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Showing posts from October, 2008

Treasure - What Are We Storing Up?

Living life in America, and a number of other countries, isn't always peaceful and fulfilling. I am not down on America, I am just thinking about other things today. For many of us, we get bogged down in trying to make a living or go to school (or both), friends and family, and a host of other things that we fill our lives with. Recently I was trying to recall some of the thoughts I had during my walk around Walden Pond a few weekends ago. I enjoyed the crisp New England air and the vibrant colors of Fall. There were moments I felt connected with God, enjoying the stillness of the pond-- not a ripple on her surface. There were other moments as I smiled at a passer by, marveled at those swimming in the 50 degree water, enjoyed the interaction of my kids, watched the minute wake of a far-off canoe gliding on the water, and the graceful landing of a blue heron in her favorite fishing spot. Those are times when I just enjoy God as He is. I am not praying or being all religious. I am ju...

Keepers of the Light - What Is Going On With the Church?

Are you bored in church? Don't like going anymore? Stopped going? Wishing for something better? Not plugged in? Offended and never going back? Are you hungry? Thirsty? Longing for the good old days? Did you feel God's presence today? Are you enjoying your salvation, or just feeling guilty about the rules that you can't seem to follow, no matter how hard you try? Do you even care about the rules? I have been around the "born again" church for nearly 30 years. At some point along the journey I have attended just about every Christian denomination. If you follow this blog at all, you know that it matters greatly to me what non-Christians think about God and the church. It also matters that, as a church, we are progressing towards the goal of bringing real redemption, while being ministers of reconciliation. The church has to have a purpose, not a facade. We need to be heading somewhere, and that takes both vision and action. What were you thinking the last time you a...

Is the Bible True? The Tale of 2 Witnesses

There are those that think the Bible is a book filled with a bunch of religious sounding stories, some historical accounts and others tall tales or myths, and that it is at best the "wishful thinking" of the authors. I am not talking about skeptics or nonbelievers, these are committed Christians who are uncertain of both the historical accounts and I suppose the afterlife. I disagree with them. What if the Bible is true from Genesis to Maps? It is not my place to defend God or the Bible. That type of conjecture only causes people to be upset. The logical thinking process that substantiates this apparent theory, maintains it is all subject to faith, and therefore; can't be proven. Again, I disagree. One of the things that I find intriguing about the Bible is that there is a thread which runs through it connecting the laws and events of the Old Testament to the historical and spiritual events of the New Testament. As an example of this principal, let's look at this ...

Poor? or Poor! - What Is Really Poor?

Did you ever wonder how poor is poor? I can recall the sarcastic tone of some comedian, in the role of a son, where he is arguing with this father and grandfather. The son is vying for dad to buy him a car. The exchange went something like this. "Dad, why do I have to take the bus to school? All my friends drive cars!" The father replies, "Son when I was your age we didn't have buses, we walked 3 miles to school no matter what the weather. I didn't even have my first car until I was out of college." The somewhat senile grandfather decides he can top that story. "When I was kid," he exclaims, "we didn't have legs to get to school on." With the approaching presidential elections, I have engaged a number of serious debates over how we might vote for biblical principals while electing the most powerful person on earth. Don't worry, this blog is not about politics. For more on that, click HERE . The latest discussion started off with t...

Hanging on Two Nails - The Perfume

"God is a God of relationship!" cackles the preacher. "God wants to have a relationship with you!," he exclaims. Have you heard this before? After 30 years, I am not all that sure I know what he meant. It is often described as a relationship where you pray (and maybe try to listen), read the Bible and examine yourself (and others- J/K), and go to church to be in "fellowship," which you would not want to forsake because the Bible says don't! Even as I type this, it doesn't sound like much fun. Oh yeah, and "Jesus loves YOU!" Sorry, I am not feeling it. Maybe I should just accept all this by faith and head home while I wait for the rapture. So, when you get to this passage, how do you feel about God? Matthew 22:34-40 34 When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, 35 and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 36 "Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?" 37 He...