Five controversial topics that cause many to choose sides...It was a bumper sticker I had in the early 80's, however, someone thought I was serious and scraped it off.
We've all heard the biblical renderings of how Christ followers should be in, but not of, the world. In a practical approach, how does that work?
I consider myself a Christ follower for nearly three decades now. Now, more than ever, I understand a little more the how and why of Christ being crucified and what Easter truly means. We are called to be salt and light. We are told to love God and love our neighbor and in doing so all the prior laws are not really needed theoretically as they are all met. We are told the world will know we are Christ followers by our love for one another.
I use the word Christ follower rather than the more common and inflammatory name of Christian. That derogatory term can and is used to mean anything...and nothing. Just check out the use during the Crusades from the past and the current batch killing people in Africa under that "political" guise, burning Korans, being vinegar rather than honey...
If you seriously search scripture and it's application, you quickly come to realize how to be in but not of. What business is it of ours to bash any group? None of my business. Imagine for a moment you are enjoying a "Double Double, Animal Style" at In and Out Burger, and a Vegan group approaches you, and tries to coerce you into court and sue you for eating meat prompting the case to go to the highest court.
Here's the problem with that mentality; you never signed up to be Vegan and aren't held accountable to the Vegan standards of eating. While they maybe noble in their way, it's not my way; I/we all have free will, right? They don't really have the right to sue you or force you to obey the vegan way! The same is true with "the world" As a Christ follower, I have no business coercing you to the Christian way of life that you never signed up for.
I'm not called to save anyone; that's God's responsibility. I'm only called to love, set an example like Christ did, love God.
Get it, got it, good.
Friday, July 12, 2013
Thursday, April 4, 2013
Complacent
Ryan Matthews of the San Diego Chargers made a comment earlier this week that the reason the Chargers lost so many games this past season was because the team (he) had become complacent about Norm and the coaching staff. Remember LT a few years ago couldn't play one game due to his little toe. He was on my fantasy tem so I was a bit miffed; really, a little toe? Remember, it's the little toe that provides balance, allows for his signature stop on a dine cuts. No matter how small you may think you are, you are very important and special.
Complacent is defined as a mark of self satisfaction accompanied by an unawareness of a deficiency or danger. In other words who cares or whatever.
We all go through times of complacency, for instance, I realized that I hadn't done a blog entry in months! I had intentions to do a couple a week, but things come up, and these do take some time to do. The idea is, if I can do this and bless just a few people with each post, then it's worth it for me to pursue...So I checked stats and realized I had 4700+hits last week, and a spark went off inside. Lately I'm been living life as if it is population one...me.
So check out this 3 minute video- My Own Little World http://youtu.be/M9Yasgzjc0w
Complacent is defined as a mark of self satisfaction accompanied by an unawareness of a deficiency or danger. In other words who cares or whatever.
We all go through times of complacency, for instance, I realized that I hadn't done a blog entry in months! I had intentions to do a couple a week, but things come up, and these do take some time to do. The idea is, if I can do this and bless just a few people with each post, then it's worth it for me to pursue...So I checked stats and realized I had 4700+hits last week, and a spark went off inside. Lately I'm been living life as if it is population one...me.
So check out this 3 minute video- My Own Little World http://youtu.be/M9Yasgzjc0w
Monday, December 17, 2012
Dirty Windows
You've probably heard the story about the old couple who live next to a young couple who hangs the laundry out to dry? The old lady always makes snide comments about how dirty the sheets are and how someone should teach her how to do laundry or use the correct amount of soap...This goes on for weeks, but then one morning, the old lady sees clean sheets hanging out to dry. Being very curious, the old lady says "Well it's about time she finally learned how to do wash, someone must have gone over and taught her a lesson." The old man replies "No, No, that's not it; I got up early and washed the windows so you you can see more clearly."
My Cousin Vinny is one of my favorite movies; I actually prefer the TV version as the language can get a bit crude at times. One of my favorite scenes is when Vinny is asking questions to Mr Crane one of the witnesses...
Vinny Gambini: Mr. Crane, what are these pictures of?
Ernie Crane: My house and stuff.
Vinny Gambini: House and stuff. And what is this brown stuff on your window.
Ernie Crane: Dirt.
Vinny Gambini: Dirt. And what is this rusty, dusty, dirty looking thing that's covering your window?
Ernie Crane: That's a screen.
Vinny Gambini: A screen! It's a screen. And what are these really big things that are right in the middle of your view of the Sac-o-Suds and your kitchen window, what do we call these big things?
Ernie Crane: Trees?
Vinny Gambini: Trees, that's right, don't be afraid just shout 'em right out when you know 'em. And what are these thousands of little things that are on trees?
Ernie Crane: Leaves.
Vinny Gambini: And these big bushy things between the trees.
Ernie Crane: Bushes.
