Game Over
They buried him, sealed the tomb and said, “He is finished.”
Ever since then many have said of His followers, “They’re finished.”
However, Jesus beat them to the truth when He proclaimed from the cross, “It is finished.”
The war has been won. So it really doesn’t matter or change anything when men say other-wise.
Jesus’ resurrection is the final statement: “Enjoy the victory and worship the Victor or live in denial and die alone, eternally separated from God.
When the game is over, enjoy the victory. Trying to change the score does not work.
1 Corinthians 15:20 (NIV)
“But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead…”
My Communicator Is Smarter Than Me (or I)
Filed under: Weekly Blog | Tags: captain kirk, commuication, seasoned with salt, spock, star wars
Leave a Comment The world can be divided into 3 groups of people (only a slight generalization): Star Trek fans, Star Wars fans and Legally Blonde fans. I’m one of the former. Captain Kirk, Spock, Scottie and Zulu all used communicators. I don’t have a smartphone (a misnomer – it’s the user that has to be smart to use it). I have a communicator – my iPhone 4. With it I communicate with others by voice, text or email. I can both tell others and show others what’s happening in my life. My communicator keeps me in contact with my computer and with the “cloud.” I can communicate with Microsoft Word or Powerpoint. With it I can communicate with one person or an immense group. The list goes on.
I have to remind myself occasionally that my communicator is only a vehicle for communication. I’m responsible for what is actually communicated.
Colossians 4:6 (NIV)
“Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”
Hanger Danger
Filed under: Weekly Blog | Tags: danger, fable, hanger, separate
Leave a Comment Consider now the fable of the hanger. It was a typical one – the wire hanger. You know the kind you get at the laundry. Great for hanging clothes, helping clothes to stay fresh, unwrinkled. It was known for having other inspired uses (e.g.: unlocking car doors and roasting marshmallows). This handy device made often with just a single wire has served well for years. However, its uniqueness of shape often led to its demise. It was in peril when being placed too close to others of its kind. When this happened, they would become so tangled that, whenever finally separated, it would be bent out of shape.
Whence cometh the moral: watch who you hang with (or watch with whom you hang) – you might get lost in a tangled mess and/or bent out of shape.
2 Corinthians 6:17 (NASB)
“Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate,” says the Lord. “And do not touch what is unclean; and I will welcome you.”
They Got What They Wanted
They got what they wanted, but didn’t want what they got. This is what is happening in America.
Please, take the time and study 1 Samuel 8. I was reminded of this passage this week. Verse 7 is especially relevant. God said to Samuel, “…for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them.”
Psalms 106:15
“And He gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul.”
I’ve Been Recalled
It’s been a week! You know what they say, “They don’t build ’em like they used to.” Last week I started my vacation with great news from the doctors. Today, on my last day of vacation, I got calls from my cardiologist and my cardiovascular surgeon. They both want to see me again this week. (Guess they both want to get their kids through college.) I just hope these parts are covered by the manufacturer’s original equipment warranty. I didn’t take out an extended policy.
Sometimes God issues a recall notice – so that He can make right what we have made wrong.
Acts 3:19 (NASB)
“Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.”
Spinning Your Wheels
Do you ever feel like you’re spinning your wheels, just going through the motions, not going anywhere?
Maybe like pedaling a bicycle with a broken chain – not engaging the wheels.
Some talk of engaging the culture. Maybe.
But it is time for Christians to engage their gifts.
Like an auto with a finely tuned engine running at full capacity, filled with gasoline, but in neutral. Many have their engines revved up to maximum, but have never put it in gear.
It’s time to engage…put it in gear.
1 Peter 4:10 (NIV)
“Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.”
In Deep Water
Filed under: Weekly Blog | Tags: Apostle Peter, deep water, doubt, faith
Leave a Comment Most of us are like the Apostle Peter: our main problem is not that we have little faith; it is that we have little doubts. It only took a little faith for Peter to walk on water and a little faith to cry out to Jesus for help. Likewise, it only took a little doubt to make him sink. It’s not that we don’t have enough faith. It’s those doubts that get us in deep water.
Matthew 14:31 (NASB)
Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and *said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”
Bullseye Christians
The young archery student said to his coach, “I don’t seem to be hitting what I am aiming at.” The coach patiently replied, “No, son, your problem is that you are hitting what you are aiming at….you just aren’t aiming right.”
Most of us really do hit what we aim for…we just aren’t aiming right.2
2 Corinthians 5:9 (ESV)
9 So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him.
Who’s Afraid of Tricolosan?
I’ve never been afraid of getting my hands dirty, greasy or sticky. It’s getting them clean that concerns me. Now the FDA is investigating Triclosan: the stuff that makes hand soap “antibacterial.” I just want my hands clean.French and Indian War
My siblings (four brothers and two sisters) inherited the good traits of our mother (born and reared in France) and our dad (part Cherokee Indian from Texas). Which left all the negative traits for me. These are constantly at war with the new nature that comes from the Holy Spirit. The good news is, thanks to Jesus Christ, I know which side eventually wins.
Romans 7:24-25 (NIV)
“What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God——through Jesus Christ our Lord!”
ReMarcks 