Of late, I have been focused on moving and all the necessary craziness that goes with it.
With that in mind......I'm intentionally going to avoid writing any posts....even less than I usually do.....like.....zero.....until further notice.
So.....ta ta for now.
Showing posts with label Personal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Personal. Show all posts
Friday, November 19, 2010
Monday, October 25, 2010
Leave my founding documents alone!
The first amendment, when read literally and understood properly says, among other things, that the government shall not establish a state religion. It says nothing about all the other so-called "rights" that 'The Supremes' and other federal judges have managed to magically discern from what is a very simple document. The "Bill of Rights" is a simple document. It is meant to be taken literally. What's so bloody hard about that? What need then of "interpretation"?
The Declaration of Independence, The Constitution of the United States and the first ten amendments to the Constitution, commonly called The Bill of Rights comprise our founding documents. All three of them are NOT organic, alive, nor do they possess any other human qualities we care to attribute to them. They are very profound and well-considered words on paper. It is the job of RESPONSIBLE, GOD-FEARING men and women to prayerfully ask for guidance in trying to determine the best action to be taken when being guided by those pieces of parchment over two-hundred years old which we have deemed relevant to our modern age, or not. The men who wrote them were guided by faith in the living God and the Holy Trinity of conventional Christianity.
Even those men in that group who were not true believers, who may have been deists or agnostics....whatever, allowed for the existence of God and the Trinity. Furthermore, they were willing to subvert their own prejudices about religion in the interest of forging the best principles possible for our fledgling country. In short, those who didn't believe in the Trinity, made sure that the preparation of these documents was allowed to be be a God-driven process for the good of the nation. If they failed to codify our freedoms and "rights" in any way it was from an assumption that the people in our time would be as devout and God-driven as they were when they wrote these magnificent documents.
Those documents are as relevant today as they were 200 years ago. What is different is our post-modern society where everything is open to interpretation and there are no moral absolutes. Consequently, our poor Constitution has undergone some of the most severe and skewed interpretation in the past 30-40 years that the founding fathers never could have anticipated. In other words, they wrote the documents for people as people used to be, never dreaming that God-fearing people would end up in the minority, leaving the inmates to run the asylum. God help us in a Godless society.
We who do believe and have the guts to stand up for our faith have a responsibility not only to spread the Gospel message as much as we can through responsible evangelism, we must also speak out whenever and wherever we see lies, hypocrisy, deceit, greed, and all manner of social ills being perpetrated, especially when it comes from our governing "leaders", both in the secular arena or even worse, in the church body itself.
We elected our current crop of government leaders out of ignorance. We can no longer afford to remain ignorant. We must study, be informed, then get out there and vote for the right people, the ones we need to lead us out of the socialistic mess our self-exalted king, Mr. Hussein, is trying to lead us into.
"If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." —2 Chronicles 7:14 (ESV)
The Declaration of Independence, The Constitution of the United States and the first ten amendments to the Constitution, commonly called The Bill of Rights comprise our founding documents. All three of them are NOT organic, alive, nor do they possess any other human qualities we care to attribute to them. They are very profound and well-considered words on paper. It is the job of RESPONSIBLE, GOD-FEARING men and women to prayerfully ask for guidance in trying to determine the best action to be taken when being guided by those pieces of parchment over two-hundred years old which we have deemed relevant to our modern age, or not. The men who wrote them were guided by faith in the living God and the Holy Trinity of conventional Christianity.
Even those men in that group who were not true believers, who may have been deists or agnostics....whatever, allowed for the existence of God and the Trinity. Furthermore, they were willing to subvert their own prejudices about religion in the interest of forging the best principles possible for our fledgling country. In short, those who didn't believe in the Trinity, made sure that the preparation of these documents was allowed to be be a God-driven process for the good of the nation. If they failed to codify our freedoms and "rights" in any way it was from an assumption that the people in our time would be as devout and God-driven as they were when they wrote these magnificent documents.
