“We walk by faith not by sight.” 2Cor.5 ESV
People exercise faith everyday. We trust pharmacist to fill our prescriptions correctly; doctors to prescribe them correctly, even bankers to handle our money. Faith is integral to life even if it is only trusting that my neighbor will stay in his or her lane while driving. To put faith in something blindly is the faith of a fanatic or a fool. If I do not have a good reason to trust someone or something I simply shouldn't do it. God expects no less where faith concerns Him. He is not looking for blind devotion. He has repeatedly stepped into space and time so that our faith will be coupled with reason. Jesus did not ask His disciples to blindly trust that He would conquer death. After the resurrection He appeared to them for over forty days. He hasn't asked us to trust in His resurrection blindly. He asks us to believe it because of the testimony of credible witnesses. Court cases have been decided on less evidence. 11/24/2010 Conversations Within ts (Between, Ga)
Just me trying to be honest with God.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Faith... must be enforced by reason.... When faith becomes blind it dies. Mahatma Gandhi
“We walk by faith not by sight.” 2Cor.5 ESV
People exercise faith everyday. We trust pharmacist to fill our prescriptions correctly; doctors to prescribe them correctly, even bankers to handle our money. Faith is integral to life even if it is only trusting that my neighbor will stay in his or her lane while driving. To put faith in something blindly is the faith of a fanatic or a fool. If I do not have a good reason to trust someone or something I simply shouldn't do it. God expects no less where faith concerns Him. He is not looking for blind devotion. He has repeatedly stepped into space and time so that our faith will be coupled with reason. Jesus did not ask His disciples to blindly trust that He would conquer death. After the resurrection He appeared to them for over forty days. He hasn't asked us to trust in His resurrection blindly. He asks us to believe it because of the testimony of credible witnesses. Court cases have been decided on less evidence. 11/24/2010 Conversations Within ts (Between, Ga)
People exercise faith everyday. We trust pharmacist to fill our prescriptions correctly; doctors to prescribe them correctly, even bankers to handle our money. Faith is integral to life even if it is only trusting that my neighbor will stay in his or her lane while driving. To put faith in something blindly is the faith of a fanatic or a fool. If I do not have a good reason to trust someone or something I simply shouldn't do it. God expects no less where faith concerns Him. He is not looking for blind devotion. He has repeatedly stepped into space and time so that our faith will be coupled with reason. Jesus did not ask His disciples to blindly trust that He would conquer death. After the resurrection He appeared to them for over forty days. He hasn't asked us to trust in His resurrection blindly. He asks us to believe it because of the testimony of credible witnesses. Court cases have been decided on less evidence. 11/24/2010 Conversations Within ts (Between, Ga)
Monday, November 29, 2010
“Sometimes you have to lose your mind before you can come to your senses.” – Peaceful Warrior
“Prove me, O LORD, and try me; test my heart and my mind.” Ps.26 ESV
I always try to be gut honest when talking with You. I think I pride myself on it, somehow convinced that sincerity is just as importance as doing what You say. I think You assign value to sincerity but I also know we can be so sincerely wrong in what we do. Lord I need to walk in truth as much as I need to walk truly. I know You want my heart not just my compliance but I think that my compliance may lead me to love You also with my heart. The bottom line is that You want it all, mind, heart, soul, and You ask for it a decision at a time. Cure my insanity. 11/23/2010 Conversations Within ts (Between, Ga)
I always try to be gut honest when talking with You. I think I pride myself on it, somehow convinced that sincerity is just as importance as doing what You say. I think You assign value to sincerity but I also know we can be so sincerely wrong in what we do. Lord I need to walk in truth as much as I need to walk truly. I know You want my heart not just my compliance but I think that my compliance may lead me to love You also with my heart. The bottom line is that You want it all, mind, heart, soul, and You ask for it a decision at a time. Cure my insanity. 11/23/2010 Conversations Within ts (Between, Ga)
“Sometimes you have to lose your mind before you can come to your senses.” – Peaceful Warrior
“Prove me, O LORD, and try me; test my heart and my mind.” Ps.26 ESV
I always try to be gut honest when talking with You. I think I pride myself on it, somehow convinced that sincerity is just as importance as doing what You say. I think You assign value to sincerity but I also know we can be so sincerely wrong in what we do. Lord I need to walk in truth as much as I need to walk truly. I know You want my heart not just my compliance but I think that my compliance may lead me to love You also with my heart. The bottom line is that You want it all, mind, heart, soul, and You ask for it a decision at a time. Cure my insanity. 11/23/2010 Conversations Within ts (Between, Ga)
I always try to be gut honest when talking with You. I think I pride myself on it, somehow convinced that sincerity is just as importance as doing what You say. I think You assign value to sincerity but I also know we can be so sincerely wrong in what we do. Lord I need to walk in truth as much as I need to walk truly. I know You want my heart not just my compliance but I think that my compliance may lead me to love You also with my heart. The bottom line is that You want it all, mind, heart, soul, and You ask for it a decision at a time. Cure my insanity. 11/23/2010 Conversations Within ts (Between, Ga)
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Reason is our soul's left hand, Faith her right. John Donne
Reason is our soul's left hand, Faith her right. John Donne
“Where is your faith?" Lk.8 ESV
It seems reasonable to me to believe the eye witness testimony of hundreds of people when they say they witnessed a dead man get up and walk. This is especially true when these people give me no reason to question either their sanity or their honesty. I generally read and believe what is reported in the news and with far less reason than believing the testimony of these first century Christians. When I look at the world ,it makes far more sense to me to believe in Intelligent design than to believe that life came from non-life or that the complex mechanisms of the universe are the result of random chance. Some people choose a blind faith but not all faith is blind. I believe in creation as I believe in the second law of thermodynamics. I believe in the resurrection as I believe that men walked on the moon. A wise faith is rooted in space and time not religious fanaticism. 11/22/2010 Conversations Within ts (Between, Ga)
“Where is your faith?" Lk.8 ESV
It seems reasonable to me to believe the eye witness testimony of hundreds of people when they say they witnessed a dead man get up and walk. This is especially true when these people give me no reason to question either their sanity or their honesty. I generally read and believe what is reported in the news and with far less reason than believing the testimony of these first century Christians. When I look at the world ,it makes far more sense to me to believe in Intelligent design than to believe that life came from non-life or that the complex mechanisms of the universe are the result of random chance. Some people choose a blind faith but not all faith is blind. I believe in creation as I believe in the second law of thermodynamics. I believe in the resurrection as I believe that men walked on the moon. A wise faith is rooted in space and time not religious fanaticism. 11/22/2010 Conversations Within ts (Between, Ga)
Reason is our soul's left hand, Faith her right. John Donne
Reason is our soul's left hand, Faith her right. John Donne
“Where is your faith?" Lk.8 ESV
It seems reasonable to me to believe the eye witness testimony of hundreds of people when they say they witnessed a dead man get up and walk. This is especially true when these people give me no reason to question either their sanity or their honesty. I generally read and believe what is reported in the news and with far less reason than believing the testimony of these first century Christians. When I look at the world ,it makes far more sense to me to believe in Intelligent design than to believe that life came from non-life or that the complex mechanisms of the universe are the result of random chance. Some people choose a blind faith but not all faith is blind. I believe in creation as I believe in the second law of thermodynamics. I believe in the resurrection as I believe that men walked on the moon. A wise faith is rooted in space and time not religious fanaticism. 11/22/2010 Conversations Within ts (Between, Ga)
“Where is your faith?" Lk.8 ESV
It seems reasonable to me to believe the eye witness testimony of hundreds of people when they say they witnessed a dead man get up and walk. This is especially true when these people give me no reason to question either their sanity or their honesty. I generally read and believe what is reported in the news and with far less reason than believing the testimony of these first century Christians. When I look at the world ,it makes far more sense to me to believe in Intelligent design than to believe that life came from non-life or that the complex mechanisms of the universe are the result of random chance. Some people choose a blind faith but not all faith is blind. I believe in creation as I believe in the second law of thermodynamics. I believe in the resurrection as I believe that men walked on the moon. A wise faith is rooted in space and time not religious fanaticism. 11/22/2010 Conversations Within ts (Between, Ga)
Friday, November 26, 2010
“Thanksgiving dinners take eighteen hours to prepare. They are consumed in twelve minutes. Half-times take twelve minutes....
