Concluding my third (of four) month in Hayward, CA, near San Francisco. God has blessed me with a nice place to winter in a Christian men's house where I reside with seven other guys. Last night we hosted our first Friday night home gathering complete with some strong worship & testimonies. I will have the opportunity to do some teaching in subsequent weeks.
This morning went with a brother Lee (and others) to hand out food to the poor/homeless in Oakland.
Yesterday had the encouragement of doing some Bible study with a brother named Marvin. We're working our way through the gospel of Mark together.
I'm reminded of several themes that i suspect i have covered in the past in this blog. Thankfully Peter's second letter is full of the importance of reminding the saints of things they already know.
1. The more we speak the less we are heard. Conversely, even a fool is counted wise if he is silent. (Prov. 17:28)
2. Our strength can become a weakness. I'm a very frugal person but that can turn into miserliness, especially if I am not giving as God wishes me to do.
3. God yearns to have relationship with us more than we can imagine.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Sand or Gasoline?
If someone lights a match and places it on a pile of sand the match burns out. If someone took the same match and places it on a pool of gasoline it blazes up. In the same way a minor incident that takes place in our lives can end harmlessly or produce a conflagration. What do I mean? If we have years or decades of hurts, resentments, misunderstandings, abuse, painful memories that are festering, unforgiven,unhealed then a little thing can make them explode. If we have received the love and healing of God, have forgiven those who have hurt us, then that same cross word or minor irritant passes by. May we have sand instead of gasoline.
I thank God that He can work with human folly and turn it into something valuable because oftentimes that's all, as too often in me, that He has to work with.
A profound thought from a wonderful brother named Jonathon. "Salvation is free; relationship (with God) we have to work on." "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:23) Towards the end of his life, as Paul languished in prison, he wrote, "Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord." (Philippians 3:8a ESV)
Greatly blessed to receive a visit from Matt, Mary & family this last week. They did some recording for their early childhood reading project and ministered to me and the saints. "For I (we) have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother (and sister), because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you." (Philemon 1:7 ESV)
I thank God that He can work with human folly and turn it into something valuable because oftentimes that's all, as too often in me, that He has to work with.
A profound thought from a wonderful brother named Jonathon. "Salvation is free; relationship (with God) we have to work on." "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:23) Towards the end of his life, as Paul languished in prison, he wrote, "Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord." (Philippians 3:8a ESV)
Greatly blessed to receive a visit from Matt, Mary & family this last week. They did some recording for their early childhood reading project and ministered to me and the saints. "For I (we) have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother (and sister), because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you." (Philemon 1:7 ESV)
Thursday, January 21, 2010
More Thoughts
God's opinion is the only one that ultimately matters
In response to a question in a comment, tax avoidance is taking advantage of any legal method to reduce the amount of taxes that one pays. For example, finding and itemizing deductions is one common method.
In the same way that no one is obligated to read this blog- it's a matter of personal choice- no one has to listen to us. If anyone listens to anything that I say then they are granting me a gift. I believe that listening to someone is an important way that we can give to each other. People pay big money to have mental health professionals listen to them. But we shouldn't take listening for granted. No one has to do it.
"Know this, my beloved brothers; let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger." (James 1:19 ESV)
Retraction: My vaunted anti-cold remedy of gargling twice a day with warm salt water lasted just long enough for me to post it. Then I came down with a cold. It does seem to be weaker and of less duration than my normal colds.
In response to a question in a comment, tax avoidance is taking advantage of any legal method to reduce the amount of taxes that one pays. For example, finding and itemizing deductions is one common method.
In the same way that no one is obligated to read this blog- it's a matter of personal choice- no one has to listen to us. If anyone listens to anything that I say then they are granting me a gift. I believe that listening to someone is an important way that we can give to each other. People pay big money to have mental health professionals listen to them. But we shouldn't take listening for granted. No one has to do it.
"Know this, my beloved brothers; let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger." (James 1:19 ESV)
Retraction: My vaunted anti-cold remedy of gargling twice a day with warm salt water lasted just long enough for me to post it. Then I came down with a cold. It does seem to be weaker and of less duration than my normal colds.
