The Sandlot

In the 1993 movie, The Sandlot, two boys face off in a classic shouting match in which they exchange wicked barbs aimed at each other. My kids' favorite insult is, "You bob for apples in the toilet, and like it!" The final zinger is, "You play baseball like a girl!!!!" All the other kids looking on are stunned at the statement.
Yesterday, while reading in Matthew 23, I couldn't help but think of this scene as I read Jesus' shellacking of the scribes and Pharisees. The following is a condensed version hitting some of the highlights, but the entire chapter is full of vicious humor. It was particularly vicious because it rang true.
"They tie up heavy loads and put them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are. Blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel. You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean. So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? Therefore I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. "
My favorite was the reference to "whitewashed tombs", beautiful on the outside but full of dead men's bones and everything unclean. I plan to refer to this one if I ever get into a shouting match with someone. Just joking ( I think).

What Have You Done For Me Lately?

If you haven't checked out http://www.nakedpastor.com/, you have missed out on an extremely humble and insightful slap in the face. The author, David Haywood, submitted a masterpiece today.

Once again, his site is one of those places that if you are offended, you probably needed to be.

Annoying Little Sin

Have you been beating yourself over the head with a favorite sin lately.....

Modern Day Pharisees and Sadducees?

I've been reading Matthew lately and have really enjoyed Jesus' sense of humor in answering his disciples and the Pharisees and Sadducees. The below section of scripture is from Matt 15:1-20. I have read these passages about 5 times over the past 2 days because it really strikes me as being great humor mixed in with deadly truth. Additionally, the scenario is so very pertinent to our world today. In speaking with multiple young lost folks lately, a common pattern of concern was voiced from each... "I have a hard time accepting belief in something in which its believers say how much they love Jesus and then wag their fingers at my appearance. All the while, they are demonstrating a life that possesses none of the loving qualities that Jesus taught."

Then the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying, “Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.”
He answered and said to them, “Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? For God commanded, saying, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’ But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God”— then he need not honor his father or mother.’ Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition. Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying:
‘ These people draw near to Me with their mouth,
And honor Me with their lips,
But their heart is far from Me.
And in vain they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”
When He had called the multitude to Himself, He said to them, “Hear and understand: Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.”
Then His disciples came and said to Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?”
But He answered and said, “Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch.”
Then Peter answered and said to Him, “Explain this parable to us.”
So Jesus said, “Are you also still without understanding? Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated? But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man.”

How about you? Are you more concerned about the external issues (that will ultimately be "eliminated"), or are you more concerned about what is proceeding from the heart? Apparently, there are plenty of modern day Pharisees and Sadducees.

Worship & Healing

Do you believe that God still performs miracles today? Do you believe that He can heal people today? Is there evidence in the way that you live your life that you believe God is able to do these things?

My sister Pam sent this to me today....

The Story

The Song


In The Story, I really appreciated the female band member stating, "The name of the Lord is a Strong Tower and a Refuge and a Fortress. And worship is how I remember that I'm in that Place."

Worship Anywhere

I'm not a fan of Pepsi products, but I became an instant fan of this guy singing in a hotel vending machine room.

Naked Pastor

That's a title that will grab your attention. That is the title of a blog created by David Hayward, who describes himself as a pastor trapped in an artist's body. His art and his blog posts are usually very pointed, insightful and disturbing. But, by disturbing, I mean creating turbulence much like a swimming pool cleaner creates turbulence within the water to get the muck moving towards the filter. In our nation, stagnation seems to occur rapidly and having a little disturbance now and again may be what the doctor ordered.
Take a look at his blog and take a look at his postings on Flickr. Here are a couple of my favorites....
The first time that I saw a few of his cartoons, I thought for sure he was some non-believer slamming Christians. As it turns out, he's a pastor slamming Christians who profess Jesus with their mouths, but deny them with their lives............ I'm alright with that; I need slammed on occasion apparently.
So, I warn you. If you are easily offended, you will be offended. But, if you are offended, chances are there is a good reason why you were offended, and you may want to spend some quiet time reflecting on your relationship with Christ.