...This is not coincidence.” Erma Bombeck
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever. Ps.136 ESV
For some, life is all about chance, mere coincidence. Even the Good Book observes that time and chance happen to everything and everyone under the sun. Coincidences certainly happen. But when does coincidence stop being mere coincidence. Is it mere chance that the earth is the perfect distance from the sun, that our atmosphere is perfectly balanced to sustain life? Can time plus chance really explain the complexity of life on our planet or the events of my life that matter? I think not. How many buckets of paint would I have to spill to reproduce a copy of the Mono Lisa? How long would I have to shake a box of Lincoln Logs to open it and find a perfectly assembled miniature log cabin. How many print shops would I have to explode to reproduce on paper the simple sentence.“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” Some things just can't be explained by mere chance. 11/19/2010 Conversations Within ts (Between, Ga)
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever. Ps.136 ESV
For some, life is all about chance, mere coincidence. Even the Good Book observes that time and chance happen to everything and everyone under the sun. Coincidences certainly happen. But when does coincidence stop being mere coincidence. Is it mere chance that the earth is the perfect distance from the sun, that our atmosphere is perfectly balanced to sustain life? Can time plus chance really explain the complexity of life on our planet or the events of my life that matter? I think not. How many buckets of paint would I have to spill to reproduce a copy of the Mono Lisa? How long would I have to shake a box of Lincoln Logs to open it and find a perfectly assembled miniature log cabin. How many print shops would I have to explode to reproduce on paper the simple sentence.“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” Some things just can't be explained by mere chance. 11/19/2010 Conversations Within ts (Between, Ga)
“Thanksgiving dinners take eighteen hours to prepare. They are consumed in twelve minutes. Half-times take twelve minutes....
...This is not coincidence.” Erma Bombeck
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever. Ps.136 ESV
For some, life is all about chance, mere coincidence. Even the Good Book observes that time and chance happen to everything and everyone under the sun. Coincidences certainly happen. But when does coincidence stop being mere coincidence. Is it mere chance that the earth is the perfect distance from the sun, that our atmosphere is perfectly balanced to sustain life? Can time plus chance really explain the complexity of life on our planet or the events of my life that matter? I think not. How many buckets of paint would I have to spill to reproduce a copy of the Mono Lisa? How long would I have to shake a box of Lincoln Logs to open it and find a perfectly assembled miniature log cabin. How many print shops would I have to explode to reproduce on paper the simple sentence.“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” Some things just can't be explained by mere chance. 11/19/2010 Conversations Within ts (Between, Ga)
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever. Ps.136 ESV
For some, life is all about chance, mere coincidence. Even the Good Book observes that time and chance happen to everything and everyone under the sun. Coincidences certainly happen. But when does coincidence stop being mere coincidence. Is it mere chance that the earth is the perfect distance from the sun, that our atmosphere is perfectly balanced to sustain life? Can time plus chance really explain the complexity of life on our planet or the events of my life that matter? I think not. How many buckets of paint would I have to spill to reproduce a copy of the Mono Lisa? How long would I have to shake a box of Lincoln Logs to open it and find a perfectly assembled miniature log cabin. How many print shops would I have to explode to reproduce on paper the simple sentence.“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” Some things just can't be explained by mere chance. 11/19/2010 Conversations Within ts (Between, Ga)
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Happy Thanksgiving!
“Security is not the absence of danger, but the presence of God, no matter what the danger.”
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever. Ps.136 ESV
As I contemplate Your steadfast love I can here you say things like, “I'm not going anywhere. I have been there for you countless times, I will be there for you countless times again.” I know that though so many thing around me are changing, Your love does not. You cannot love me anymore than You already do. My security, the health of my life all depend on Your steadfast love and I will always find You standing watch. I think death is certain? Ha, the death of Christ is the death of death and long after death is no more You will still be loving Your own.” What can we say to these things but thank You, Your steadfast love endures forever. 11/18/2010 Conversations Within ts (On the road to Between)
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever. Ps.136 ESV
As I contemplate Your steadfast love I can here you say things like, “I'm not going anywhere. I have been there for you countless times, I will be there for you countless times again.” I know that though so many thing around me are changing, Your love does not. You cannot love me anymore than You already do. My security, the health of my life all depend on Your steadfast love and I will always find You standing watch. I think death is certain? Ha, the death of Christ is the death of death and long after death is no more You will still be loving Your own.” What can we say to these things but thank You, Your steadfast love endures forever. 11/18/2010 Conversations Within ts (On the road to Between)
Happy Thanksgiving!
“Security is not the absence of danger, but the presence of God, no matter what the danger.”
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever. Ps.136 ESV
As I contemplate Your steadfast love I can here you say things like, “I'm not going anywhere. I have been there for you countless times, I will be there for you countless times again.” I know that though so many thing around me are changing, Your love does not. You cannot love me anymore than You already do. My security, the health of my life all depend on Your steadfast love and I will always find You standing watch. I think death is certain? Ha, the death of Christ is the death of death and long after death is no more You will still be loving Your own.” What can we say to these things but thank You, Your steadfast love endures forever. 11/18/2010 Conversations Within ts (On the road to Between)
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever. Ps.136 ESV
As I contemplate Your steadfast love I can here you say things like, “I'm not going anywhere. I have been there for you countless times, I will be there for you countless times again.” I know that though so many thing around me are changing, Your love does not. You cannot love me anymore than You already do. My security, the health of my life all depend on Your steadfast love and I will always find You standing watch. I think death is certain? Ha, the death of Christ is the death of death and long after death is no more You will still be loving Your own.” What can we say to these things but thank You, Your steadfast love endures forever. 11/18/2010 Conversations Within ts (On the road to Between)
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Col.1 ESV
The power to enjoy does not lie in our circumstances but in our hearts. Peaceful surroundings mean little if the heart is not at peace. Lasting happiness comes from within and is sustained by the singular knowledge that all is well when I am well with God. Joy is the fruit of His quiet presence within. He leads me beside still waters without because of still waters flowing within. Joy within spills over into everything else. He leads me to fine joy in pleasure and always without guilt, joy my family and friends, joy in my work and joy even in sorrow. Joy to the world, the Lord is come, He has come to live in me! 11/18/2010 Conversations Within ts (Augusta, GA)
“Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Col.1 ESV
The power to enjoy does not lie in our circumstances but in our hearts. Peaceful surroundings mean little if the heart is not at peace. Lasting happiness comes from within and is sustained by the singular knowledge that all is well when I am well with God. Joy is the fruit of His quiet presence within. He leads me beside still waters without because of still waters flowing within. Joy within spills over into everything else. He leads me to fine joy in pleasure and always without guilt, joy my family and friends, joy in my work and joy even in sorrow. Joy to the world, the Lord is come, He has come to live in me! 11/18/2010 Conversations Within ts (Augusta, GA)
“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Col.1 ESV
The power to enjoy does not lie in our circumstances but in our hearts. Peaceful surroundings mean little if the heart is not at peace. Lasting happiness comes from within and is sustained by the singular knowledge that all is well when I am well with God. Joy is the fruit of His quiet presence within. He leads me beside still waters without because of still waters flowing within. Joy within spills over into everything else. He leads me to fine joy in pleasure and always without guilt, joy my family and friends, joy in my work and joy even in sorrow. Joy to the world, the Lord is come, He has come to live in me! 11/18/2010 Conversations Within ts (Augusta, GA)
“Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Col.1 ESV
The power to enjoy does not lie in our circumstances but in our hearts. Peaceful surroundings mean little if the heart is not at peace. Lasting happiness comes from within and is sustained by the singular knowledge that all is well when I am well with God. Joy is the fruit of His quiet presence within. He leads me beside still waters without because of still waters flowing within. Joy within spills over into everything else. He leads me to fine joy in pleasure and always without guilt, joy my family and friends, joy in my work and joy even in sorrow. Joy to the world, the Lord is come, He has come to live in me! 11/18/2010 Conversations Within ts (Augusta, GA)
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
“What we're really talking about is a wonderful day set aside on the fourth Thursday of November when no one diets...