Those documents are as relevant today as they were 200 years ago. What is different is our post-modern society where everything is open to interpretation and there are no moral absolutes. Consequently, our poor Constitution has undergone some of the most severe and skewed interpretation in the past 30-40 years that the founding fathers never could have anticipated. In other words, they wrote the documents for people as people used to be, never dreaming that God-fearing people would end up in the minority, leaving the inmates to run the asylum. God help us in a Godless society.
We who do believe and have the guts to stand up for our faith have a responsibility not only to spread the Gospel message as much as we can through responsible evangelism, we must also speak out whenever and wherever we see lies, hypocrisy, deceit, greed, and all manner of social ills being perpetrated, especially when it comes from our governing "leaders", both in the secular arena or even worse, in the church body itself.
We elected our current crop of government leaders out of ignorance. We can no longer afford to remain ignorant. We must study, be informed, then get out there and vote for the right people, the ones we need to lead us out of the socialistic mess our self-exalted king, Mr. Hussein, is trying to lead us into.
"If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." —2 Chronicles 7:14 (ESV)
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Judge Not......
I don't know the statistics but from experience, I know that many folks believe capital punishment is not only necessary but is also just. What surprises me is how many professing Christians feel that way. I'm convinced capital punishment is merely legalized murder and no matter what rationalization we use, no matter what euphemisms we apply to it, at its core it is revenge, not justice.
We are incredibly complex and highly irrational creatures incapable of rendering truly impartial decisions. There can be no capital punishment where the slightest possibility exists that the innocent could mistakenly be executed. This has been proven in a rash of instances where convictions have been overturned, most often due to new and better science, DNA for one, new evidence, or witnesses who later recant their testimony, etc. Some states here in the U.S. have repealed or are seriously considering repealing their death penalty laws as a result of these alarming facts. But there's a more important reason that capital punishment is totally in error......
Jesus, Himself, completely tossed-out the death penalty.
In John 8:3-11, a woman caught in adultery was brought before Him. The mob that was going to stone her was made up of the scribes and Pharisees not concerned with justice; they were specifically trying to lure Jesus into saying something that would give them grounds to cause Him trouble. Let's examine the case:
1. The Law, handed down to Moses by God, specifically stated that a man and a woman caught in adultery were both to be put to death by stoning, outside the city walls (Lev. 20:10, Deut. 22:22). This mob brought only the woman— the man was most likely one of them, or someone whom they could not or would not prosecute.
2. Jesus knew the law about adultery thoroughly—He should have—as God, He had created it—and as God He could enforce it Himself if He so chose. But since the advent of Christ in the world, this was the age of grace, not sacrifice and judgement; Jesus chose the better way, the way of grace.
3. He said to the mob "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her."(NIV). If you know nothing else about Christian teachings you should know this: as human beings, we are all sinners. That's why Christ came, to pay for all our sins, for everybody, past, present and future, by His death on the cross so we could be forgiven if we confess our belief in Him. Compassion and forgiveness is what He was (and is) all about.
4. Jesus did not condemn the woman and told her so. He let her go!
5. Hence-- as God, Jesus voided His own death penalty. He told the crowd, in effect, that only if they were as sinless as God Himself were they qualified to be the woman's judges and executioners. They had to drop their stones and walk away because they were convicted in their souls about the reality of their own sins. They too knew the law and knew that they were born as sinners—they had no defense to state otherwise.
So, why no death penalty? Aside from the aforementioned travesty of executing the innocent, the most important reason is simply this: our Lord showed us clearly, simply and most definitely that we, as born sinners, can never presume to be Godly enough to pre-empt God's authority over life and death. Only His judgement of sin is perfect. Only His justice is pure and motivated only by a desire to eliminate evil. His justice is not subject to the error, questionable motives and just plain irrational thinking that even the most noble of humans bring to the process of alleged 'justice'. Jesus Himself was arrested, illegally tried in "kangaroo courts", and executed by people who had personal and political agendas. Nobody can claim credit for killing Him either; the Jews put Him on trial, the Romans handled the execution, but He had said that He would lay His life down and later, take it back—and that's exactly what He did.