Hillbilly Bible

If you appreciate well thought out testimony and well thought out humor, you may want to take a look a this site: The Hillbilly Bible
The author says, "Aint making fun of the Bible; making the Bible fun." Here is a sample:
The Hillbilly Bible is a creative renderin' a the Gospel a John. The original author a this story is God. It come through John and then ole Stevie Rey rendered it into "Hillbilly" speak in the summer a 2007.
"Their religion is a joke, 'cause it ain't nuthin' but a bunch a man-made rules." (Matthew 15:9, The Hillbilly Bible)
"Hey y'all, let me tell ya somethin' wonderful that the good Lord has done whispered in my ear. We ain't all a gonna die, but we's all gonna be changed. It's gonna happen quicker'n you can blink your eye, when they commence to tootin' on that last trumpet." (1 Corinthians 15:51-52, The Hillbilly Bible)
"Fer the good Lord commenced to hankerin' after the world something fierce, and up and gave His only boy so's whoever took a notion to believe in 'eem ort not die, but just keep on livin' with 'eem in heaven forever n' ever." (John 3:16, The Hillbilly Bible)

Make sure to check out his blog, that is my favorite part.

If It Was Good Enough For Him....

Matthew 4

1-3 Next Jesus was taken into the wild by the Spirit for the Test. The Devil was ready to give it. Jesus prepared for the Test by fasting forty days and forty nights. That left him, of course, in a state of extreme hunger, which the Devil took advantage of in the first test: "Since you are God's Son, speak the word that will turn these stones into loaves of bread." 4Jesus answered by quoting Deuteronomy: "It takes more than bread to stay alive. It takes a steady stream of words from God's mouth." 5-6For the second test the Devil took him to the Holy City. He sat him on top of the Temple and said, "Since you are God's Son, jump." The Devil goaded him by quoting Psalm 91: "He has placed you in the care of angels. They will catch you so that you won't so much as stub your toe on a stone." 7Jesus countered with another citation from Deuteronomy: "Don't you dare test the Lord your God." 8-9For the third test, the Devil took him to the peak of a huge mountain. He gestured expansively, pointing out all the earth's kingdoms, how glorious they all were. Then he said, "They're yours—lock, stock, and barrel. Just go down on your knees and worship me, and they're yours." 10Jesus' refusal was curt: "Beat it, Satan!" He backed his rebuke with a third quotation from Deuteronomy: "Worship the Lord your God, and only him. Serve him with absolute single-heartedness." 11The Test was over. The Devil left. And in his place, angels! Angels came and took care of Jesus' needs.

I read this passage this morning and came away with an appreciation for a very simple accomplishment that Jesus achieved by taking on flesh. He demonstrated that even He, the Son of God, sought the Holy Spirit's guidance, and He demonstrated the even He was best able to handle temptations thrown at Him by the devil by referring to Scripture instead of trying to handle it all on His own wisdom.

Thanks to Colin for the use of the photo of the wilderness in Israel.

Spoons

This is a story shared with me by a good friend a long time ago......

A holy man was having a conversation with the Lord one day and said, "Lord, I would like to know what Heaven and Hell are like." The Lord led the holy man to two doors. He opened one of the doors and the holy man looked in. In the middle of the room was a large round table. In the middle of the table was a large pot of stew which smelled delicious and made the holy man's mouth water. The people sitting around the table were thin and sickly. They appeared to be famished. They were holding spoons with very long handles and each found it possible to reach into the pot of stew and take a spoonful, but because the handle was longer than their arms, they could not get the spoons back into their mouths. The holy man shuddered at the sight of their misery and suffering.
The Lord said, "You have seen Hell."
They went to the next room and opened the door. It was exactly the same as the first one. There was the large round table with the large pot of stew which made the holy man's mouth water. The people were equipped with the same long-handled spoons, but here the people were well nourished and plump, laughing and talking.
The holy man said, "I don't understand."
"It is simple," said the Lord, "It requires but one skill. You see, they have learned to feed each other. While the greedy think only of themselves. A friend is someone who reaches for your hand, and touches your heart."

Spoon photo courtesy of Roger Smith.

What If You Were There

I read an interesting blog post tonight regarding "Are We Any Different Today?" The point of it was exploring the question, "If you had been around during the years of Jesus' ministry on this earth, how would you have responded to Him?" It also explores the concept of whether the church of today possesses parallels with the religious sects of Jesus' time. It is a brutal question to answer.

This post really intrigued me because I have frequently imagined myself living in various biblical eras, and pondered how well would I have behaved in comparison to the characters in the Bible. To be very honest, I am confident that no one would have ever wanted to name one of the books of the Bible using my name.

