I Don’t Like To Shop

My wife likes to shop. I don’t like it at all. I do almost anything to keep from having to walk through the store while she excitedly touches everything from socks to peanuts. Almost anything is better than trekking through store after store “just looking”.

Wal-Mart, Target, Penney’s…I already know what’s in there.

So I checked to see if I am the only one that feels like this…..

According to recent survey, 90% of Americans say Christmas is their favorite holiday, but only 20% say they enjoy Christmas shopping!

That reminds me of two men who were next-door neighbors who decided to go sailing while their wives went  shopping. While they were out in the boat, a terrible storm arose. The sea became very choppy and they had a difficult time keeping the boat under control. As they steered toward land, they hit a sandbar and the boat grounded. They both jumped out of the boat and began to push and shove with all their might to get the boat back into the water. As the waves bounced him against the side of the boat, and his hair was blowing wildly in the wind, one of the men said with a smile on his face, “It sure beats  shopping, doesn’t it?”

That’s the way I feel even though I know I’m gonna be in trouble if anyone tells Sandy.

In the Bonds of Calvary,

PEOPLE OF FAITH MUST BE CONSIDERED A THREAT

Most often, I don’t often speak out publicly against injustices . I gues that I am not that radical. But several days ago I watched in horror as the Ft. Hood terrorism report unfolded. Innocent people died! Heroes died! Hundreds are intimately affected.

If our faith is to have meaning at all, we must understand our purpose as making a critical difference in the world. As people of faith we should be considered dangerous and a threat to every system and instrument of injustice, destruction, and human alienation.

Whenever and wherever efforts are forged to divide humanity and wage war, we should be driven to declare God’s will. We are called to remind the powers-that-be that we are divinely ordained to live in peace with justice for all; we are called to be makers of peace. In order to have courage to take bold, unpopular positions, we need a well-developed practice of prayer. In order to act appropriately and not just emotionally, we need a clear line of communication with God. Prayer makes the difference when disaster is imminent. We are on a collision course with unthinkable consequences.

In our effort to be “politically  correct” we may have overlooked the high calling  to which God has called us.

None of the funerals, widows,parents, and children who have lost their parents, can possibly be comforted by “politically correct”.

We need prayer.

In the Bonds of Calvary,

My Resume

People don’t talk about the soul very much anymore.

It’s so much easier to write a resume than to craft a spirit.

But is a resume a comfort on a cold winter night, or when you’re sad, or broke, or lonely, or when you’ve gotten back the test results and they’re not so good?

Here is my resume:

I am a good father. I no longer consider myself the center of the universe. I show up. I listen, I try to laugh. I am a good friend to my wife. I have tried to make marriage vows mean what they say. I show up. I listen. I try to laugh. I am a good friend to my friends, and they to me. Without them, there would be nothing to say to you today, because I would be a cardboard cutout. But I call them on the phone, and I meet them for lunch. I show up. I listen. I try to laugh.

In the Bonds of Calvary,

Introspection Is Making Me Think

I have to inspect my life by the Word of God. I am to take my values and lay them right beside His values and if they are not the same, then I need revival in my soul.

If there is not a great deal of difference between the way I operate in public from the way the world operates I need revival in my soul.

If I am not sickened by the activities of this perverse world, then I need revival in my soul.

If I have learned to acclimate myself to this perversion, if I have grown accustomed to this social sickness, then I need revival in my soul.

The Lord is coming soon, I must follow His command to be separate and holy.

In the Bonds of Calvary,

Know Your Finishing Point

 In running you always want to know where the finishing point is. I never wanted to run a race were I did not know where the finishing point is.
It would be ok if I did not completely know the course, but I needed to know the finishing point
 
The Apollo 13 as we remember had some major mechanical malfunctions. The possibility of making it was slim. They had to conserve energy as much as possible. Then for 39 seconds had to conduct a burn. However, they had no instruments to tell them which direction to go. So Jim Lovell found his reference point. He stared at the earth out of a tiny window for 39 seconds. Never loosing sight of the reference point
Sure enough he made it.
 
What is my reference point?
My eyes are fixed  on Jesus. That is my reference point!
What happens to many people is they take their eyes off Jesus. They begin to look at other things.
They begin to forget their reference point………And they don’t make it…….They don’t finish the race.
To finish the race I need to continue to follow my faith.
Continue to keep my eyes fixed on Jesus.
Any other reference point will fail.
I will follow my Faith…..I will follow God!

