Life Goes On

This morning I read a Facebook post by a friend who is supposedly a wordsmith (poet)  The post amounted to a diatribe against Christians, conservatives and Republicans.  The most repeated word in the post was "hate" as he repeatedly accused his targets with hating everything liberal, Oboma-esque, or socialistic.  Then, at the end of his invective laced rant, he amazingly said, "I do not hate you, I forgive you."  I guess this was supposed to make his verbal attack acceptable.  He also mentioned that he could not imagine Jesus agreeing with those he considered "haters".  By the same token, I can't imagine Jesus agreeing with someone who uses words to attack others.  As a matter of fact, Jesus said in Matthew 12:35-37 "A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasures brings forth evil things.  But I say to you that for every idle word that men may speak, they will give account of it...

Years ago I saw a ventriloquism act where the ventriloquist took his "dummy" out of a suitcase. During the act, the "dummy" got a little insulting, and the ventriloquist put it back in the suitcase. As he tried to close the top, the "dummy" kept talking, becoming more and more muffled, until the case was closed and the words were too muffled and muted to understand. That makes me think about the situation with Christians in our world today. If indeed Christ is in us we should let Him be Himself through us. Don't keep Jesus in the suitcase where all those around can only hear muffled sounds and not words of life. I remember talking with a young man on the beach in San Diego, CA. When we told him we were Christians and were out telling people how they could have a relationship with Jesus, he quickly told us that he was Jewish, hoping that we would move on. About that time his friend came back from the snack stand. The young Jewish man introduce...

I have a personal longing for revival. I want it in my life, my church and my nation. Some parts of the world are already experiencing revival. It has been my prayer for many years that God would allow me to go through a "Great Awakening" that is generated by God invading even the atmosphere as happened in the northeast many years ago. I'm aware that most revivals come in response to prayer. That being true I have prayed personally, led my church to pray, prayer walked in my community, attended Pastors' Prayer Gatherings and anything else I can think of. I've tried to apply 2 Chronicles 7:14 to my life and my church. I've confessed, repented, returned, begged and pleaded. I've come to the conclusion that revival (renewal) is a God thing that happens WHEN He want, WHERE He wants and impacts those WHOM He wants. That won't keep me from praying, seeking His face and crying out to Him for revival. I've just started this week to read Psalm 15 m...

I was sent this book, The Accident by Chris Pavone by Blogging for Books in return for my honest review.  This is not a book that I can recommend due to gratuitous vulgarity and sexual content.  In addition, I found the plot to be somewhat convoluted.

One of the difficulties the church struggles with is translating Jesus into real life so that the world might see and understand Him. We must learn to translate Him by our lives and not just our words. We are in a day when words are being hijacked and meanings are changing rapidly. It seems that every month or so some individual or group takes a perfectly good word, puts their unique "spin" on it and takes over the popular usage of it. (case in point, the word "gay") Those who, for whatever reason, have rejected the evangelical church have no concept of who Jesus is. They may know of a historical Jesus, but more and more of them don't have a clue regarding the Biblical Jesus. They may use His Name, and that of His Father, God in their social discourse, but their meaning and understanding of those Names is far from the Biblical reality. Before we come down too harshly on them, let's examine how actively practicing evangelical Christians have contributed...

City Officials Might Say 'I've Got to Put My Bible Under My Desk and Keep My Mouth Shut About What I Believe,' Says Ousted Atlanta Fire Chief : When I read about what is going on in Atlanta regarding the firing of a fire chief because of something he wrote in a self-published book, I'm reminded of the dilemma that Daniel faced when ordered to bow down to a pagan idol.  It seems that the mayor of Atlanta has ruled that anyone who adheres to the teaching of scriptures and lets it be known, is subject to firing.  We probably are not far away from being asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement regarding our faith before being considered for a job.  The same "creeping persecution" that enveloped Nazi Germany is beginning to emerge in America.  Martin Niemoeller is credited with the quote regarding the way the Nazis enveloped group after group without his speaking out. First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a Socialist. Then...

As I face the end of 2014, I'm cleaning out my email inbox, unsubscribing from lots of email I no longer want to receive, and trying to pare down the things that tend to bog me down in the ministry. 2015 for me (and I'm suggesting it for my church) will be the year of  "Going Beyond" .  Such a theme leaves lots of room for interpretation.  To get a handle on it, I've broken it down into two parts; Personal and Church.  By putting it in my blog, I'm making myself accountable to any and all who read it. PERSONAL This year I will do annual, quarterly, monthly and weekly planning. This year I will write 5,000 words a month toward eventually completing a book. This year I will personally disciple from 1 to 3 men. This year I will achieve my weight goal of 175 lbs. All of these are "going beyond" what I have done in the past. CHURCH This year we will seek to average 70 in SS attendance. This year we will seek to average 120 in worship attendance...