In the Old Testament, whenever God executed someone or caused someone to be executed, it was because they were guilty—period. In the New Testament, under the covenant of Grace, the most important theme is love. One other major theme running throughout the collection of books is mercy. God's charge to humanity is to live in and be like Christ, that is, living in love being merciful. The closer we get to being like Him, the less our human natures will make us want to destroy each other— among other things. We are no more qualified to judge another human being's right to live or die as we are to explain the mind of God. Let us not attempt to usurp the authority that rightfully belongs to God.
Where capital punishment exists, it must be eliminated—we are not God.
We are incredibly complex and highly irrational creatures incapable of rendering truly impartial decisions. There can be no capital punishment where the slightest possibility exists that the innocent could mistakenly be executed. This has been proven in a rash of instances where convictions have been overturned, most often due to new and better science, DNA for one, new evidence, or witnesses who later recant their testimony, etc. Some states here in the U.S. have repealed or are seriously considering repealing their death penalty laws as a result of these alarming facts. But there's a more important reason that capital punishment is totally in error......
Jesus, Himself, completely tossed-out the death penalty.
In John 8:3-11, a woman caught in adultery was brought before Him. The mob that was going to stone her was made up of the scribes and Pharisees not concerned with justice; they were specifically trying to lure Jesus into saying something that would give them grounds to cause Him trouble. Let's examine the case:
1. The Law, handed down to Moses by God, specifically stated that a man and a woman caught in adultery were both to be put to death by stoning, outside the city walls (Lev. 20:10, Deut. 22:22). This mob brought only the woman— the man was most likely one of them, or someone whom they could not or would not prosecute.
2. Jesus knew the law about adultery thoroughly—He should have—as God, He had created it—and as God He could enforce it Himself if He so chose. But since the advent of Christ in the world, this was the age of grace, not sacrifice and judgement; Jesus chose the better way, the way of grace.
3. He said to the mob "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her."(NIV). If you know nothing else about Christian teachings you should know this: as human beings, we are all sinners. That's why Christ came, to pay for all our sins, for everybody, past, present and future, by His death on the cross so we could be forgiven if we confess our belief in Him. Compassion and forgiveness is what He was (and is) all about.
4. Jesus did not condemn the woman and told her so. He let her go!
5. Hence-- as God, Jesus voided His own death penalty. He told the crowd, in effect, that only if they were as sinless as God Himself were they qualified to be the woman's judges and executioners. They had to drop their stones and walk away because they were convicted in their souls about the reality of their own sins. They too knew the law and knew that they were born as sinners—they had no defense to state otherwise.
So, why no death penalty? Aside from the aforementioned travesty of executing the innocent, the most important reason is simply this: our Lord showed us clearly, simply and most definitely that we, as born sinners, can never presume to be Godly enough to pre-empt God's authority over life and death. Only His judgement of sin is perfect. Only His justice is pure and motivated only by a desire to eliminate evil. His justice is not subject to the error, questionable motives and just plain irrational thinking that even the most noble of humans bring to the process of alleged 'justice'. Jesus Himself was arrested, illegally tried in "kangaroo courts", and executed by people who had personal and political agendas. Nobody can claim credit for killing Him either; the Jews put Him on trial, the Romans handled the execution, but He had said that He would lay His life down and later, take it back—and that's exactly what He did.
In the Old Testament, whenever God executed someone or caused someone to be executed, it was because they were guilty—period. In the New Testament, under the covenant of Grace, the most important theme is love. One other major theme running throughout the collection of books is mercy. God's charge to humanity is to live in and be like Christ, that is, living in love being merciful. The closer we get to being like Him, the less our human natures will make us want to destroy each other— among other things. We are no more qualified to judge another human being's right to live or die as we are to explain the mind of God. Let us not attempt to usurp the authority that rightfully belongs to God.
Where capital punishment exists, it must be eliminated—we are not God.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Another listening Gem....