Prayer to Follow the Road

After leading someone through the Romans' Road, hopefully, you will want to also lead them in prayer. Here is a great example of a prayer for someone who has realized that they are in need of a Savior. This prayer was found in AllAboutGod.com

“Father, I know that I have broken your laws and my sins have separated me from you. I am truly sorry, and now I want to turn away from my past sinful life toward you. Please forgive me, and help me avoid sinning again. I believe that your son, Jesus Christ died for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer. I invite Jesus to become the Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Please send your Holy Spirit to help me obey You, and to do Your will for the rest of my life. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.”

On the very same page are some helpful follow-up statements and questions. Remember Eph 2:8-9 though, and recognize that the following suggestions are ways to help make your Christian walk purposeful, but your salvation is not dependent upon your works; thanks to God's Grace:

• Get baptized as commanded by Christ.
• Tell someone else about your new faith in Christ.
• Spend time with God each day. It does not have to be a long period of time. Just develop the daily habit of praying to Him and reading His Word. Ask God to increase your faith and your understanding of the Bible.
• Seek fellowship with other followers of Jesus. Develop a group of believing friends to answer your questions and support you.
• Find a local church where you can worship God.

Romans' Road

As I've stated not so long ago, the Message of the Gospel is very simple. Back when I was in high school, I learned a simple way to share the scriptural basis of the plan of salvation with someone else. It is called the Romans Road, because it utilizes scriptures in Romans to lay down the steps. I have used this pathway many times over the past 20+ years, and each time I've been grateful that the message is so simple and that the tool is so simple.....because, let's face it, I'm plenty simple, too.

The following is an example of the pathway and was taken from RomansRoad.org

Who is good?
Romans 3:10 As it is written, There is none righteous; no, not one.

Who has sinned?
Romans 3:23 For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.

Where sin came from.
Romans 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.

God's price of sin.
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus
Christ our Lord.

Who paid The price?
Romans 5:8 God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

The only way out.
Romans 10:9-10 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth, the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart God hath raised him from the dead thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.

Take God at his word and claim His promise for your salvation.
Romans 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

3 Things

I read an article from Pray! earlier regarding 15 Ways to Make Prayer a Natural Part of Your Family's Life. Most of the suggestions seem to be quite useful and practical. I really like #3: "Whenever you see or hear about someone in need, take time to pray about it with your children." I like the idea of praying immediately for things. Often, when someone says, "Please pray for me" or "Please pray for so-and-so", I pray with them right at that moment.
The article spurned me onto a tangent, which I am prone to find. Answer this question for yourself: If you could only teach your kids 3 things, what would those 3 things be?
I have my 3, but they were difficult to come up with. I'd like to know your 3.
My three: 1) The meaning and implications of Christ's life, death and resurrection; 2) How God wants a relationship with everyone through each person's day to day life and through prayer and 3) How to stay away from financial debt.
Coming up with only 3 is very challenging, and chances are, if I answered the question once per month for a year, I'd probably come up with at least one different answer each month.

The Next Level

Coming from the perspective of residing within a church that is not quite ready to accept outmoded praise and worship songs from the 90's because it is a little too wild for their tastes, acceptance of The Next Level Church's methodology is not likely going to occur here within the next century. However, I am very intrigued by their ideas and leadership by committee approach. TNL is located near Denver, CO and was featured in an article in ChristianityToday.
More importantly, the have overcome the problem that so many churches around here have been faced with; most churches today do not have any true community and a majority of its members show up for Sunday morning services only. The solution, oddly enough, sounds much like what our pastor has requested us do. The solution was having small group activities occurring away from the church in homes and public places. I like it.

Strength in Weakness

2 Corinthians 12 (New International Version) 9 But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

So many times we humans become focused on our inabilities and on the hardships we are enduring. The bulk of many church's prayer lists/requests are focused on relieving people of their burdens, illnesses and pain. According to Paul, we should take delight in our weakness and hardships. He reasons that Christ is more able to reveal his strength in us at these times. This makes perfect sense if you think that if He revealed His strength in you when you are flying high, then you would most likely credit yourself and not Him.

Once again, live your life with the understanding that this world is not your home and that we are merely being prepared for something far better. If you do, when difficult times arise you will more readily accept them as opportunities to rely more fully upon Christ.

