Category Archives: Miscellaneous
A Fraction Of God
Last night God provided me today’s topic. It comes from a book I am reading, Praying The Promises: Anchor Your Life To Unshakable Hope, by Max and Andrea Lucado. Here’s what made me think, and also made me sad, very sad.
Many believers settle for a two-thirds God. They rely on the Father and the Son but overlook the Holy Spirit. The Bible makes more than a hundred references to the Holy Spirit. Jesus said more about the Holy Spirit than He did about the church or marriage. In fact, on the eve of His death, as He prepared His followers to face the future without Him, He made this great and precious promise: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you.” (Acts 1:8 NIV)
Praying The Promises: Anchor Your Life To Unshakable Hope, by Max and Andrea Lucado
Two-thirds of God? How is that…
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Time Sensitive! Open Immediately!
Long before the Wacky World Web, it was the U.S. Postal service that faithfully delivered the email equivalent of spam: Junk Mail. Most of them had these infamous words: Time Sensitive, Open Immediately. Oh my gosh! We better open that letter up or we are going to miss out on something absolutely fantastic; so wonderful that if we don’t open it up our lives will somehow be less fantastic and wonderful. Hopefully no one feels that way. This type of Snail Mail has a special location for it: We call it File 13. For the pitiful souls who do not know the meaning of File 13, I’ll explain it to you: It’s the trash can!
And once it is placed in File 13, no one wakes up in the middle of the night rummaging through File 13 to find that piece of mail and see what…
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A Different View
Alas! Our culture continues to persist, wallow, and drown in “the immediate”. The technical term is “instant gratification”. Some things are not meant to be instant. Instant mashed potatoes? Dear Lord, NO! Instant tea? Heaven forbid! And instant coffee? That is an abomination straight out of the depths of hell! While this phenomena of “instant gratification” has been around several decades, today’s culture has improved and refined it to a lower art form and a whole new depth of wretchedness.
Now it is more than “instant gratification”–it has become The Culture Of Ignored Consequences”! But why am I surprised at this development? Focusing only on the present always leads to heinous and horrid conclusions. At one point our culture could not see beyond the end of their nose. Now they cannot see beyond the bridge of their nose. It is daft, demented and deranged that they become so upset when…
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Fluff “Bible-inspired” Music Masquerading as Worship is Dangerous
My stepdad just sent me this article and it sent me into a rabbit hole of thoughts. Enjoy?
Thanks to my dad, I grew up on the Golden Age of CCM. He gave me a great foundation with dc Talk, Audio Adrenaline, Petra, Jars of Clay, Carmen, and many others. Once I was exposed to good music, I couldn’t go back.
It taught me to take my faith + its music seriously.
By age 12, I was wrestling through the theological implications of the line “that’s what faith can do” (as opposed to “what God can do” in an otherwise good song by MIKESCHAIR. (Remember this, Carissa?)
Over a decade after I first went to one of their concerts, I still come back to Tenth Avenue North’s discography when I’m wrestling with sin (esp sexual!!) and its consequences. Britt Nicole’s songs still resonate deeply with me as both nostalgic fluff…
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Tent Pegs and Sugar Overload
You ever have too much sugar? You go for that bowl of ice cream right before bed and all that toxic goodness just hits your blood sugar hard and you lay their with your heart racing unable to sleep, knowing full well the crash is coming and you’ll probably have a migraine in the morning?
Just me??
I feel that way emotionally and spiritually right now, like I’ve just had wayyy too much sugar and now I have a spiritual blood sugar hangover.
So my local newspaper featured an article on the oldest church in the area. It’s the same article they feature every darn year. Also, it isn’t true. It’s really the third oldest church in the area, but I digress. The point is they are the wokest church in the area, so woke the pastor and his husband brag about how they are so inclusive and tolerant, a…
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Early Christianity, part two
One of the first challenges of the early Church came from the combination of Jewish and Gentile believers in Christ Jesus. The question arose: how many Jewish rituals and customs did Gentiles have to adopt to become Christians? Since the Jews were obeying commandments from God, were Gentiles required to obey the same commandments?” Or did the work of Jesus cancel some or all of the commandments God had made through Moses and the prophets? A meeting of Church leaders (described in Acts 15) resulted in a compromise that asked Gentile Christians to respect a few dietary restrictions, as well as sexual morality. Paul, using his authority as an apostle, later canceled all dietary restrictions, affirming what Jesus already had taught.
The question was not one of distinguishing different types of commandments from God, calling some ceremonial and others moral. Jesus Christ is the end of the Law, rescuing his…
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What The What?