I have become a fan of a totally unique TV show called Wretched, with Todd Friel. It's social satire in a way, and features Mr. Friel standing in a "hip" room doing a monologue about current events, but presenting them from a distinctly Evangelical Christian viewpoint. He claims to be "the wretch the song refers to". He closes every show with the admonition: "....go serve your King."
He's not afraid to be direct and doesn't mince words; if something is bothersome, otherwise out of whack or just plain un-Biblical, he says so and gives references in scripture to support it. The style is, in a word, manic and the jumpy camera work can be annoying, but his content is always right on the money.
Check you local listings to see if Wretched is available in your area or on your provider's system at all. On our FIOS system here in West-central Florida it's broadcast on the FamNet station (#242). You can also get to it on the web at http://www.wretchedradio.com/ where you can listen to the rerun radio stream or catch the live feed from 3-5 PM Eastern time.
He's not afraid to be direct and doesn't mince words; if something is bothersome, otherwise out of whack or just plain un-Biblical, he says so and gives references in scripture to support it. The style is, in a word, manic and the jumpy camera work can be annoying, but his content is always right on the money.
Check you local listings to see if Wretched is available in your area or on your provider's system at all. On our FIOS system here in West-central Florida it's broadcast on the FamNet station (#242). You can also get to it on the web at http://www.wretchedradio.com/ where you can listen to the rerun radio stream or catch the live feed from 3-5 PM Eastern time.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Of Monumental Import.......
I finally decided to make the split....I have now created another blog called "Tuesday Afternoon" where I can write my rants and commentary about secular (that means non-Christian to all you non-Christians) subjects.
I decided go this route after careful consultation with myself, deciding that it was time to separate the "sacred" from the "profane". Not to worry, I don't really indulge in the kind of profanity that the rest of the world does....it's just an expression from the Bible that explains how we should be living our lives....not mixing holy with everyday.
You can get to my new, improved totally political and un-holy blog at:
Tuesday Afternoon ........how simple is that?
I decided go this route after careful consultation with myself, deciding that it was time to separate the "sacred" from the "profane". Not to worry, I don't really indulge in the kind of profanity that the rest of the world does....it's just an expression from the Bible that explains how we should be living our lives....not mixing holy with everyday.
You can get to my new, improved totally political and un-holy blog at:
Tuesday Afternoon ........how simple is that?
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Thanksgiving at any Time
Yesterday I had a first-class and first-hand example of God's love working through the body of this thing called "the church".
Last Wednesday my car broke down suddenly and irreparably due to a malfunctioning starter. Of course, this meant I wasn't going anywhere. It also wasn't going to get fixed because I have zero money. On Thursday night I got a ride to and from band practice with the worship leader, Mark. As we talked I told him about my car trouble and how I was flat broke and unable to have it fixed. He said something cryptic about seeing what he could do and we said goodnight. I really didn't think any more about it.
So, yesterday, Saturday, I got a call from our pastor, Greg, who offered to pick up the starter and come over to install it for me. This totally took me aback to say the least. So he said he'd be over about 1300 (1 o'clock, PM). Well, he showed up with the part and we proceeded to tackle the removal and installation of a Ford Taurus starter with a 3.0 litre engine with A/C.
We had quite a few laughs, got very greasy-dirty (oh! Shades of the old days!), and actually had a nice time of fellowship in my driveway. God really blessed us too because right in the middle of two days of heavy, almost non-stop rain, He was kind enough to let us have 3 hours without a drop. Talk about blessings....the rain stopped, the installation went along pretty darn smoothly (except for a few panicked moments when we were scouting out metric wrenches) and the car now works. I don't think anyone skinned a knuckle either....a doggone miracle!
I don't know about anyone else....but to me that's cause for some serious Hallelujahs and gratitude for seeing the church doing what the church is supposed to do....love and care for each other. This was an example of just such love in action....also known as compassion. And to make it even more praiseworthy, when I asked pastor Greg (totally out of curiousity) what the new part cost, he wouldn't tell me. Said it didn't matter. You know, he's right, because somewhere down the road I'll pass this blessing along to someone else, amen.