Ministry of Reconciliation

The NIV version of II Corinthians 5:18-20 says, "18All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God."
As I read this passage today, I was really impacted by the notion that the moment an individual receives Christ into their heart, they instantaneously become a minister. The main purpose of the ministry is intended to be sharing the message of reconciliation. In essence, because I have become reconciled, I then should share the opportunity of reconciliation with everyone else.
Does this responsibility scare you? Do you feel that you are not possibly up to the task? Maybe you are too shy, too ignorant of the Word, too afraid to be rejected by your friends or made fun of, or maybe you just don't know how to get started?
What I came to realize today was that none of that really matters. If you are a Christian, you are, by default, a minister of the message of reconciliation. If you happen to be not actively seeking to minister, it doesn't change the fact that you are a minister. You just happen to be a fairly inept minister.
My next thought regarding this matter occurred after speaking with a friend about the above topic. I asked the question, "Could the idea of instantly becoming a minister discourage someone from becoming a Christian?" The answer that we came up with was, "Probably yeah." I could see someone thinking that not only are they not good enough to be saved, they definitely aren't ready for ministry. Of course a response to that could be, "No one is. There is none perfect. No not one. However, through Him we are able." But, after I walked away from the conversation, it occurred to me....being afraid of becoming a Christ Follower because you are afraid that you cannot live up to the standards or that you will be a poor minister of the faith is an extremely illogical thought. My reasoning, regardless of whether you are a Christian or not, you are a minister of something. If you are not ministering to your friends about Christ, you are encouraging (ministering) them to do something.
So, take a good look at yourself today. What is your ministry about? Reconciliation? TV? Food? Sports? Material interests? Laziness? Depression? Fear? Gossip? Road rage?

Prayer Cells

Our pastor has recently called our church to prayer. Specifically, he has asked us to seek out prayer partners to begin meeting together for focused prayer on Kingdom matters. My initial response to this request was two-fold: 1) I would love to take part in such a thing, and 2) I doubt that the request will be fulfilled by greater than 5% of those asked.
Tonight I was pondering my response.
In regards to #1, I have taken part in similar experiences in the past, and have found them to be quite rewarding from a spiritual and social stand point. I really desire to have some meaningful male relationships in my life right now, and the idea of meeting with like-minded men to pray and share with God's Kingdom as the focus sounds like something that would be worthwhile.
In regards to #2, there are a litany of reasons why few people would share my #1 response. My thought is that the top 2 reasons are likely time and fear of the unknown. Participating in something like this must be somewhat intimidating to someone who has never experienced it before.
If you happen to be struggling with this issue, I would tell you that if you could only participate once, you would likely see that it is worth making time for and nothing to fear.
If you have Prayer Cell experience, I would love to hear your input.

Camp Nathaneal - 2008

My wife and I attended the annual Couples Retreat at Camp Nathaneal this past weekend for a much needed time of instruction and attention to the most neglected relationship in both our lives.....the husband/wife relationship. We've got the mom/dad relationship down just fine, but rarely find time for the other couple in our house.

We attended the Retreat last year, and we came away from it with a renewed interest in each others needs as well as a strong interest in seeking financial peace. Reflecting back on the past year, we did a better job with the finances then with the relationship. We started off strong with some solid date times for about two or three months.........and then life got in the way.

So, we have renewed our interests in each other. I wish that we could go to a retreat once a quarter. I highly recommend the retreat for anyone that is married regardless of whether you think your marriage is great or on life-support. It is held the last weekend of April every year. This was year 17!!!

Better to Marry Than to Burn

I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, it is good for them if they abide even as I. But if they cannot contain, let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn. I Cor 7:8-9 KJV

Last night I spoke on the phone with a family member from Texas, and we discussed how needy we both have been capable of being at times in our lives when we did not have a significant other in our lives. I found it ironic that in my scripture reading today I came across the above passage. Paul had a brutal sense of humor. In essence he says, "By all means, if you want to truly serve the Lord, stay away from relationships with the opposite sex, and spend all your energies serving. However, I know most of you are pathetic and cannot handle that; so, do yourselves a favor... admit your pathetic and get married. At least you won't be spending all your time lusting and wanting and not having."

It's not as if I had nothing to say......

I have not posted an entry onto this blogsite since October, but it's not as if I had nothing to say. As a matter of fact, I feel like my lack of blogging speaks volumes. You may be totally different, but I doubt it. But, do you find that right about the time you are settling into a pattern of good, healthy routines that involve either prayer, exercise, organizational skills, quality time with loved ones, eating habits, money budgetting or sleep habits, life just seems to throw nasty curveballs at you? My life has become so amazingly busy just out of the blue, and the pathetic thing is that if I really admit it, despite the busy-ness, I am accomplishing very little each day.
So, tonight I have elected to post something....anything.... and this has been just that.
Quite edifying, wouldn't you say?