In the Bonds of Calvary,

I Am Determined

I have been called by several names. Given name, nicknames, special names, complimentary names and uncomplimentary names. One of the  descriptive names that I often hear is “Tenacious.”  I like that one because it implies, “he is not going to quit or give up.” And, that’s true! I have no intention of quitting before it is time.

I have decided that determination means that I am focusing on the reward of reaching my goal rather than on the obstacles of getting there. It means that I will be crying out for God’s supernatural intervention. It means that I will exert as much energy as needed to reach my goal.

It means I will have to deny myself. It means a total abandonment to the will of God and to His work. It means to take up the cross and follow Him.

I am ready because I know my cross is special. It’s my cross.

I am picking it up and I am following.

In the Bonds of Calvary,

I Am Listening….I Think

It seems that there are many voices competing for my attention. It is time to get alone and hear the voice of my Shepherd.

Sometimes God has to take me through a hurricane, earthquake, and a fire before I can hear His “still small voice.”

You know what? Having God speak to me is not the problem. The problem is failing to obey God when He does speak.

It is vital that I hear “the voice of the Lord” and that I recognize and reject voices that are not from God. Recognizing the source of the voice or thought is necessary if I am going to bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.

Looking back I am aware that there are times that God spoke to me and there is no doubt. These were those rhema moments.

Other times God has spoken to me through  speakers or books.

I am listening now…..

In the Bonds of Calvary,

Fear Not!

God is continuously instructing us to “Fear Not” and that makes me believe that I have the ability to overcome this very debilitating emotion.In order to do that, I think, I will have to identify the fears that hinder my walk with God and my openness with other people.

I think that once I identify my fears then I will be able to take steps to resolve them.

I fear RIDICULE…….

I fear FAILURE……

I fear  POVERTY……..

And, REJECTION, PAIN, SICKNESS, FUTURE…..

But wait. I have given my reputation to God and am only concerned that I represent Christ in all that I do.

If all that I am and all that I have is truly dedicated to God, I have nothing to fear, because I have nothing to lose.

In the Bonds of Calvary

Impossibility or Opportunity?

Life can be tough! Reported attempted suicides are over the 100,000 mark annually.

Drug use in America is epidemic, much of it an attempt to manage the pressure of life. Our land has more than 3 million declared alcoholics and many more that cannot face the day or night without a few stiff drinks or a six-pack. Prescriptions for mood-altering drugs are a booming business as many people take uppers to get going and downers to go to sleep!

Each of us, from time to time, runs up against a problem that resists every effort we make to create a solution, don’t we?  My heart aches as I share in the challenges of people that I love.

Some are in marriages that seem hopelessly broken by conflict or infidelity.
Some are fighting habits that hang on to them like a pit bull.
Others bring the story of a mountain of debt that has accumulated.

I’ve listened to older people telling of lonely days and the fear of being incapable of caring for themselves. There are myriad stories from those who are trying to cope with chronic illness, bad job situations, grief, or stresses that are pushing them to the limits of their endurance! The Devil does his best to kill and destroy.

Our status as God’s children does not exempt us from the curse of sin. Christians wrestle with the same temptations, get the same cancers, face the same tough bosses, and live in the same economic conditions as everyone else.

There is  a word of hope- we aren’t exempt from the problems, but we have resources to carry us through! The Word tells us that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.

I am counting on that powerful Word!

In the Bonds of Calvary,

At Calvary

Today, the words of this William R. Newell song really ministered to me.                                                                                                                                                                                  When we started our first church we sang this song almost every week. It was the only one Sandy could play on the piano and the only one I could sing without getting too far off key.

Years I spent in vanity and pride, Caring not my Lord was crucified,
Knowing not it was for me He died
On Calvary!

By God’s Word at last my sin I learned; Then I trembled at the law I’d spurned,
Till my guilty soul imploring turned
To Calvary!

Now I’ve given to Jesus everything, now I gladly own Him as my                                                          King: Now my raptured soul can only sing                                                                                                        Of Calvary!

Mercy there was great, and grace was free; Pardon there was multiplied to me;
There my burdened soul found liberty
At Calvary!

I hope I never lose what I feel in my spirit right now.

In the Bonds of Calvary,