Love is the most valuable commodity each human being possesses, but until it is expressed in acts of service, that compassion thing, it doesn't really mean a whole heck of a lot
I urge you to go read 1 Corinthians 13 if you have any questions about love. It is probably the best description of the subject ever written, for love is so ethereal it almost defies definition, and goodness knows that writers have been trying for millenia to nail it down, but I believe the Apostle Paul came darn close. Thank you Father for this beautiful little church of your people doing your will, Amen.
Last Wednesday my car broke down suddenly and irreparably due to a malfunctioning starter. Of course, this meant I wasn't going anywhere. It also wasn't going to get fixed because I have zero money. On Thursday night I got a ride to and from band practice with the worship leader, Mark. As we talked I told him about my car trouble and how I was flat broke and unable to have it fixed. He said something cryptic about seeing what he could do and we said goodnight. I really didn't think any more about it.
So, yesterday, Saturday, I got a call from our pastor, Greg, who offered to pick up the starter and come over to install it for me. This totally took me aback to say the least. So he said he'd be over about 1300 (1 o'clock, PM). Well, he showed up with the part and we proceeded to tackle the removal and installation of a Ford Taurus starter with a 3.0 litre engine with A/C.
We had quite a few laughs, got very greasy-dirty (oh! Shades of the old days!), and actually had a nice time of fellowship in my driveway. God really blessed us too because right in the middle of two days of heavy, almost non-stop rain, He was kind enough to let us have 3 hours without a drop. Talk about blessings....the rain stopped, the installation went along pretty darn smoothly (except for a few panicked moments when we were scouting out metric wrenches) and the car now works. I don't think anyone skinned a knuckle either....a doggone miracle!
I don't know about anyone else....but to me that's cause for some serious Hallelujahs and gratitude for seeing the church doing what the church is supposed to do....love and care for each other. This was an example of just such love in action....also known as compassion. And to make it even more praiseworthy, when I asked pastor Greg (totally out of curiousity) what the new part cost, he wouldn't tell me. Said it didn't matter. You know, he's right, because somewhere down the road I'll pass this blessing along to someone else, amen.
Love is the most valuable commodity each human being possesses, but until it is expressed in acts of service, that compassion thing, it doesn't really mean a whole heck of a lot
I urge you to go read 1 Corinthians 13 if you have any questions about love. It is probably the best description of the subject ever written, for love is so ethereal it almost defies definition, and goodness knows that writers have been trying for millenia to nail it down, but I believe the Apostle Paul came darn close. Thank you Father for this beautiful little church of your people doing your will, Amen.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Yeah, sure, okay......
What's fairly amazing is that I actually opened my mouth in the church service today and talked about some things I am grateful for. This was a big step for me because I rarely open up to anyone about myself. I've gotten so over the years that, rather than stick my head out and risk someone cutting it off, I just don't bother letting anyone know anything. To put it in X Files terminology, I "trust no-one". This has served me well for many years. Trouble is, it has left me with very few true friends....but they are the kind you can count on one hand and that is a blessing.
But today I was almost gushy in my expression of being thankful for some of the items on the following list, which I have expanded since this morning:
But today I was almost gushy in my expression of being thankful for some of the items on the following list, which I have expanded since this morning:
- my "adoptive parents" Bob & Lillie, the parents of my best friend, Bob Jr., who have graciously included me in their family for Thanksgiving & Christmas.
- my new church family who accept and love me as is and never indicate that they care about interrogating me about who I am or what kind of past I come from.
- that after 28-30 years I finally got to make some long overdue and heartfelt ninth-step apologies to some folks who really needed to hear them. not only did they accept the apologies, they even forgave me for all the garbage I injected into their lives all those years ago.
- 26 years of sobriety one day at a time (sometimes one hour or minute at a time!)
- strong and, so far, lasting recovery from stage 4 cancer (a miracle in itself) and how it forced me to end a 46 year dependence on cigarettes
- a roof over my head, for now.
- air to breathe, pure or not, for this purpose, it's still free.
- food (sometimes too much and too good!) to eat.
- Clean water, and good tasting thanks to Brita water filters.