...I mean, why else would they call it Thanksgiving?” Erma Bombeck
“Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb." Rev.19 ESV
I am not only grateful for blessings I've received but also for blessings yet to come. My gratitude not only looks back it assumes that more is on the way. This grateful assumption is not based on any worthiness I have to receive new graces but on the absolute goodness of the One from whom all graces flow. I am grateful that I have never known a day of hunger but I am also grateful that a feast is planned for my future. Save your fork, desert is still to be served. 11/16/2010 Conversations Within ts (Augusta, GA)
“Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb." Rev.19 ESV
I am not only grateful for blessings I've received but also for blessings yet to come. My gratitude not only looks back it assumes that more is on the way. This grateful assumption is not based on any worthiness I have to receive new graces but on the absolute goodness of the One from whom all graces flow. I am grateful that I have never known a day of hunger but I am also grateful that a feast is planned for my future. Save your fork, desert is still to be served. 11/16/2010 Conversations Within ts (Augusta, GA)
“What we're really talking about is a wonderful day set aside on the fourth Thursday of November when no one diets...
...I mean, why else would they call it Thanksgiving?” Erma Bombeck
“Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb." Rev.19 ESV
I am not only grateful for blessings I've received but also for blessings yet to come. My gratitude not only looks back it assumes that more is on the way. This grateful assumption is not based on any worthiness I have to receive new graces but on the absolute goodness of the One from whom all graces flow. I am grateful that I have never known a day of hunger but I am also grateful that a feast is planned for my future. Save your fork, desert is still to be served. 11/16/2010 Conversations Within ts (Augusta, GA)
“Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb." Rev.19 ESV
I am not only grateful for blessings I've received but also for blessings yet to come. My gratitude not only looks back it assumes that more is on the way. This grateful assumption is not based on any worthiness I have to receive new graces but on the absolute goodness of the One from whom all graces flow. I am grateful that I have never known a day of hunger but I am also grateful that a feast is planned for my future. Save your fork, desert is still to be served. 11/16/2010 Conversations Within ts (Augusta, GA)
Monday, November 22, 2010
“My life is my message.” – Gandhi
“ For it is not you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.” Mk.10 ESV
I think everyone's life is their message. Some people have more to say than others. Some have nothing much to say at all except perhaps, “Don't live as I have lived.” I think most people want what they say to match up with what they do. After all who likes a hypocrite? We would be consistent at least in that. But what value is being consistent if my life and and my words are consistently without value. I do not always want my life to match my words if my words are wrong. I have said some pretty stupid things. I don't I don't want my words to match my life if the way I am living is wrong. Perhaps if His words become my words and I live by them, then my message will be His message and I will at last say something of value. I suppose this is why He is called“the Word.”11/16/2010 Conversations Within ts (Augusta, GA)
I think everyone's life is their message. Some people have more to say than others. Some have nothing much to say at all except perhaps, “Don't live as I have lived.” I think most people want what they say to match up with what they do. After all who likes a hypocrite? We would be consistent at least in that. But what value is being consistent if my life and and my words are consistently without value. I do not always want my life to match my words if my words are wrong. I have said some pretty stupid things. I don't I don't want my words to match my life if the way I am living is wrong. Perhaps if His words become my words and I live by them, then my message will be His message and I will at last say something of value. I suppose this is why He is called“the Word.”11/16/2010 Conversations Within ts (Augusta, GA)
“My life is my message.” – Gandhi
“ For it is not you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.” Mk.10 ESV
I think everyone's life is their message. Some people have more to say than others. Some have nothing much to say at all except perhaps, “Don't live as I have lived.” I think most people want what they say to match up with what they do. After all who likes a hypocrite? We would be consistent at least in that. But what value is being consistent if my life and and my words are consistently without value. I do not always want my life to match my words if my words are wrong. I have said some pretty stupid things. I don't I don't want my words to match my life if the way I am living is wrong. Perhaps if His words become my words and I live by them, then my message will be His message and I will at last say something of value. I suppose this is why He is called“the Word.”11/16/2010 Conversations Within ts (Augusta, GA)
I think everyone's life is their message. Some people have more to say than others. Some have nothing much to say at all except perhaps, “Don't live as I have lived.” I think most people want what they say to match up with what they do. After all who likes a hypocrite? We would be consistent at least in that. But what value is being consistent if my life and and my words are consistently without value. I do not always want my life to match my words if my words are wrong. I have said some pretty stupid things. I don't I don't want my words to match my life if the way I am living is wrong. Perhaps if His words become my words and I live by them, then my message will be His message and I will at last say something of value. I suppose this is why He is called“the Word.”11/16/2010 Conversations Within ts (Augusta, GA)
Saturday, November 20, 2010
“It is never too late to be what you might have been.” – George Eliot
“One thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead.” Phil.3 ESV
I have a friend who before becoming a Christian had a number of failed marriages and consequently failed relationships with his children. After becoming a disciple of Jesus, he once told me that all he wanted to do was be a good husband and father but felt that his past would make this impossible. I reminded him of one of the great promises in the Bible. “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” Today my friend is happily married with twelve children and several of them adopted from past marriages. Tomorrow he adopts two more. Whatever knots we have tied in our past, God is able to untie and untangle. 11/15/2010 Conversations Within ts (Augusta, GA)
I have a friend who before becoming a Christian had a number of failed marriages and consequently failed relationships with his children. After becoming a disciple of Jesus, he once told me that all he wanted to do was be a good husband and father but felt that his past would make this impossible. I reminded him of one of the great promises in the Bible. “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” Today my friend is happily married with twelve children and several of them adopted from past marriages. Tomorrow he adopts two more. Whatever knots we have tied in our past, God is able to untie and untangle. 11/15/2010 Conversations Within ts (Augusta, GA)
“It is never too late to be what you might have been.” – George Eliot
“One thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead.” Phil.3 ESV
I have a friend who before becoming a Christian had a number of failed marriages and consequently failed relationships with his children. After becoming a disciple of Jesus, he once told me that all he wanted to do was be a good husband and father but felt that his past would make this impossible. I reminded him of one of the great promises in the Bible. “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” Today my friend is happily married with twelve children and several of them adopted from past marriages. Tomorrow he adopts two more. Whatever knots we have tied in our past, God is able to untie and untangle. 11/15/2010 Conversations Within ts (Augusta, GA)
I have a friend who before becoming a Christian had a number of failed marriages and consequently failed relationships with his children. After becoming a disciple of Jesus, he once told me that all he wanted to do was be a good husband and father but felt that his past would make this impossible. I reminded him of one of the great promises in the Bible. “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” Today my friend is happily married with twelve children and several of them adopted from past marriages. Tomorrow he adopts two more. Whatever knots we have tied in our past, God is able to untie and untangle. 11/15/2010 Conversations Within ts (Augusta, GA)
Friday, November 19, 2010
“If wrinkles must be written upon our brow, let them not be written upon the heart. The spirit should not grow old.” – James A. Garfield
“But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day.” Pro.4 ESV
We cannot stop the body from aging or our health ultimately from declining, but every soul set free grows younger even while it matures. The inner path of those who have come to believe in the resurrection always faces east. We have within us the power to choose our gaze, to look at the Son is rising in us even as the sun of this world is setting behind us. Physically I may be playing the back nine, but spiritually the game is only beginning. 11/14/2010 Conversations Within ts (Augusta, GA)
We cannot stop the body from aging or our health ultimately from declining, but every soul set free grows younger even while it matures. The inner path of those who have come to believe in the resurrection always faces east. We have within us the power to choose our gaze, to look at the Son is rising in us even as the sun of this world is setting behind us. Physically I may be playing the back nine, but spiritually the game is only beginning. 11/14/2010 Conversations Within ts (Augusta, GA)
“If wrinkles must be written upon our brow, let them not be written upon the heart. The spirit should not grow old.” – James A. Garfield
“But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day.” Pro.4 ESV
We cannot stop the body from aging or our health ultimately from declining, but every soul set free grows younger even while it matures. The inner path of those who have come to believe in the resurrection always faces east. We have within us the power to choose our gaze, to look at the Son is rising in us even as the sun of this world is setting behind us. Physically I may be playing the back nine, but spiritually the game is only beginning. 11/14/2010 Conversations Within ts (Augusta, GA)
We cannot stop the body from aging or our health ultimately from declining, but every soul set free grows younger even while it matures. The inner path of those who have come to believe in the resurrection always faces east. We have within us the power to choose our gaze, to look at the Son is rising in us even as the sun of this world is setting behind us. Physically I may be playing the back nine, but spiritually the game is only beginning. 11/14/2010 Conversations Within ts (Augusta, GA)
Thursday, November 18, 2010
“Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.” – Albert Einstein.