Dysphoria–it’s a word frequently used in our culture–especially in the realm of gender identity. And it is being especially applied to children and adolescences. There was a time when Genesis 1 verse 27 was sufficient: “So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” This was the rule–with the exception of chromosomal abnormalities. Simple, look below the waist–and there’s your gender, period!
But with the inflation and over evaluating of the most unreliable of human sensations–that of ‘feelings’–we now have multiple choices. Gee, whiz! How could God get this so wrong! The term “gender dysphoria” which Child Mind Institute defines is this:
Gender dysphoriawas created as a distinct disorder to clarify that being transgender, or identifying as a gender different from the one of your birth, is not in itself a psychiatric disorder. The new…
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God’s attribute: The Wrath of God
This is a series on the attributes of God.
Session 29: The Wrath of God
Purpose: In this session we shall explore the attribute of the wrath of God.
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This One Or This One?
As I mentioned, a couple of weeks ago I went to my optometrist because–well because it was time. Though I have going to an optometrist since I was 12 years old, it doesn’t mean I look forward to it–or that I’ve grown accustomed to seeing one. I haven’t! I mean, it’s like taking a test, right? “Which one, this one or this one? Number 1 or Number 2? Or are they about the same?” Sometimes the difference is noticeable to me–and sometimes it’s hard to tell.
I went to a different optometrist because we had moved since my last eye exam. On one such comparison (Number 2 or Number 1? Or are they about the same?), I was obviously taking too long to give an answer (have I mentioned I hate tests?), because Dr. Clark said, “Now both of them are going to be a bit blurry, just tell me…
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Micah, Agatha, and the Bullfrog
I just thought we should have a bit of Bible fun, it being Sunday and all. It should come as no surprise that I am a big fan of a good mystery, so quite delighted with detective stories, everything from Nancy Drew to Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot, which brings me to Agatha Christie. Agatha Christie was such an amazing writer, that even after her death she saved a 19 month old baby. She had described thallium poisoning so well in “The Pale Horse,” that doctors caring for the child recognized the symptoms right away and decided to run some tests. Sure enough…
Chuckling here, but she also got herself into a bit of trouble with Britain’s MI5 in 1941 when one her characters, Major Bletchley, seemed a bit too well researched. Apparently Bletchley was also the name of the estate where they conducted secret code breaking activities. She just…
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Chaos In Haiti: The Aftermath of the Killing of Haitian President Jovenel Moise
Last Week the President of Haiti was killed by a large group of Colombian Mercenaries. Haitian President Jovenel Moise who had been President since 2017 was facing 2 years of intense protests against him. The killing is not a surprise to me, but the details of how it happened are.
President Jovenel Moise was a controversial leader and also a failed leader (like most Haitian Presidents) Some of the controversial things he did was bringing back the military in 2017. The Military of Haiti was disbanded in 1995 by then President Aristide, because the military had done nothing but kill and repress the Haitian People and carried out many coups in the Haitian Government. Moise had also messed around with the Supreme Court of the country and continued ruling after his term ended in 2020. He had been ruling by decree ever since. Moise also oversaw a severe fuel shortage…
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– Not Sinless, but Sinning Less –
Key verses – (1 Peter 1:15-16, “But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy”
Our scripture – 1 Peter 1:13-16
Our Theme – We should be holy in every area of life because God our Father is holy.
__________
The word “holy” means to be separate. When applied to God, it points to His transcendence, that He is above and beyond His creation in such a way as to be distinct from it. Contained in the word is the notion of God’s purity, that He is totally separate from all sin. When God calls us to holiness, it means that we are to be set apart from the world unto God, separate from all sin. But since sin dwells in the very core of our being as…
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Foilbles and Neologisms
What is a “foilble,” you might ask? It is a cross between a very human foible and a foliohattu, a Finnish tin foil hat. Why? Simply because while I am on the holodeck living out conspiracy reality, I take delight in the fact that many cultures across the world perfectly understand the whole concept of a “tin foil hat” and often have their own language to describe it. Also, it sounds much more elegant and romantic in a foreign language.
Why wouldn’t you want to wear a foliohattu??
For those really living out in the wilds and off the grid, a tinfoil hat is, “A piece of headgear made from one or more sheets oftinfoil,aluminium foil, or other similar material, especially when worn in the belief that it shields the brain from electromagnetic fields, or against mind control and/orbrainwashing.”
Well, there ya go.