- a car that's reliable, mostly.
- the love of God.
- the devotion of two little, manic fur balls who are my loyal friends and keep me warm at night.
- finally, a whole lot of blessings that I couldn't possibly be aware of but which I know have been poured out on me all my life.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
A Free Gift....Free Because it's a Gift....got it?
I was thinking about God's grace and how everyone always describes it as a "free gift". Well, that stopped me right there and made me smile a little. I smiled because this phrase is redundant, that is, both words are saying the same thing: anything that is a gift is automatically free, and vice-versa, if it's free it's a gift!
When it comes to God's grace, it is something He gives us freely and there's not a blasted thing that we can do to earn it, it simply is a gift. It doesn't depend on our obedience, on how long or 'hard' we pray, on whether or not we do 'good deeds', go to church every single Sunday; none of that matters.
No....His grace depends on one thing and one thing alone....His good pleasure to give it to us. We can't earn our way into heaven. If we are righteous at all, it is because we accepted God's free gift (there's that redundant phrase again!) of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ and immediately became His children, and immediately came under His grace for now and throughout eternity. You think about that.
When it comes to God's grace, it is something He gives us freely and there's not a blasted thing that we can do to earn it, it simply is a gift. It doesn't depend on our obedience, on how long or 'hard' we pray, on whether or not we do 'good deeds', go to church every single Sunday; none of that matters.
No....His grace depends on one thing and one thing alone....His good pleasure to give it to us. We can't earn our way into heaven. If we are righteous at all, it is because we accepted God's free gift (there's that redundant phrase again!) of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ and immediately became His children, and immediately came under His grace for now and throughout eternity. You think about that.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Official
Well, it finally happened....I made my musical debut at Grace Covenant Church yesterday, 10/25. It went well....only a few sour notes and no major goofs on my part....that's progress!
The main thing is that it was a good worship time and I am gratified that I finally found a place to be of service to the Lord. The way things are I don't really have a whole lot to give in the collection box, so this is another way to give to God by using one of the talents He gave me.
One down and ??? to go....thank you Father.
The main thing is that it was a good worship time and I am gratified that I finally found a place to be of service to the Lord. The way things are I don't really have a whole lot to give in the collection box, so this is another way to give to God by using one of the talents He gave me.
One down and ??? to go....thank you Father.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Member!
I am now officially a member of "Grace Covenant Church" of Sarasota FL.
On October 12, 2009, I must have answered all the questions okay, 'cause when we were done the Pastor/elder said, "welcome to Grace Covenant". I was a little disappointed, I mean, after all didn't I have to kneel and kiss his ring I inquired? 'No' was the answer. Well, how about walking down the aisle in between a long row of guys in spooky black robes with hoods, holding candles? Again, he said 'no'. "Wow" I thought "that was too easy" (I told him that). No rituals, no necessity to have witnesss vouch for me, just me and the elders and God.
See? That's the difference between real Christianity and Religion (Yes, I use a capital "R"). It is said that Religion is about ritual, while Christianity is about relationship. I joined this church group on the basis of my relationship to Jesus Christ, nothing more or less. No rituals or special rites required, just an expression of my acceptance of this church group and its practices and beliefs, and an affirmation of my relationship with Jesus.
Flashback to 1967 and trying to get married in "the church" (which shall remain nameless). Among other ridiculous requirements, we had to answer a questionnaire that must have had 150 questions on it. Then when we got done, I had to produce two witnesses to verify the answers and apply for "special dispensation" from the head honcho in Newark (this happened in NJ) because we didn't agree with one of their major policies. You see, my bride to be and I had sworn to God to answer these questions truthfully before the interrogation began. So now this denomination had the gall to ask me for witnesses? It was obvious that our word in front of God was not good enough.
We left and never went back as members of that denomination. We later learned that the priest who interviewed us had been transferred to a desk job, away from duties dealing with people because it wasn't just us he managed to alienate.
So, yeah....give me Jesus and His simplicity any day "for my yoke is easy and my burden is light". (Mt. 11:30 ESV) No legalities involved.
