as much as 20-30 minutes.  Our people are being trained to pray about one subject at the time for up to a minute, and then to give others the opportunity to either join in that prayer topic or introduce another one.  They are free to pray as many times as they choose, but asked to keep each prayer focused on one topic.  The result thus far (we've been doing this for about 6 weeks) is that more people pray about more topics than in the old method of one or two people recruited to open and close the prayer time while everyone else prays silently (if at all) We have the opportunity to study the Bible in Sunday School, to be encouraged, inspired and challenged by a sermon in church.  On Wednesday we have the opportunity to impact the world through prayer.  Ron Dunn, great Bible teacher/preacher now deceased, described intercessory prayer as an ICBM missile, launched from a pad no larger than your knees wh...

As usual, Andy Stanley get right to the "heart" of the matter in this book.  With personal anecdotes, clear scriptural exposition and to-the-point conclusions, Andy helps the reader expose the fountainhead that feeds the outflow of their life.  Guilt, anger, greed and jealousy are identified as the enemies which torment us all.  Not content to just help the reader discover these insidious foes, Andy then gives a clear-cut path to defeating them. At the end of the book there are discussion questions on each chapter which makes this book a great tool for Bible study groups, Home Groups, etc.  Get your hands on this book ASAP.  You'll be glad you did.