“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory...Amen.” Eph.3 NIV
I have an active imagination and have used it many times to escape moments of boredom. These days I piddle on my smart phone for that. To bring something from the world of imagination to the world of reality is better than using our imagination to escape reality. But as wonderful as imagination is, there are limits. This is why I am glad that glory will not be restricted by my powers of imagination. I can imagine a lot where heaven is concerned. But happily glory will be designed by the unlimited imagination and power of God who is able to do exceedingly and abundantly more than what I can imagine, in fact, more than the combined imagination of us all. But it is His power working in us not just around us that will exceed our expectations. Regardless of what external delights await us in glory it will be our transformed inner world that makes it Heaven to us. 11/13/2010 Conversations Within ts (Myrtle Beach SC)
I have an active imagination and have used it many times to escape moments of boredom. These days I piddle on my smart phone for that. To bring something from the world of imagination to the world of reality is better than using our imagination to escape reality. But as wonderful as imagination is, there are limits. This is why I am glad that glory will not be restricted by my powers of imagination. I can imagine a lot where heaven is concerned. But happily glory will be designed by the unlimited imagination and power of God who is able to do exceedingly and abundantly more than what I can imagine, in fact, more than the combined imagination of us all. But it is His power working in us not just around us that will exceed our expectations. Regardless of what external delights await us in glory it will be our transformed inner world that makes it Heaven to us. 11/13/2010 Conversations Within ts (Myrtle Beach SC)
“Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.” – Albert Einstein.
“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory...Amen.” Eph.3 NIV
I have an active imagination and have used it many times to escape moments of boredom. These days I piddle on my smart phone for that. To bring something from the world of imagination to the world of reality is better than using our imagination to escape reality. But as wonderful as imagination is, there are limits. This is why I am glad that glory will not be restricted by my powers of imagination. I can imagine a lot where heaven is concerned. But happily glory will be designed by the unlimited imagination and power of God who is able to do exceedingly and abundantly more than what I can imagine, in fact, more than the combined imagination of us all. But it is His power working in us not just around us that will exceed our expectations. Regardless of what external delights await us in glory it will be our transformed inner world that makes it Heaven to us. 11/13/2010 Conversations Within ts (Myrtle Beach SC)
I have an active imagination and have used it many times to escape moments of boredom. These days I piddle on my smart phone for that. To bring something from the world of imagination to the world of reality is better than using our imagination to escape reality. But as wonderful as imagination is, there are limits. This is why I am glad that glory will not be restricted by my powers of imagination. I can imagine a lot where heaven is concerned. But happily glory will be designed by the unlimited imagination and power of God who is able to do exceedingly and abundantly more than what I can imagine, in fact, more than the combined imagination of us all. But it is His power working in us not just around us that will exceed our expectations. Regardless of what external delights await us in glory it will be our transformed inner world that makes it Heaven to us. 11/13/2010 Conversations Within ts (Myrtle Beach SC)
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
“One person with a belief is equal to a force of 99 who have only interests.” – John Stuart Mill
“All things are possible for one who believes." Mk.9 ESV
I keep wondering if it is possible for me to really believe that all things are possible for the one who believes. Somewhere in the back of my mind I hear the haunting words of Jedi Master Yoda, “This is why you fail.” “Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.” 11/12/2010 Conversations Within ts (Myrtle Beach SC)
I keep wondering if it is possible for me to really believe that all things are possible for the one who believes. Somewhere in the back of my mind I hear the haunting words of Jedi Master Yoda, “This is why you fail.” “Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.” 11/12/2010 Conversations Within ts (Myrtle Beach SC)
“One person with a belief is equal to a force of 99 who have only interests.” – John Stuart Mill
“All things are possible for one who believes." Mk.9 ESV
I keep wondering if it is possible for me to really believe that all things are possible for the one who believes. Somewhere in the back of my mind I hear the haunting words of Jedi Master Yoda, “This is why you fail.” “Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.” 11/12/2010 Conversations Within ts (Myrtle Beach SC)
I keep wondering if it is possible for me to really believe that all things are possible for the one who believes. Somewhere in the back of my mind I hear the haunting words of Jedi Master Yoda, “This is why you fail.” “Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.” 11/12/2010 Conversations Within ts (Myrtle Beach SC)
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
“The trouble with not having a goal is that you can spend your life running up and down the field and never score.” – Bill Copeland
“I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Phil.3 ESV
Certainly one goal I can set for myself is to answer the upward call. The call is always upward. God's call would lead me up the slopes of living for something greater than myself, to ascend by rising above selfishness and to mature beyond some animal instinct for survival. I believe the upward call rings in every person. It is that desire to be better than you are, especially where people are concerned. The message of Jesus is that we can live as sons and daughters of the Most High. He invites us to dwell on high with Him, to breathe the celestial air of divine purpose and divine love. Every goal I might set myself, for my health, my career, my family can be altered by this upward path. If I am not ascending this divine life I am going no where. “Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither.” C.S. Lewis 11/11/2010 Conversations Within ts (Chapel Hill NC)
Certainly one goal I can set for myself is to answer the upward call. The call is always upward. God's call would lead me up the slopes of living for something greater than myself, to ascend by rising above selfishness and to mature beyond some animal instinct for survival. I believe the upward call rings in every person. It is that desire to be better than you are, especially where people are concerned. The message of Jesus is that we can live as sons and daughters of the Most High. He invites us to dwell on high with Him, to breathe the celestial air of divine purpose and divine love. Every goal I might set myself, for my health, my career, my family can be altered by this upward path. If I am not ascending this divine life I am going no where. “Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither.” C.S. Lewis 11/11/2010 Conversations Within ts (Chapel Hill NC)
“The trouble with not having a goal is that you can spend your life running up and down the field and never score.” – Bill Copeland
“I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Phil.3 ESV
Certainly one goal I can set for myself is to answer the upward call. The call is always upward. God's call would lead me up the slopes of living for something greater than myself, to ascend by rising above selfishness and to mature beyond some animal instinct for survival. I believe the upward call rings in every person. It is that desire to be better than you are, especially where people are concerned. The message of Jesus is that we can live as sons and daughters of the Most High. He invites us to dwell on high with Him, to breathe the celestial air of divine purpose and divine love. Every goal I might set myself, for my health, my career, my family can be altered by this upward path. If I am not ascending this divine life I am going no where. “Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither.” C.S. Lewis 11/11/2010 Conversations Within ts (Chapel Hill NC)