On October 12, 2009, I must have answered all the questions okay, 'cause when we were done the Pastor/elder said, "welcome to Grace Covenant". I was a little disappointed, I mean, after all didn't I have to kneel and kiss his ring I inquired? 'No' was the answer. Well, how about walking down the aisle in between a long row of guys in spooky black robes with hoods, holding candles? Again, he said 'no'. "Wow" I thought "that was too easy" (I told him that). No rituals, no necessity to have witnesss vouch for me, just me and the elders and God.
See? That's the difference between real Christianity and Religion (Yes, I use a capital "R"). It is said that Religion is about ritual, while Christianity is about relationship. I joined this church group on the basis of my relationship to Jesus Christ, nothing more or less. No rituals or special rites required, just an expression of my acceptance of this church group and its practices and beliefs, and an affirmation of my relationship with Jesus.
Flashback to 1967 and trying to get married in "the church" (which shall remain nameless). Among other ridiculous requirements, we had to answer a questionnaire that must have had 150 questions on it. Then when we got done, I had to produce two witnesses to verify the answers and apply for "special dispensation" from the head honcho in Newark (this happened in NJ) because we didn't agree with one of their major policies. You see, my bride to be and I had sworn to God to answer these questions truthfully before the interrogation began. So now this denomination had the gall to ask me for witnesses? It was obvious that our word in front of God was not good enough.
We left and never went back as members of that denomination. We later learned that the priest who interviewed us had been transferred to a desk job, away from duties dealing with people because it wasn't just us he managed to alienate.
So, yeah....give me Jesus and His simplicity any day "for my yoke is easy and my burden is light". (Mt. 11:30 ESV) No legalities involved.
Is this a Hint?
I truly wonder if the Good Lord is trying to tell me something. I mean, starting in early 2004 I got involved in a band with the "The two Mikes", namely Sinn and P____, playing guitar and drums, respectively. It was fun to joke about "playing with Sinn".
But now, it's 2009, that band is history, and I just signed-on to play electric bass (no, it's not a 'bass guitar') for the praise band at my church. Now I find out that one of my band-mates has the last name of "Pagan". Hmmm........ maybe there's a trend here?
All Christians please note: the foregoing is a gag, do not take it seriously, thank you, over and out, 10-4.
But now, it's 2009, that band is history, and I just signed-on to play electric bass (no, it's not a 'bass guitar') for the praise band at my church. Now I find out that one of my band-mates has the last name of "Pagan". Hmmm........ maybe there's a trend here?
All Christians please note: the foregoing is a gag, do not take it seriously, thank you, over and out, 10-4.
Friday, May 8, 2009
Prayer is always an option
I just got off the phone a while ago with a guy I used to be in a band with. His name is Mike and he is an incredible blues guitarist and one of the sweetest, most truly loving people I have ever known even though he may look big and mean! Recently he was diagnosed with lymphoma of the bone, a very bad and aggressive cancer. He has gone for two courses of chemotherapy now, each lasting a week which necessitates him staying in the hospital for almost two weeks at a time. He'll be going back for round three soon. Depite the rigors of his treatment he is in very high spirits.
What got me is how good he sounded; positive, full of faith and praising The Lord for his current state of good health. He's not in remission yet, but I'm sure he's getting there. His name is Mike and you can check out his progress and status by clicking "A Link for Mike- Mike's Space" link in my list of "Interesting Links".
No matter what your relationship with the one God of the universe, feel free to jump in and pray for my brother Mike and for his wife, Sandi, who is doing an incredible job of caring for him. If nothing else, it will do you some good.
What got me is how good he sounded; positive, full of faith and praising The Lord for his current state of good health. He's not in remission yet, but I'm sure he's getting there. His name is Mike and you can check out his progress and status by clicking "A Link for Mike- Mike's Space" link in my list of "Interesting Links".
No matter what your relationship with the one God of the universe, feel free to jump in and pray for my brother Mike and for his wife, Sandi, who is doing an incredible job of caring for him. If nothing else, it will do you some good.
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