And what is a…
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THE DANGEROUS ELMER FUDD
Yesterday I said I would be back with God helping me. Well, He did and here I am. Not all of my reflections are on God’s Kingdom, but they are influenced by His Kingdom. So today I must issue this Disclaimer: This isn’t a spiritual subject I’m addressing today. It is, though, a very human subject that penetrates to the core of our culture in the good old U.S. of A. And if other alleged “experts” can speak into this mess, then so can I; so here goes!
I’m 65 years old. As a kid, I watched Elmer with a gun. But I never shot anyone. I saw Bugs Bunny doing all kinds of violence against other Daffy Duck and others. Yet I never acted violently against anyone. I watch Yosemite Sam’s outbursts and shooting his side arm. But I never went ballistic, shooting up any place. I watched Wile…
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The historical Jesus
After Christianity became the religion of the Roman Empire, a theologian and historian named Dionysius began the custom of numbering years based on the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. According to Dionysius’ plan, Jesus was born in the year 1 A.D. (which stands for Anno Domini, the Year of the Lord); the previous year was 1 B.C., so there was no Year Zero in his system. Unfortunately, Dionysius made a miscalculation in his counting. We know this today because Herod the Great, the king who tried to kill Jesus, died in the year 4 B.C. Having this knowledge, we could correct Dionysius’ arithmetic so that it is now the year 2026, Columbus first sailed west in 1497, the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1781, and so on… or we can just live with the odd statement that Jesus was born around 5 B.C., which is what we have chosen…
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Through the Narrow – Submitting to Your Persecutor: By Gina Cook
Submitting to Your Persecutor
Lately, I have been blessed to read posts from Christian women talking about the honor of serving their Christian husbands and submitting to them. Their posts are mostly in response to the popular and cancerous view of egalitarianism, where gender roles are blended and there are no differences between the roles of a husband and wife.To egalitarians, a submissive wife is unfavorable, even a detriment to progression. Yet the Scripture is clear:
“Wives,be subjectto your own husbands, as to the Lord.” Ephesians 5:22
“But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ.” 1 Corinthians 11:3
“But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet. For it was Adam who was first created,and
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God bless America
This weekend citizens of the United States of America celebrate the 245th birthday of our country. Plans are already being formed for our Sestercentennial, our 250th birthday celebration in 2026. Any year, the Fourth of July is a national holiday, a day to rejoice in the blessing of being Americans. We rejoice because our celebration commemorates, not a war or battle or military victory, but an idea. Our country was founded on the premise that all people are equal, that we possess human rights, that freedom benefits us all and is something worth celebrating and worth sharing with the rest of the world.
I am not ashamed of the United States of America. It is my country. I thank God for it, and I pray that God would continue to bless it. The USA is not perfect. Many times, we have fallen short of our goal of providing…
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Conspiring For Your Good!
If you want some background on this post, it’s actually in response to Edward Snowden’s post called, Conspiracy: Theory and Practice, Toward a Taxonomy of Conspiracies
I’m actually quite the Conspiritress, so I think I’ve done a great deal of research in this area. My parents were pretty much the far left, so anti government preppers during the 70’s and 8o’s. I practically grew up on the grassy knoll watching the fake moon landing. As conspiritresses go, I’m not the gullible sort either. I can and have asked God Himself for an explanation. Chuckling here, but do that, I highly recommend it, just do it with humility and reverence.
Why do we chase conspiracies? It’s the same reason why I read so many books growing up, because reality stinks. Life can be unbelievably painful and we’re very powerless and vulnerable. That’s the upside, the positive part. The other part…
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– God Loves Us –
Deuteronomy 4:2, “Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the LORD your God that I give you”
Deuteronomy 4:6-7, “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up”
Our Theme – God loves us and desires us to love Him with all our being.
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God’s Love Story
Hosea 11:8, “How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel? … My heart churns within Me; My sympathy is stirred”
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Alexander the Grape
Why is Alexander III of Macedon so often referred to as “Alexander the Great”? Some say he earned the title by his military victories, and others say that Alexander was great because he built a large empire. The most enduring legacy of Alexander, though, was not political or military. Alexander’s greatness comes from the establishment of a culture, called “Hellenistic,” that has shaped civilization and history for the last two dozen centuries.
Alexander’ father, Phillip II of Macedon, managed (through a combination of military and diplomatic maneuvers) to bring all the Greek city-states under his control, a feat no leader before him had accomplished. When Phillip was assassinated, a teen-aged Alexander inherited his father’s kingdom. Needing a task significant enough to maintain the unity of Greek and Macedonian entities, Alexander completed his father’s plans to conquer the Persian Empire. Phillip and Alexander could have chosen to expand to the west…
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