Certainly one goal I can set for myself is to answer the upward call. The call is always upward. God's call would lead me up the slopes of living for something greater than myself, to ascend by rising above selfishness and to mature beyond some animal instinct for survival. I believe the upward call rings in every person. It is that desire to be better than you are, especially where people are concerned. The message of Jesus is that we can live as sons and daughters of the Most High. He invites us to dwell on high with Him, to breathe the celestial air of divine purpose and divine love. Every goal I might set myself, for my health, my career, my family can be altered by this upward path. If I am not ascending this divine life I am going no where. “Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither.” C.S. Lewis 11/11/2010 Conversations Within ts (Chapel Hill NC)
Monday, November 15, 2010
“In life, as in football, you won’t go far unless you know where the goalposts are.” – Arnold H. Glasgow
“I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Phil.3 ESV
If I remember right, the notion of living forever was the first positive thing that attracted me about becoming a Christian. That my sins were forgiven, or the idea of missing eternal damnation was more a relief but living forever, well, that was something to get excited about. I am pretty sure I didn't realize it at the time but getting me ready to appreciate all it means to live forever is part of the package that Jesus offers. It didn't take long to realize that God wasn't going to turn me lose on the shores of eternity and leave me alone but that He has every intention to transform me into something different . It takes some getting used to to realize that your destiny isn't just going to Heaven or a change of geography so much as it is to become a genuine Son of God. All I can say it that it is something like being adopted into a royal family. Realizing that you will spend your life with royals tends to make you want to sit-up straighter. 11/10/2010 Conversations Within ts (Chapel Hill NC)
If I remember right, the notion of living forever was the first positive thing that attracted me about becoming a Christian. That my sins were forgiven, or the idea of missing eternal damnation was more a relief but living forever, well, that was something to get excited about. I am pretty sure I didn't realize it at the time but getting me ready to appreciate all it means to live forever is part of the package that Jesus offers. It didn't take long to realize that God wasn't going to turn me lose on the shores of eternity and leave me alone but that He has every intention to transform me into something different . It takes some getting used to to realize that your destiny isn't just going to Heaven or a change of geography so much as it is to become a genuine Son of God. All I can say it that it is something like being adopted into a royal family. Realizing that you will spend your life with royals tends to make you want to sit-up straighter. 11/10/2010 Conversations Within ts (Chapel Hill NC)
“In life, as in football, you won’t go far unless you know where the goalposts are.” – Arnold H. Glasgow
“I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Phil.3 ESV
If I remember right, the notion of living forever was the first positive thing that attracted me about becoming a Christian. That my sins were forgiven, or the idea of missing eternal damnation was more a relief but living forever, well, that was something to get excited about. I am pretty sure I didn't realize it at the time but getting me ready to appreciate all it means to live forever is part of the package that Jesus offers. It didn't take long to realize that God wasn't going to turn me lose on the shores of eternity and leave me alone but that He has every intention to transform me into something different . It takes some getting used to to realize that your destiny isn't just going to Heaven or a change of geography so much as it is to become a genuine Son of God. All I can say it that it is something like being adopted into a royal family. Realizing that you will spend your life with royals tends to make you want to sit-up straighter. 11/10/2010 Conversations Within ts (Chapel Hill NC)
If I remember right, the notion of living forever was the first positive thing that attracted me about becoming a Christian. That my sins were forgiven, or the idea of missing eternal damnation was more a relief but living forever, well, that was something to get excited about. I am pretty sure I didn't realize it at the time but getting me ready to appreciate all it means to live forever is part of the package that Jesus offers. It didn't take long to realize that God wasn't going to turn me lose on the shores of eternity and leave me alone but that He has every intention to transform me into something different . It takes some getting used to to realize that your destiny isn't just going to Heaven or a change of geography so much as it is to become a genuine Son of God. All I can say it that it is something like being adopted into a royal family. Realizing that you will spend your life with royals tends to make you want to sit-up straighter. 11/10/2010 Conversations Within ts (Chapel Hill NC)
Saturday, November 13, 2010
“Your work is to discover your work and then, with all your heart, to give yourself to it.” – Buddha
“It is good for people to eat, drink, and enjoy their work...” Ecc.5 NLT
One of life's simple pleasures is the enjoyment of work, well maybe. People often talk as if they hate going to work. I suppose people feel this way if work is viewed as cursed toil. This is easy to do if we accept Adam's story. But this view of work fails to take into account that Christ has come to redeem our lives including the work of our hands. In Him all labor becomes of means of enjoyment, an offering to God, one expression of a fruitful and abundant life. He turns work into play, duty into delight and gives eternal meaning to our time on the clock. Such transformation isn't to be found in what we do as it is in what we become not in our work conditions but the condition of our heart. 11/9/2010 Conversations Within ts (Chapel Hill NC)
One of life's simple pleasures is the enjoyment of work, well maybe. People often talk as if they hate going to work. I suppose people feel this way if work is viewed as cursed toil. This is easy to do if we accept Adam's story. But this view of work fails to take into account that Christ has come to redeem our lives including the work of our hands. In Him all labor becomes of means of enjoyment, an offering to God, one expression of a fruitful and abundant life. He turns work into play, duty into delight and gives eternal meaning to our time on the clock. Such transformation isn't to be found in what we do as it is in what we become not in our work conditions but the condition of our heart. 11/9/2010 Conversations Within ts (Chapel Hill NC)
“Your work is to discover your work and then, with all your heart, to give yourself to it.” – Buddha
“It is good for people to eat, drink, and enjoy their work...” Ecc.5 NLT
One of life's simple pleasures is the enjoyment of work, well maybe. People often talk as if they hate going to work. I suppose people feel this way if work is viewed as cursed toil. This is easy to do if we accept Adam's story. But this view of work fails to take into account that Christ has come to redeem our lives including the work of our hands. In Him all labor becomes of means of enjoyment, an offering to God, one expression of a fruitful and abundant life. He turns work into play, duty into delight and gives eternal meaning to our time on the clock. Such transformation isn't to be found in what we do as it is in what we become not in our work conditions but the condition of our heart. 11/9/2010 Conversations Within ts (Chapel Hill NC)
One of life's simple pleasures is the enjoyment of work, well maybe. People often talk as if they hate going to work. I suppose people feel this way if work is viewed as cursed toil. This is easy to do if we accept Adam's story. But this view of work fails to take into account that Christ has come to redeem our lives including the work of our hands. In Him all labor becomes of means of enjoyment, an offering to God, one expression of a fruitful and abundant life. He turns work into play, duty into delight and gives eternal meaning to our time on the clock. Such transformation isn't to be found in what we do as it is in what we become not in our work conditions but the condition of our heart. 11/9/2010 Conversations Within ts (Chapel Hill NC)
Friday, November 12, 2010
“We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience” – Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
“like irrational animals, creatures of instinct...” 2Pt.2