Friday, January 15, 2010
Thoughts
A friend sent me a simple deterrent for colds/flu, which i have used with success for over three months. Gargle with warm salt water twice a day (morning and evening). This supposedly kills the bacteria. I doubt it works once you've contracted a cold.
A note to my friends in Massachusetts. After having lived in the Bay State for almost thirty years without ever having had the chance to cast a vote in a close election. I changed my legal residence to another state in 2009. To my chagrin I find that a close, meaningful race has developed to fill the U. S. Senate seat left by the late Ted Kennedy. I urge you to consider voting for the Republican candidate Scott Brown next Tuesday.
Since I have the right to write what I wish on this blog, I think it only fair to allow others their comments. (within reason) However, I prefer they are made in English.
While reading in Ezekiel this morning I read the following verse. "And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel was coming from the east. And the sound of his coming was like the sound of many waters, and the earth shone with his glory." (43:2ESV)
A note to my friends in Massachusetts. After having lived in the Bay State for almost thirty years without ever having had the chance to cast a vote in a close election. I changed my legal residence to another state in 2009. To my chagrin I find that a close, meaningful race has developed to fill the U. S. Senate seat left by the late Ted Kennedy. I urge you to consider voting for the Republican candidate Scott Brown next Tuesday.
Since I have the right to write what I wish on this blog, I think it only fair to allow others their comments. (within reason) However, I prefer they are made in English.
While reading in Ezekiel this morning I read the following verse. "And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel was coming from the east. And the sound of his coming was like the sound of many waters, and the earth shone with his glory." (43:2ESV)
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Dialoging with God
To my best of my remembrance, only Abraham in the Old Testament is called the friend of God. In contrast, Jesus calls all believers his friends. (John 15:14-15) In Genesis 18 we have an extraordinary encounter in which the Lord reveals His intent to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah to Abraham. Abraham asks God to relent and they have a back and forth discussion in which the number of righteous people needed to spare the cities diminishes from fifty to ten.
As my personal relationship with God deepens I find myself wanting to talk to Him about the hard questions. What about a young married sister with a thyroid problem that may prevent her and her husband from having more children? What about a close friend whom I have ministered to for many years that believes he has a "broken" spirit. Or another friend who needs continual medication for chemical imbalances in his brain. God has the power to change these things, to provide healing. I and many others have asked and are asking Him to do so. I think I am familiar with most of the potential theological answers to these questions. He has given me a voracious hunger for the Word of God, and made me Biblically literate.
Now I'm asking God directly. What's the story? I believe I am prepared to receive whatever answer He gives me. I just want a response. I have questions of my own. I've written two evangelistic novels but have no idea how to get them into the hands of readers whom God might influence with them. Am I doing what He desires in other areas of my life?
Father, may I respond to the leading of the Holy Spirit. Please make it clear to me. Open my eyes so I can see what You're doing. May I follow Jesus.
As my personal relationship with God deepens I find myself wanting to talk to Him about the hard questions. What about a young married sister with a thyroid problem that may prevent her and her husband from having more children? What about a close friend whom I have ministered to for many years that believes he has a "broken" spirit. Or another friend who needs continual medication for chemical imbalances in his brain. God has the power to change these things, to provide healing. I and many others have asked and are asking Him to do so. I think I am familiar with most of the potential theological answers to these questions. He has given me a voracious hunger for the Word of God, and made me Biblically literate.
Now I'm asking God directly. What's the story? I believe I am prepared to receive whatever answer He gives me. I just want a response. I have questions of my own. I've written two evangelistic novels but have no idea how to get them into the hands of readers whom God might influence with them. Am I doing what He desires in other areas of my life?
Father, may I respond to the leading of the Holy Spirit. Please make it clear to me. Open my eyes so I can see what You're doing. May I follow Jesus.
Friday, January 8, 2010
Heaven
It seems that many people's perception of heaven* is of a place where they will reunite with loved ones (human and pets**, typically)in endless bliss. Where does the concept of heaven come from? Is it wishful thinking bordering on fantasy or does it originate in the pages of the Bible? If the latter, is there not a major inconsistency in denying God, His creation in favor of evolution, the resurrection of Jesus Christ or other miracles, in part because people do not think they are scientifically verifiable, but accepting the existence of a place which no astronomer with all of our modern technology has ever found? Has heaven evolved like most people believe the earth has done? Out of what?