Ernie Crane: Bushes. So, Mr. Crane, you can positively identify the defendants, for a moment of 2 seconds, looking through this dirty window, this crud covered screen, all of these trees, with all of these leaves on them, and I don't know how many bushes.
Ernie Crane: Looks like five.
Vinny Gambini: Uh, uh, uh, don't forget, this one and this one.
Ernie Crane: Seven bushes!
Vinny Gambini: Seven bushes. So, what do you think? Isn't possible you just saw two guys in a green convertable and not necessarily these two particular guys?
Ernie Crane: I suppose.
Vinny Gambini: I'm finished with this guy.
Life really depends on the aperture we use doesn't it? The world's filter is quite different than God's filter. Jesus was born to proclaim good news and tells us to Love God and Love others. If we filter all or actions and attitudes through that lens what a wonderful world it would be.
My Cousin Vinny is one of my favorite movies; I actually prefer the TV version as the language can get a bit crude at times. One of my favorite scenes is when Vinny is asking questions to Mr Crane one of the witnesses...
Vinny Gambini: Mr. Crane, what are these pictures of?
Ernie Crane: My house and stuff.
Vinny Gambini: House and stuff. And what is this brown stuff on your window.
Ernie Crane: Dirt.
Vinny Gambini: Dirt. And what is this rusty, dusty, dirty looking thing that's covering your window?
Ernie Crane: That's a screen.
Vinny Gambini: A screen! It's a screen. And what are these really big things that are right in the middle of your view of the Sac-o-Suds and your kitchen window, what do we call these big things?
Ernie Crane: Trees?
Vinny Gambini: Trees, that's right, don't be afraid just shout 'em right out when you know 'em. And what are these thousands of little things that are on trees?
Ernie Crane: Leaves.
Vinny Gambini: And these big bushy things between the trees.
Ernie Crane: Bushes.
Ernie Crane: Bushes. So, Mr. Crane, you can positively identify the defendants, for a moment of 2 seconds, looking through this dirty window, this crud covered screen, all of these trees, with all of these leaves on them, and I don't know how many bushes.
Ernie Crane: Looks like five.
Vinny Gambini: Uh, uh, uh, don't forget, this one and this one.
Ernie Crane: Seven bushes!
Vinny Gambini: Seven bushes. So, what do you think? Isn't possible you just saw two guys in a green convertable and not necessarily these two particular guys?
Ernie Crane: I suppose.
Vinny Gambini: I'm finished with this guy.
Life really depends on the aperture we use doesn't it? The world's filter is quite different than God's filter. Jesus was born to proclaim good news and tells us to Love God and Love others. If we filter all or actions and attitudes through that lens what a wonderful world it would be.
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Memorable Zig Ziglar Quotes
Zig Ziglar passed away today.
Some of my favorite one liners are
"Your attitude determines your altitude."
"People don't buy for logical reasons; they buy for emotional reasons."
"Failure is an event, not a person."
"Want a friend? Be a friend."
"Expect the best but prepare for the worst."
"The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing." Or that might be one of Covey's?
Some of my favorite one liners are
"Your attitude determines your altitude."
"People don't buy for logical reasons; they buy for emotional reasons."
"Failure is an event, not a person."
"Want a friend? Be a friend."
"Expect the best but prepare for the worst."
"The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing." Or that might be one of Covey's?
Friday, November 23, 2012
Thanksgiving 2012
A quick recap
1621- The few remaining Pilgrims gathered together to give thanks and praise to God.
1770- The Doxology written by Ken Thomas after 70% of London burned down yet his church survived "Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him all creatures here below. Praise Him above ye heavenly hosts. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost."
1863 President Lincoln establishes Thanksgiving a National Holiday-
The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consiousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.
1943- Corrie Ten Boom gives thanks for the fleas-The Nazi's would not enter her barracks to abuse them because of the fleas.
2012- It's all about Black Friday.
1621- The few remaining Pilgrims gathered together to give thanks and praise to God.
1770- The Doxology written by Ken Thomas after 70% of London burned down yet his church survived "Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him all creatures here below. Praise Him above ye heavenly hosts. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost."
1863 President Lincoln establishes Thanksgiving a National Holiday-
The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consiousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.
1943- Corrie Ten Boom gives thanks for the fleas-The Nazi's would not enter her barracks to abuse them because of the fleas.
2012- It's all about Black Friday.
Monday, September 10, 2012
Detox
What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word "Detox"? Lindsay Lohan? Hollywood check in's at rehabs?
What is a toxin, is it a benefit or a detriment? Don't be shy, when you have the answer you can say it. They say Elvis died with 15lbs of a backed up colon! If anyone needed a colon detox you see on those infomercials, it was him.
