Life Goes On

I'm sure that most of you have been in a shopping mall and looked at a Mall Directory.  There will always be a little symbol with the words "You are here" to help you locate where in the Mall you are.  From there you can plot your course to a particular store.  It is too bad that many people have no idea of where we are in our country these days.  Some think that we are in good shape so far as jobs and personal finances are concerned.  Others feel exactly the opposite.  Some are absolutely sure that if only the right party or the right person gets in office that we will be fine.  The time has come for us to locate where we are so that we can navigate to where we want to be. The reality is that we are alienated from God.  When I say "we" I'm talking about our country, the United States of America.  We daily violate the laws of God and have even enacted federal laws to insure that we continue to violate God's Law.  ("Thous shalt not kill"...

The church is like a home.   Portal   Porch   Path   Purpose     The PORTAL of a church is the entry point.  The portal must be visible, accessible and inviting in order for people to become interested in entering.  For the church the portal is not only the door, but the "First Impressions" people; the ushers and welcome-center personnel.  The PORTAL is also our website, Facebook Page and Twitter account.     The PORCH must be a place of comfort, informality and welcome.  This should be a place where those coming through the portal find a welcome and feel "at home".  For most churches this would be the Worship Center.  It should be a combination of beauty, style and comfort.  The layout should foster interaction rather than isolation.  It is on the porch that immediate relationships are formed with special emphasis placed on the pre-service and post-service behavior of members....

It is Monday morning.  My brain doesn't always work best on Monday mornings, however here are some things that are running around in it today. I drove through Dunkin Donuts and clearly ordered a medium hot coffee with 2 creams and 1 mocha swirl.  When I got to the window they handed me a LARGE but at least they got the rest of the order right.  And yes, I did pay for a large.  Made me think that in order to deserve $15 an hour minimum wage your should be able to get a simple order correct and also be able to make change without a computer telling you how much to give back.  To expand on that idea, in order to deserve $15 and hour you must be worth $20 an hour to your employer. Enough of that.  I'm fascinated and excited about the news of revival breaking out in W. Virginia.  It seems that God shows up in the most remote places. I have been praying for weeks for revival to break out in Highlands County, FL.  Although that is where my church is, I...

The "flap" over restroom usage is the last straw.  Transgenders make up less than 2% of the population of the US, yet the PC police have decided that they should be given special privileges because of their mental illness.  Yes, I said mental illness.  That may not be politically correct, but it is biblically correct.  I'd rather fall into the hands of the PC police than into the hands of an angry God.  I've heard it said that if God does not judge America, He will have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah.  That is "tongue in cheek".  God never has to apologize for anything.  However we should learn from the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah that when we choose to defy the Word of God and do "our own thing" there is a price to pay that is higher than we can imagine. I've been reading the letters to the seven churches in Revelation 2 & 3.  Judgment is sure upon those who choose to spit in the face of God.  Don't be lulled into complacency bec...

I've been working for over an hour to get my computer to do what I want.  Needless to say, I've become frustrated.  Come to think of it, there are many things which frustrate me these days. Harking back to the old Basic Youth Conflicts conferences with Bill Gothard, I know that my frustration arises from having a goal blocked.  The whole idea of goal setting can easily lead to frustration because not all goals are reachable. The process of goal setting is often stressful for me.  Do I set goals based on what I want, no matter how outrageous they may be or do I set them practically, knowing up front that I can reach them?  I've finally settled on a plan that I think will help me.  Rather than setting goals and asking God to bless me as I pursue them, I now try to start with God, asking Him what goals I should set.  Many of my goals come straight from the pages of Scripture.  For example, I have a goal to become increasingly like Jesus.  That ...

I think I may have written about this before, but I've been reminded of it again and thought I would weigh in one more time.  Gotcha wondering what I'm talking about huh?  I'm referring to the younger generation of preachers that are hung up on titles.  Just this last week I read on Facebook the status of a young man who said he had just been called as "Lead Pastor" of a certain church.  I know that church.  They have no other staff other than the pastor.  Just who is he "leading".  Some would say, "Well, he is leading the flock."  Maybe so, but it just sounds pretentious to me to call oneself the "Lead Pastor" when there is no staff to lead. Even funnier is the twenty-something pastor, just out of seminary or Bible College who calls himself "Senior Pastor".  He's not senior anything unless he has a child called "Junior".  I go to conferences every once in awhile and often the leader will go around the room an...

With the approach of Easter next Sunday, I’m thinking more and more about the significance of the empty tomb.  As Paul said in 1 Cor. 15, if Jesus was not raised from the dead then those of us who are Christ followers are to be pitied.  If someone were to suddenly find the remains of Jesus in a garden tomb in the area, all of our faith would be in vain.  The reality is though that even with many trying to explain away the resurrection, it still stands.  For 2000+ years no one has be able to discredit the report of 500+ eyewitnesses who saw Jesus after the resurrection. The big difference between Christians and others is that our faith is firmly placed in Jesus, the Bible and the evident works of God (creation, etc.)  Their faith is in science or some “prophet” who make claims that can’t be substantiated.  Even those who claim their faith is in science cannot prove, using scientific methods that their belief has legs to stand on.  Science says that f...