If heaven is in fact, a Biblical idea, does that not imply that we should investigate what the Bible has to say about it? Who made it, who gets to go there, and why? Jesus says, "No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man." (John 3:13 cf. 6:38 ESV) Might not he know more about it than we do? He says, "So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven." (Matthew 10:32-33 ESV)
Peter, one of Jesus' closest followers, says, "And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12)
Mental assent is insufficient, "because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."
(Romans 10:9) Lordship is not an American cultural concept so we don't understand the fullness of it. If I acknowledge someone as Lord then I am ceding control of my life to them. This includes my will, my future, my plans, my possessions, my relationships. Jesus says to "count the cost." (Luke 14:25-33)
Heaven is a place of unimaginable bliss because God resides there, as Revelation 22, the last chapter of the Bible, depicts. But not everyone gets to go, as verse 15 indicates. "Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters (those who put anything before God), and everyone who loves and practices falsehood." (ESV)
* I am not attempting to resolve the theological question of where genuine believers reside in the next life i.e. heaven, a new (or renewed) earth etc.
** Nor am I attempting to state whether pets or other animals will join humans there.
If heaven is in fact, a Biblical idea, does that not imply that we should investigate what the Bible has to say about it? Who made it, who gets to go there, and why? Jesus says, "No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man." (John 3:13 cf. 6:38 ESV) Might not he know more about it than we do? He says, "So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven." (Matthew 10:32-33 ESV)
Peter, one of Jesus' closest followers, says, "And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12)
Mental assent is insufficient, "because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."
(Romans 10:9) Lordship is not an American cultural concept so we don't understand the fullness of it. If I acknowledge someone as Lord then I am ceding control of my life to them. This includes my will, my future, my plans, my possessions, my relationships. Jesus says to "count the cost." (Luke 14:25-33)
Heaven is a place of unimaginable bliss because God resides there, as Revelation 22, the last chapter of the Bible, depicts. But not everyone gets to go, as verse 15 indicates. "Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters (those who put anything before God), and everyone who loves and practices falsehood." (ESV)
* I am not attempting to resolve the theological question of where genuine believers reside in the next life i.e. heaven, a new (or renewed) earth etc.
** Nor am I attempting to state whether pets or other animals will join humans there.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Taxes
"Head it south, man." During my twenty-seven years of self-employment I heard that phrase or similar sentiments many times from private customers to whom I had offered a receipt for their cash payment. "Or what the government doesn't know won't hurt them." One anticipates this mindset from those who don't follow Christ. More troubling to me is to hear the same thing from those who do. No one rejoices over paying taxes. I could go on a long rant, about how vigorously I oppose the current tax code and structure, the reality that most of the money I pay in taxes goes to buy the votes of other people, the appalling waste, corruption, graft associated with it, and the unconstitutionality of much of it. It does infuriate me, naturally speaking, when I think of all the days spent working outside in broiling heat or freezing cold, the incessant stress, the daily struggle to make a living, to know that I had silent partners (Federal and state) confiscating so much of the value of my labor. However, as a redeemed, spiritual man, I understand through diligent study of the Word of God that He owns everything, He entrusts a little of that to me as a stewardship and that He says to pay the taxes I owe.
"For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed." (Romans 13:6-7 ESV)
At the date of that writing the deranged, evil Emperor Nero ruled the Roman Empire, a man who immolated Christians on poles to provide lighting for his nocturnal debauchery. Yet Peter writes, "Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme..." (1 Peter 2:13 ESV)
For those interested in an eye opening book on the structural causes of the current economic problems in this country, and what needs to change in order to correct it, may I recommend Thomas E. Woods' "Meltdown" published in 2009.
"For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed." (Romans 13:6-7 ESV)
At the date of that writing the deranged, evil Emperor Nero ruled the Roman Empire, a man who immolated Christians on poles to provide lighting for his nocturnal debauchery. Yet Peter writes, "Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme..." (1 Peter 2:13 ESV)
For those interested in an eye opening book on the structural causes of the current economic problems in this country, and what needs to change in order to correct it, may I recommend Thomas E. Woods' "Meltdown" published in 2009.
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