The simple adage, “Aim at nothing and you will hit it every time,” makes the pointed observation that if we don’t live our lives on purpose there will be no positive focus to our lives. A casual glance at creation reveals that every living thing is born with drive even if it is only animal instinct. But people who are made in the image of God are designed for something more than life as a mere animal. No doubt that Adam’s body was taken from earth and that he shares that kinship with animals but he was also made a living soul, a spiritual creature. To be an image bearer is to rise above the mere instinctive drive to eat, drink, survive and reproduce. What is tragic it that many of us never discover what it means to be made in the in the image of God. Christ became one of us that we might grow up into Him and discover our full potential. Certainly every Einstein, Mozart, Michael Jordon or Mother Theresa gives us a glimpse of our potential as image bearers. But once set free from earthly bonds, what we shall become is best witnessed in Jesus. 11/7/2010 Conversations Within ts (Chapel Hill NC)
The simple adage, “Aim at nothing and you will hit it every time,” makes the pointed observation that if we don’t live our lives on purpose there will be no positive focus to our lives. A casual glance at creation reveals that every living thing is born with drive even if it is only animal instinct. But people who are made in the image of God are designed for something more than life as a mere animal. No doubt that Adam’s body was taken from earth and that he shares that kinship with animals but he was also made a living soul, a spiritual creature. To be an image bearer is to rise above the mere instinctive drive to eat, drink, survive and reproduce. What is tragic it that many of us never discover what it means to be made in the in the image of God. Christ became one of us that we might grow up into Him and discover our full potential. Certainly every Einstein, Mozart, Michael Jordon or Mother Theresa gives us a glimpse of our potential as image bearers. But once set free from earthly bonds, what we shall become is best witnessed in Jesus. 11/7/2010 Conversations Within ts (Chapel Hill NC)
“We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience” – Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
“like irrational animals, creatures of instinct...” 2Pt.2
The simple adage, “Aim at nothing and you will hit it every time,” makes the pointed observation that if we don’t live our lives on purpose there will be no positive focus to our lives. A casual glance at creation reveals that every living thing is born with drive even if it is only animal instinct. But people who are made in the image of God are designed for something more than life as a mere animal. No doubt that Adam’s body was taken from earth and that he shares that kinship with animals but he was also made a living soul, a spiritual creature. To be an image bearer is to rise above the mere instinctive drive to eat, drink, survive and reproduce. What is tragic it that many of us never discover what it means to be made in the in the image of God. Christ became one of us that we might grow up into Him and discover our full potential. Certainly every Einstein, Mozart, Michael Jordon or Mother Theresa gives us a glimpse of our potential as image bearers. But once set free from earthly bonds, what we shall become is best witnessed in Jesus. 11/7/2010 Conversations Within ts (Chapel Hill NC)
The simple adage, “Aim at nothing and you will hit it every time,” makes the pointed observation that if we don’t live our lives on purpose there will be no positive focus to our lives. A casual glance at creation reveals that every living thing is born with drive even if it is only animal instinct. But people who are made in the image of God are designed for something more than life as a mere animal. No doubt that Adam’s body was taken from earth and that he shares that kinship with animals but he was also made a living soul, a spiritual creature. To be an image bearer is to rise above the mere instinctive drive to eat, drink, survive and reproduce. What is tragic it that many of us never discover what it means to be made in the in the image of God. Christ became one of us that we might grow up into Him and discover our full potential. Certainly every Einstein, Mozart, Michael Jordon or Mother Theresa gives us a glimpse of our potential as image bearers. But once set free from earthly bonds, what we shall become is best witnessed in Jesus. 11/7/2010 Conversations Within ts (Chapel Hill NC)
Thursday, November 11, 2010
"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail" Ralph Waldo Emerson
“The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.” Pro.16 ESV
Some people wait for doors to open, some simply open doors and walk through, still others create doors where none exist but the success or failure of any of these approaches is decided by God. It is more important that we attend not so much to our personal approach where doors are concerned, as it is that we fear God and humbly commit our way to Him. Whatever our approach, God decides. If we would have him decide in our favor let us walk in His. I am not saying that our approach isn't important but when we make His will our first concern He will direct us to what approach best fits the moment. 11/7/2010 Conversations Within ts (Chapel Hill NC)
Some people wait for doors to open, some simply open doors and walk through, still others create doors where none exist but the success or failure of any of these approaches is decided by God. It is more important that we attend not so much to our personal approach where doors are concerned, as it is that we fear God and humbly commit our way to Him. Whatever our approach, God decides. If we would have him decide in our favor let us walk in His. I am not saying that our approach isn't important but when we make His will our first concern He will direct us to what approach best fits the moment. 11/7/2010 Conversations Within ts (Chapel Hill NC)
"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail" Ralph Waldo Emerson
“The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.” Pro.16 ESV
Some people wait for doors to open, some simply open doors and walk through, still others create doors where none exist but the success or failure of any of these approaches is decided by God. It is more important that we attend not so much to our personal approach where doors are concerned, as it is that we fear God and humbly commit our way to Him. Whatever our approach, God decides. If we would have him decide in our favor let us walk in His. I am not saying that our approach isn't important but when we make His will our first concern He will direct us to what approach best fits the moment. 11/7/2010 Conversations Within ts (Chapel Hill NC)
Some people wait for doors to open, some simply open doors and walk through, still others create doors where none exist but the success or failure of any of these approaches is decided by God. It is more important that we attend not so much to our personal approach where doors are concerned, as it is that we fear God and humbly commit our way to Him. Whatever our approach, God decides. If we would have him decide in our favor let us walk in His. I am not saying that our approach isn't important but when we make His will our first concern He will direct us to what approach best fits the moment. 11/7/2010 Conversations Within ts (Chapel Hill NC)
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
“And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.” Abraham Lincoln
“And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.” Abraham Lincoln
“I have come that you might have life, and have it abundantly.” Jesus
What is life if it isn't lived. It matters little if I survive to old age if all I do is survive. We might be tempted to think that a good life is a collection of new experiences. I suppose there is some enjoyment in that. But what are experiences if they are not shared. We might as well ask, what is life if it isn't shared? It is in our relationships that meaning is given to our experiences. It is our friendships that enrich them. How precious is life, how valuable the friends who share it with us! 11/6/2010 Conversations Within ts (Chapel Hill NC)
“I have come that you might have life, and have it abundantly.” Jesus
What is life if it isn't lived. It matters little if I survive to old age if all I do is survive. We might be tempted to think that a good life is a collection of new experiences. I suppose there is some enjoyment in that. But what are experiences if they are not shared. We might as well ask, what is life if it isn't shared? It is in our relationships that meaning is given to our experiences. It is our friendships that enrich them. How precious is life, how valuable the friends who share it with us! 11/6/2010 Conversations Within ts (Chapel Hill NC)
