Posts

Showing posts from June, 2011

Accept Jesus and Die

Image
I drive past so many church signs, but this one almost caused me to wreck: COME AND DIE! What an invitation! I am sure they will have a big crowd for that sermon. It just sounds creepy. I wonder what the follow up sermon will be next week: Carry Your Own Cross in Pain and Suffering , or  what about, You Will Be Persecuted! , or God says, "I Want Everything!" Some loony Fundie (Urban language for Christian Fundamentalist) must have taken over the pulpit of that church. I wont be surprised if we soon see bonfires encouraging people to burn Korans, Crude Music and Adult Rated Movies. When I got to the red light, I glanced back to make sure I read the sign right. I did. I shook my head and then rolled my eyes in disgust. When will those preachers ever learn? That is not the way to win people to Jesus. People have to know: He loves them,  He will heal them,  He will always be there for them, and  He wants to be their friend.  The little children's song started pla

Playing, Dancing, and Artful Expression

Image
Colors so brightly dance around in beauty. Musical melodies sprinkle through my soul. Paint, beads, and a rainbow of inks sing to me. "Come and play," they softly pull my heart strings. "Yes," I reply, "I want to play." I want to draw, make jewelry and create all whimsical designs running around my soul, waiting to be explored.  But I stop. I wait for God to say, "Go, it is time, enjoy." Those words never come.  I could be sad. Maybe even mad! Why? I watch so many ladies getting to discover the childlike enthusiasm and fulfilling satisfaction of making wonderful things with their hands.   Recently, I visited a website that was so creatively expressive. It has been over the past year that I have been watching this women blossom in so many different fun activities. She is gushing with joy. And I am happy for her, but part of me feels a little green. So much of what she does resonant the "wants"  hidden inside of me, not

What Do You Fear?

Image
Empty eyes know real fear. I say, "fear". You say, "____________" Word associations were a fun game when I was growing up. We also called it free associations so everyone knew any answer was correct. Fear, panic, terror. Palms sweating, heart palpitated, heading to a dizzy spin. FEAR!!!!!     what do you fear?  You can whisper your answer to yourself. I am told the greatest fear among all people is death, followed by speaking in public. I know darkness brings fear to many souls. And when the economy is bad, losing a job, losing a house, or getting seriously sick are top on the public's list. What did or do you fear the most? I feared my father, and it was not a healthy loving fear of disappointing him. It was a realistic fear of a psychopathic angry violent father that laughed at evil. I fear him no more. At church today we talked about fear. Jesus taught about fear. In Luke 14:4-5, Jesus taught the need for fearing God: 4  “And I say to you,

No Truth in Public Education

Image
America is keeping Truth out of Public schools. We must return to our foundational morals and principles that made America the greatest Nation of Time. Throughout history power has been obtained over the large masses of people by removing the Bible. Emperors of Rome did it! Popes did it! Murderous Conquerors and Rulers did it! America is keeping the Truth out of School! Why would they? What does Scripture have to do with government and power since the Bible teaches Christians should be submit to secular authority? Jesus, Himself,  said, "Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God." The problem is a question of knowledge of truth and absolute authority , not civil obedience and honoring governing leaders. The person that gets to define truth and absolute authority has controlling power.  If people are allowed to read God's Word for themselves they discover truth, and question whether ultimate authority rests with government leadership or

Special Summer Blogroll Listing - Being a Follower of Jesus!

Image
We are all unique to God! When is the last time you enjoyed checking out other people's blogs? It seems many people today write, write, write but have so few regular followers. Just yesterday I was reading a post by a book publisher that I enjoy, Michael Hyatt from Thomas Nelson. He explaining how essential it is to have a high number of followers on your blog/website. He encouraged want-to -be published writers to work hard to promote themselves . Something didn't ring Biblical in his suggestions; it didn't set right with the indwelling Holy Spirit. So I thought the opposite: "What does it take to get people to take time to check each others' blog/website as a way to serve, encourage, and see another person grow?" or easily said "how can I promote others?" The solution is surrender (or submission). We must surrender to God. My pastor this morning talked about submission (don't freak out yet). He explained that when we submit to one anot

