Bonhoeffer on Interuptions

We must be ready to allow ourselves to be interrupted by God. God will
be constantly crossing our paths and cancelling our plans by sending us
people with claims and petitions. We may pass them by, preoccupied with
our more important tasks, as the priest passed by the man who had fallen
among thieves, perhaps - reading the Bible..... it is part of the
discipline of humility that we must not spare our hand where it can
perform a service and we do not assume that our schedule is our own to
manage, but allow it to be arranged by God.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

The Horror of the Cross

The curious paradox of the atoning death of a bloody Jesus rising above the plane of human history with a mocking crown of thorns is that he is offensive in an attractive way.

It is the utter horror of the cross that cuts through the chatter, noise, and nonsense of our day to rivet our attention, shut our mouths, and compel us to listen to an impassioned dying man who is crying out for the forgiveness of our sins and to ask why he suffered.

Tragically, if we lose the offense of the cross, we also lose the attraction of the cross so that no one is compelled to look at Jesus. Therefore, Jesus does not need a marketing firm or a makeover as much as a prophet to preach the horror of the cross unashamedly.

—- Mark Driscoll, "Listening to the Beliefs of Emerging Churches"

My Election Poem

With the next election weeks away,
Here is all I have to say.
Some might say it takes some nerve,
To say we may get what we deserve.

Scary Stuff!

Truth Laced with a Chuckle?

Yes, I know there are many people who visit this blog; but, yeah, I do wish more would leave comments. Or maybe there is much more truth in the above than I'd like to think????

How Does Salvation Occur?

No, I'm not going to get into the whole predestination, calling, election "thing", though I have some strong opinions about those glorious truths.

But just a reminder from the book of Acts, particularly as it describes the conversion of Lydia, who already was a "worshiper of God" (which, of course, confirms that, like the apostle Paul (prior to the Damascus Road), you can love God and serve God and yet be unsaved).

Acts 16.14 states, "...The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul."

Step one...The Lord opens a heart

Step two...one of the Lord's flunkies brags on Jesus

Addendum Spoke to someone about this; I did not make my point clear...If the Lord has not initiated step one; all of our step twos will be ineffective (though, if we push, we may produce a "decision," but not a conversion. Why? Because "salvation is of the Lord."

How Does a Prayer Warrior Evolve?

I know that this past year has tremendously increased the passion in my prayer life...and now that the struggles of selling the house and buying a house, and all the inherent junk there seems to be racing to a conclusion, I do not want that passion to ebb; but rather hope/pray this is the genesis of a continually growing awareness, effectiveness, and practice-ness of praying "at all times."

Thus this quote came to be at a very timely juncture:

“God uses the past and present difficulties of your life to lead you into a life of prayer. No one ever just decides to be a prayer warrior. God does something in a life that makes the person sense this need of God.” -Bill Thrasher

Vital Reminder from Swindoll

We are so prone to put God in a box regarding most every aspect of life...to include conversion. This is a very important reminder from Chuck:

A QUICK TURNAROUND
by Charles R. Swindoll

Read Acts 9:1--4

The essence of genuine repentance is that the mind does a turnaround. The Greek word is metanoia, meaning, literally, "to change one's mind." That's precisely what happened to the once-proud Pharisee on the road to Damascus. So many things within Saul's thinking changed---and changed completely. He changed his mind about God, about Jesus, about the Resurrection, about those who followed Christ. He must have shaken his head for days. He thought Christ was dead. Now he was convinced Jesus was alive. This One who knew his name also knew what he'd been doing. The raging rebel had finally met his match, and there was no place or way to hide.

Now let me pause to clarify something important. Some Christians try to impose their rigid system of dos and don'ts on the issue of conversion. I want to caution against that sort of exercise. It's impossible to find any single place in Scripture that reveals the one-and-only way every sinner comes to Christ. While the message of the Gospel is the same, methods differ. We are so conditioned by denominational backgrounds, religious traditionalism, and narrow-thinking prejudice, we miss the point of God's grace. We tend to require more than God does! Be careful about exacting requirements on someone who genuinely turns to the Savior.

Lost people are saved while listening to a great song about Christ or while hearing a preacher or Bible teacher explaining God's Word from a pulpit or over television or on the radio. Others are saved during a small-group Bible study. Many come to Him on their own, while praying in the privacy of their homes. Day or night a sinner can call on the Lord Jesus Christ in faith and be saved. Let's stop making it so complicated. As it happened with Saul, grace abounds.

Regardless of exactly when Saul was converted, he realized that the living Jesus, whom he had hated and denied his entire life, was now his Savior and Lord.

Is He your Savior and Lord too?



Taken from Charles R. Swindoll, Great Days with the Great Lives (Nashville: W Publishing Group, 2005). Copyright © 2005 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc.

No Shocks or Surprises for God

Here's another great insight from Swindoll. Again, I heartily recommend the book to supplement your own Bible reading

Read Acts 9:1--4

For more than three decades, Saul controlled his own life. His record in Judaism ranked second to none. On his way to make an even greater name for himself, the laser of God's presence stopped him in his tracks, striking him blind. Like that group of shepherds faithfully watching their sheep years earlier on another significant night outside Jerusalem, Saul and his companions fell to the ground, stunned.

That's what still happens today when calamity strikes. You get the news in the middle of the night on the telephone, and you can't move. As the policeman describes the head-on collision, you stand frozen in disbelief. After hearing the word "cancer," you're so shocked you can hardly walk out the doctor's office doors. A friend once admitted to me that, after hearing his dreaded diagnosis, he stumbled to the men's room, vomited, dropped to his knees, and sobbed uncontrollably. Life's unexpected jolts grip us with such fear we can scarcely go on.

For the first time in his proud, self-sustained life, Saul found himself a desperate dependent. Not only was he pinned to the ground, he was blind. His other senses were on alert and, to his amazement, he heard a voice from heaven say, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?" (Acts 9:4). Saul was convinced he had been persecuting people---cultic followers of a false Messiah. Instead, he discovered that the true object of his vile brutality was Christ Himself.

We live in a culture that regularly confuses humanity with deity. The lines get blurred. It's the kind of sloppy theology that suggests God sits on the edge of heaven thinking, Wonder what they'll do next. How absurd! God is omniscient---all-knowing. This implies, clearly, that God never learns anything, our sinful decisions and evil deeds notwithstanding. Nothing ever surprises Him. From the moment we're conceived to the moment we die, we remain safely within the frame of His watchful gaze and His sovereign plan for us.



Taken from Charles R. Swindoll, Great Days with the Great Lives (Nashville: W Publishing Group, 2005). Copyright © 2005 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc.

Selling/Buying/Trying

As our house is in the "let's get to the closing date" stage; we are in Saint Joseph looking for house-to-make-home. Looked at tons, a few possibilities, several ain't no ways...but time is crunching. Couple more to look at today after church; then Monday we will look and relook. Appreciate prayers.

As in all of lifes adventures, there are struggles and victories and times of waiting and, yeah, times of doubt.

Thought this quote from former Olympic skater Nancy Kerrigan was timely as it came into my in-box this morning:


"Part of being a champ is acting like a champ. You have to learn
how to win and not run away when you lose. Everyone has bad stretches and
real successes. Either way, you have to be careful not to lose your
confidence or get too confident."

And, remember, we are not merely "champs," but in Christ we are "more than conquerors."