“And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.” Abraham Lincoln
“And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.” Abraham Lincoln
“I have come that you might have life, and have it abundantly.” Jesus
What is life if it isn't lived. It matters little if I survive to old age if all I do is survive. We might be tempted to think that a good life is a collection of new experiences. I suppose there is some enjoyment in that. But what are experiences if they are not shared. We might as well ask, what is life if it isn't shared? It is in our relationships that meaning is given to our experiences. It is our friendships that enrich them. How precious is life, how valuable the friends who share it with us! 11/6/2010 Conversations Within ts (Chapel Hill NC)
“I have come that you might have life, and have it abundantly.” Jesus
What is life if it isn't lived. It matters little if I survive to old age if all I do is survive. We might be tempted to think that a good life is a collection of new experiences. I suppose there is some enjoyment in that. But what are experiences if they are not shared. We might as well ask, what is life if it isn't shared? It is in our relationships that meaning is given to our experiences. It is our friendships that enrich them. How precious is life, how valuable the friends who share it with us! 11/6/2010 Conversations Within ts (Chapel Hill NC)
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” – Albert Einstein
Then Elisha prayed and said, "O LORD, please open his eyes that he may see." 2Kg.6 ESV
Most of the people I talk with believe that there is intelligent life scattered in the universe. Even more interesting is that just about everybody accepts that there is life outside the universe. By that I mean supernatural life, i.e. God, angels, demons even loved ones who have transitioned. One definition of a miracle is any event that cannot be explained by the laws of nature and therefore deemed to have a supernatural origin. If there are supernatural events, events outside the physical universe then there is surely more to this life than just this life. I believe in miracles because I believe in God not vise-versa. Technically speaking, if you believe that God created the universe, everything is a miracle, because everything would have a supernatural origin. My life as a Christian is waking me to behold God's hand in natural processes like gravity. Most people would say that if they saw a person truly levitate, not some magic trick mind you, but to really defy gravity they would call it a miracle. Surely it is a blessed faith to also see that it is God's hand using gravity to hold our feet to the ground. 11/5/2010 Conversations Within ts (Chapel Hill NC)
Most of the people I talk with believe that there is intelligent life scattered in the universe. Even more interesting is that just about everybody accepts that there is life outside the universe. By that I mean supernatural life, i.e. God, angels, demons even loved ones who have transitioned. One definition of a miracle is any event that cannot be explained by the laws of nature and therefore deemed to have a supernatural origin. If there are supernatural events, events outside the physical universe then there is surely more to this life than just this life. I believe in miracles because I believe in God not vise-versa. Technically speaking, if you believe that God created the universe, everything is a miracle, because everything would have a supernatural origin. My life as a Christian is waking me to behold God's hand in natural processes like gravity. Most people would say that if they saw a person truly levitate, not some magic trick mind you, but to really defy gravity they would call it a miracle. Surely it is a blessed faith to also see that it is God's hand using gravity to hold our feet to the ground. 11/5/2010 Conversations Within ts (Chapel Hill NC)
“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” – Albert Einstein
Then Elisha prayed and said, "O LORD, please open his eyes that he may see." 2Kg.6 ESV
Most of the people I talk with believe that there is intelligent life scattered in the universe. Even more interesting is that just about everybody accepts that there is life outside the universe. By that I mean supernatural life, i.e. God, angels, demons even loved ones who have transitioned. One definition of a miracle is any event that cannot be explained by the laws of nature and therefore deemed to have a supernatural origin. If there are supernatural events, events outside the physical universe then there is surely more to this life than just this life. I believe in miracles because I believe in God not vise-versa. Technically speaking, if you believe that God created the universe, everything is a miracle, because everything would have a supernatural origin. My life as a Christian is waking me to behold God's hand in natural processes like gravity. Most people would say that if they saw a person truly levitate, not some magic trick mind you, but to really defy gravity they would call it a miracle. Surely it is a blessed faith to also see that it is God's hand using gravity to hold our feet to the ground. 11/5/2010 Conversations Within ts (Chapel Hill NC)
Most of the people I talk with believe that there is intelligent life scattered in the universe. Even more interesting is that just about everybody accepts that there is life outside the universe. By that I mean supernatural life, i.e. God, angels, demons even loved ones who have transitioned. One definition of a miracle is any event that cannot be explained by the laws of nature and therefore deemed to have a supernatural origin. If there are supernatural events, events outside the physical universe then there is surely more to this life than just this life. I believe in miracles because I believe in God not vise-versa. Technically speaking, if you believe that God created the universe, everything is a miracle, because everything would have a supernatural origin. My life as a Christian is waking me to behold God's hand in natural processes like gravity. Most people would say that if they saw a person truly levitate, not some magic trick mind you, but to really defy gravity they would call it a miracle. Surely it is a blessed faith to also see that it is God's hand using gravity to hold our feet to the ground. 11/5/2010 Conversations Within ts (Chapel Hill NC)
Monday, November 8, 2010
“If happy people are healthier and bacon makes me happy...doesn't that make bacon health food?” Anonymous
“And there came a voice to him: "Rise, Peter; kill and eat." Acts 10 (When God decided to lift the ban on bacon.)
Ever wonder why God didn't make carrots taste like bacon? I have a couple of thoughts on it. I think one reason He didn't may be to communicate that the present world is sort of turned upside down, obviously because of our rebellion and that things as they presently exist are not what He intends for us. I also think that He is telling us that in our present state, we must often acquire a taste for things which are good for us seeing that we want so many things bad for us. Bacon gives me hope that there is a new place where nothing I desire will be bad for me. Why? Simply because I will be different and want nothing that is bad for me. It may just be that bacon is bacon and will always need to be eaten in moderation and in glory we will be moderate creatures rather than gluttons. Last, if God can make something that tastes as great as bacon I can't wait to see what is in store for us in the new world. 11/4/2010 Conversations Within ts (Chapel Hill NC)
Ever wonder why God didn't make carrots taste like bacon? I have a couple of thoughts on it. I think one reason He didn't may be to communicate that the present world is sort of turned upside down, obviously because of our rebellion and that things as they presently exist are not what He intends for us. I also think that He is telling us that in our present state, we must often acquire a taste for things which are good for us seeing that we want so many things bad for us. Bacon gives me hope that there is a new place where nothing I desire will be bad for me. Why? Simply because I will be different and want nothing that is bad for me. It may just be that bacon is bacon and will always need to be eaten in moderation and in glory we will be moderate creatures rather than gluttons. Last, if God can make something that tastes as great as bacon I can't wait to see what is in store for us in the new world. 11/4/2010 Conversations Within ts (Chapel Hill NC)
“If happy people are healthier and bacon makes me happy...doesn't that make bacon health food?” Anonymous
“And there came a voice to him: "Rise, Peter; kill and eat." Acts 10 (When God decided to lift the ban on bacon.)