Becoming A Great Writer of Devotions

Image
What makes a devotion great? She is precious in God's sight! Real life illustration: Every writer has heard this saying over and over, "show, don't tell." I still don't have this ability down like a great fiction writer.  Showing would be something like this:  "The wind whipped around the two Asian ladies as they dragged their happy, bright-colored, heavy suitcases down the wet two lane street. With her damp hat folded in one hand, she tried to focus her map directions that she held in her other hand as it flipped around in the steamy early evening breeze. Confused but not discouraged, she trudged along with her companion in tow until I interrupted their odd journey. Smiling as I offered to give them a ride to their destination, their jaw dropped before they could speak."  Really, I do get it. Showing instead of telling is so nice to read, but it is not very natural to me. It is not the way God created me to write, at least not yet. I ne

Beyond Material Needs

Image
Newborns enter life naked and naturally beautiful. The adoring eyes of parents and grandparents delight at the innocence of their precious infant. However innocent a child may first appear, no one is born intrinsically good, and all parents can attest to how quickly the innocence disappears. Consider St. Paul’s words: Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned (Romans 5:12 NAS). It is hard to see that a child’s greatest need is spiritual, and not physical, mental or emotional. Every person born into this world has a pressing need to be spiritually alive to God.  Parents diligently provide sustenance and comfort for their children. They want them to have quality medical care, new clothes, healthy meals, and a wide variety of toys and activities to stimulate their mind. What parent does love to hear pure giggling pleasure from their child? In providing their child these good things, a stron

Racism - How Do You Help Stop it?

Image
The answer is in the blood - not the skin. Understanding racism helps people to change their own thoughts that precede behavior. We are each responsible for how we teach our own family and others how we should live. Racism can be stopped because: Ethnicity (race) is taught; ethnicity (race) is not an inborn trait! Believe it! YOU are beautiful! Go, back and re-read the previous bold sentence because it may be easy to miss how important it is to solving racism. Racist are taught to be racist. No person is born a racist! God did not create any human to be a racist; He created us all equal of one human race. People are taught through parents, teachers, peers, neighbors, family members, ministers, books, media, and inter-relational experience what to think about the difference in people's skin color. In some ethnic groups, parents strongly teach their children to make judgements about a person based on the pigment color of their skin. The blood is the living vitality of

Who Am I? According to God

Image
Take a Gaze of the Self-Existent One This conversation reminded me of "Who Am I?" in comparison to God! I received this recent response to a book review I placed on amazon: This was an intriguing "review" of Dr. Daft's book; it is interesting to see how some individuals believe that the world, and all the individuals within it, must cater to their dogma and frame ideas based upon a worldview they do not hold in order for those ideas to be given serious consideration. Very interesting indeed . . . So this was my reply: Hrbizstudent, you misunderstand. Not at all! I do not believe all individuals must cater to my dogma nor my frame of ideas based upon the worldview "they do not hold in order for those ideas to be given serious consideration." I have no dogma, framework or worldview of my own. I simply believe God's worldview, and naturally so, since He alone is the One who created and set in motion all that we know and live in - our reali

Awake! Book Review of The Future War of the Church By Chuck Pierce

Image
AWAKE! The cry of Chuck Pierce book,  The Future War of the Church  is for the Church to  awake ! While I am a quick reader, I was still surprised last night I read this 300 page book in full. I could not put it down because in it is an urgent message for members of the body of Christ, particularly those who are still finding God asking them to align and not abandon the local church - even if the local church has abandoned them. Originally written in 2001 prior to 9/11 (and revised/updated/re-released in 2007) the prophetic words are rich with punctuation now of how the Spirit of God is supplying the ministry and message given to Chuck Pierce and Rebecca Wagner Sytsema. We, the Church, the Body of Christ, must not run and hide, nor fearfully reject the non-traditionalism move of the Holy Spirit. That which we don't understand, can still be quite grounded in the Word of God. The Church NEEDS its gifted apostles and prophets just as much as it needs its pastors, teachers and evan