Our home is over 120 years old, and sometimes more than liquid plumber is needed to clear the pipes. In our lives there are some things we can't do by ourselves, and need a professional. I'm reminded of some of the latest "Tirerack.com" commercials where questions are asked of the wrong people...Silly. Yet many times that is exactly what we do; we fail to go to the Professional who made us in His image.
When our lives get disrupted, we can no longer depend on the things we did before, and we don't have control over our circumstances or timetable. Maybe God is doing some detox in our lives?
However, even in the midst of the re-construction, the glory of the Lord is revealed in that place. For some, it is the first time they've ever seen the hand of the Lord in their life to the degree that this process allows them to experience Him. It is a process they would never choose to go through voluntarily, but it is an experience they value for the rest of their lives because the glory of the Lord was revealed in the process. Once the process is complete, things begin to flow better, and for that to happen, we may have to wait patiently on The Lord.
Like St Augstine said- "You have made us for yourself O Lord, and our soul is restless until it finds rest in You."
What is a toxin, is it a benefit or a detriment? Don't be shy, when you have the answer you can say it. They say Elvis died with 15lbs of a backed up colon! If anyone needed a colon detox you see on those infomercials, it was him.
Our home is over 120 years old, and sometimes more than liquid plumber is needed to clear the pipes. In our lives there are some things we can't do by ourselves, and need a professional. I'm reminded of some of the latest "Tirerack.com" commercials where questions are asked of the wrong people...Silly. Yet many times that is exactly what we do; we fail to go to the Professional who made us in His image.
When our lives get disrupted, we can no longer depend on the things we did before, and we don't have control over our circumstances or timetable. Maybe God is doing some detox in our lives?
However, even in the midst of the re-construction, the glory of the Lord is revealed in that place. For some, it is the first time they've ever seen the hand of the Lord in their life to the degree that this process allows them to experience Him. It is a process they would never choose to go through voluntarily, but it is an experience they value for the rest of their lives because the glory of the Lord was revealed in the process. Once the process is complete, things begin to flow better, and for that to happen, we may have to wait patiently on The Lord.
Like St Augstine said- "You have made us for yourself O Lord, and our soul is restless until it finds rest in You."
Monday, September 3, 2012
Sex
Just kidding... I seem to get about 3000 hits if sex is mentioned in this blog.
Years ago in the 80's, Miles Mcpherson of San Diego's The Rock Church, used to meet one on one with me for a weekly mentoring and discipleship. Get this; we would meet at 5am on Tuesday mornings. One series, we went through the book of Philemon in the New Testament. I called him up one morning to say I couldn't make it in, I wasn't feeling well. "Just read verse 8 and 9 of Philemon" he said... "Therefore, although in Christ I could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do, yet I prefer to appeal to you on the basis of love."
We live up on a knoll and sounds always travel up. The other night In heard a very ugly fight going on somewhere in the valley. Lots of unwholesome words coming from both parties and escalating louder and louder- heads butting like two mountain goats from a Dodge Ram commercial from the 90's.
So I turn on the TV to drown out the craziness below and surf the channels when I come across Richard Attenborough narrating a Nature sequence with two mountain goats on a steep impasse. As the goats approached each other, each feinted a power move at the other in what looked like the beginning of a battle. In a surprise twist, however, one goat suddenly collapsed onto the narrow ledge so the other goat could walk over its back. Then each moved on.
I was impressed and wanted to share with the couple below in the valley. Here was strength defined by submission. It allowed two opponents to survive a crisis so both could get on with more important things. Guess what, sometimes (mostly) putting others first is best. My dad put it best-True JOY is Jesus first, Others second and Yourself last.
Years ago in the 80's, Miles Mcpherson of San Diego's The Rock Church, used to meet one on one with me for a weekly mentoring and discipleship. Get this; we would meet at 5am on Tuesday mornings. One series, we went through the book of Philemon in the New Testament. I called him up one morning to say I couldn't make it in, I wasn't feeling well. "Just read verse 8 and 9 of Philemon" he said... "Therefore, although in Christ I could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do, yet I prefer to appeal to you on the basis of love."
We live up on a knoll and sounds always travel up. The other night In heard a very ugly fight going on somewhere in the valley. Lots of unwholesome words coming from both parties and escalating louder and louder- heads butting like two mountain goats from a Dodge Ram commercial from the 90's.
So I turn on the TV to drown out the craziness below and surf the channels when I come across Richard Attenborough narrating a Nature sequence with two mountain goats on a steep impasse. As the goats approached each other, each feinted a power move at the other in what looked like the beginning of a battle. In a surprise twist, however, one goat suddenly collapsed onto the narrow ledge so the other goat could walk over its back. Then each moved on.
I was impressed and wanted to share with the couple below in the valley. Here was strength defined by submission. It allowed two opponents to survive a crisis so both could get on with more important things. Guess what, sometimes (mostly) putting others first is best. My dad put it best-True JOY is Jesus first, Others second and Yourself last.
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