Ever wonder why God didn't make carrots taste like bacon? I have a couple of thoughts on it. I think one reason He didn't may be to communicate that the present world is sort of turned upside down, obviously because of our rebellion and that things as they presently exist are not what He intends for us. I also think that He is telling us that in our present state, we must often acquire a taste for things which are good for us seeing that we want so many things bad for us. Bacon gives me hope that there is a new place where nothing I desire will be bad for me. Why? Simply because I will be different and want nothing that is bad for me. It may just be that bacon is bacon and will always need to be eaten in moderation and in glory we will be moderate creatures rather than gluttons. Last, if God can make something that tastes as great as bacon I can't wait to see what is in store for us in the new world. 11/4/2010 Conversations Within ts (Chapel Hill NC)
Ever wonder why God didn't make carrots taste like bacon? I have a couple of thoughts on it. I think one reason He didn't may be to communicate that the present world is sort of turned upside down, obviously because of our rebellion and that things as they presently exist are not what He intends for us. I also think that He is telling us that in our present state, we must often acquire a taste for things which are good for us seeing that we want so many things bad for us. Bacon gives me hope that there is a new place where nothing I desire will be bad for me. Why? Simply because I will be different and want nothing that is bad for me. It may just be that bacon is bacon and will always need to be eaten in moderation and in glory we will be moderate creatures rather than gluttons. Last, if God can make something that tastes as great as bacon I can't wait to see what is in store for us in the new world. 11/4/2010 Conversations Within ts (Chapel Hill NC)
Saturday, November 6, 2010
“There are two kinds of egotists: Those who admit it, and the rest of us.” Laurence J. Peter
“He gives grace to the humble.” 1Pet.5
If there is anything, anything at all which captures the attention of God, it is said that He gives grace to the humble. Now how to be genuinely humble, well that 's the rub. Benjamin Franklin confessed that humility was a virtue that escaped him and said that the best he could manage was the appearance of it. This of course may serve us with people who make surface judgments but hardly with God who sees the hidden motives of the heart. I think that when I am honest with myself about myself I may be taking the first steps towards being honest with God. When I confess that I have a number motives behind most of what I do and admit that anything of real worth has come or will come from grace, I place myself in a position to receive more of it. Humility is a realistic appraisal of one self and then the act of humbling oneself because of what is discovered. 11/3/2010 Conversations Within ts (On the Road)
If there is anything, anything at all which captures the attention of God, it is said that He gives grace to the humble. Now how to be genuinely humble, well that 's the rub. Benjamin Franklin confessed that humility was a virtue that escaped him and said that the best he could manage was the appearance of it. This of course may serve us with people who make surface judgments but hardly with God who sees the hidden motives of the heart. I think that when I am honest with myself about myself I may be taking the first steps towards being honest with God. When I confess that I have a number motives behind most of what I do and admit that anything of real worth has come or will come from grace, I place myself in a position to receive more of it. Humility is a realistic appraisal of one self and then the act of humbling oneself because of what is discovered. 11/3/2010 Conversations Within ts (On the Road)
“There are two kinds of egotists: Those who admit it, and the rest of us.” Laurence J. Peter
“He gives grace to the humble.” 1Pet.5
If there is anything, anything at all which captures the attention of God, it is said that He gives grace to the humble. Now how to be genuinely humble, well that 's the rub. Benjamin Franklin confessed that humility was a virtue that escaped him and said that the best he could manage was the appearance of it. This of course may serve us with people who make surface judgments but hardly with God who sees the hidden motives of the heart. I think that when I am honest with myself about myself I may be taking the first steps towards being honest with God. When I confess that I have a number motives behind most of what I do and admit that anything of real worth has come or will come from grace, I place myself in a position to receive more of it. Humility is a realistic appraisal of one self and then the act of humbling oneself because of what is discovered. 11/3/2010 Conversations Within ts (On the Road)
If there is anything, anything at all which captures the attention of God, it is said that He gives grace to the humble. Now how to be genuinely humble, well that 's the rub. Benjamin Franklin confessed that humility was a virtue that escaped him and said that the best he could manage was the appearance of it. This of course may serve us with people who make surface judgments but hardly with God who sees the hidden motives of the heart. I think that when I am honest with myself about myself I may be taking the first steps towards being honest with God. When I confess that I have a number motives behind most of what I do and admit that anything of real worth has come or will come from grace, I place myself in a position to receive more of it. Humility is a realistic appraisal of one self and then the act of humbling oneself because of what is discovered. 11/3/2010 Conversations Within ts (On the Road)
Friday, November 5, 2010
“There are advantages to being elected President. The day after I was elected, I had my high school grades classified Top Secret.” Ronald Reagan
“In Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them.” 2Cor.5
Most of us do not need a new word from God but only to live by the words He has already spoken. Most of us already know what we are supposed to do. What is lacking is doing it. Now the good news is that Jesus has paid the penalty for our disobedience and God has graciously forgiven all who trust this. But this does not negate our need for obedience. Grace has come precisely to assist us in it. The Christian message is somewhat like this. God has given all who look to Jesus an “A” for our required course in righteous living. He has done this so that we may study righteousness without the fear of receiving a failing grade. He hasn't given us an “A” so we can skip class and pursue our selfish interests. He removes the pressure of making a passing grade so that we may be free to enjoy the pursuits of righteousness. Christians don't try to live right to earn the eternal state. We seek to acquire a taste for the only food being served there. 11/2/2010 Conversations Within ts (Between)
Most of us do not need a new word from God but only to live by the words He has already spoken. Most of us already know what we are supposed to do. What is lacking is doing it. Now the good news is that Jesus has paid the penalty for our disobedience and God has graciously forgiven all who trust this. But this does not negate our need for obedience. Grace has come precisely to assist us in it. The Christian message is somewhat like this. God has given all who look to Jesus an “A” for our required course in righteous living. He has done this so that we may study righteousness without the fear of receiving a failing grade. He hasn't given us an “A” so we can skip class and pursue our selfish interests. He removes the pressure of making a passing grade so that we may be free to enjoy the pursuits of righteousness. Christians don't try to live right to earn the eternal state. We seek to acquire a taste for the only food being served there. 11/2/2010 Conversations Within ts (Between)
“There are advantages to being elected President. The day after I was elected, I had my high school grades classified Top Secret.” Ronald Reagan
“In Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them.” 2Cor.5
Most of us do not need a new word from God but only to live by the words He has already spoken. Most of us already know what we are supposed to do. What is lacking is doing it. Now the good news is that Jesus has paid the penalty for our disobedience and God has graciously forgiven all who trust this. But this does not negate our need for obedience. Grace has come precisely to assist us in it. The Christian message is somewhat like this. God has given all who look to Jesus an “A” for our required course in righteous living. He has done this so that we may study righteousness without the fear of receiving a failing grade. He hasn't given us an “A” so we can skip class and pursue our selfish interests. He removes the pressure of making a passing grade so that we may be free to enjoy the pursuits of righteousness. Christians don't try to live right to earn the eternal state. We seek to acquire a taste for the only food being served there. 11/2/2010 Conversations Within ts (Between)
Most of us do not need a new word from God but only to live by the words He has already spoken. Most of us already know what we are supposed to do. What is lacking is doing it. Now the good news is that Jesus has paid the penalty for our disobedience and God has graciously forgiven all who trust this. But this does not negate our need for obedience. Grace has come precisely to assist us in it. The Christian message is somewhat like this. God has given all who look to Jesus an “A” for our required course in righteous living. He has done this so that we may study righteousness without the fear of receiving a failing grade. He hasn't given us an “A” so we can skip class and pursue our selfish interests. He removes the pressure of making a passing grade so that we may be free to enjoy the pursuits of righteousness. Christians don't try to live right to earn the eternal state. We seek to acquire a taste for the only food being served there. 11/2/2010 Conversations Within ts (Between)
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Every child instinctively knows how to unscrew an Oreo cookie.
“Like a dog that returns to his vomit is a fool who repeats his folly.” Pr.26 ESV
Yuck! I hate to admit it but I am inclined toward certain sins. Put me in a certain situation and I can pretty much predict my behavior. I lean. Because I lean, when restraint is removed, I fall in the direction of my leanings. It seems that inclinations are somewhat instinctive, we are born with them. You give a child an Oreo cookie and you can pretty much predict what they will do with it. This is why Jesus tells us that to follow Him we must be born again. We must experience a re-birth, and be born with new inclinations, new desires, new instincts. I am writing this morning from the little town of Between Ga. This is somewhat appropriate because I also write somewhere “between' my first birth and my second, squeezing through the birth canal of spiritual regeneration that I might be to be born new, and inclined wholly to do the will of God. 11/1/2010 Conversations Within ts (Between)
Yuck! I hate to admit it but I am inclined toward certain sins. Put me in a certain situation and I can pretty much predict my behavior. I lean. Because I lean, when restraint is removed, I fall in the direction of my leanings. It seems that inclinations are somewhat instinctive, we are born with them. You give a child an Oreo cookie and you can pretty much predict what they will do with it. This is why Jesus tells us that to follow Him we must be born again. We must experience a re-birth, and be born with new inclinations, new desires, new instincts. I am writing this morning from the little town of Between Ga. This is somewhat appropriate because I also write somewhere “between' my first birth and my second, squeezing through the birth canal of spiritual regeneration that I might be to be born new, and inclined wholly to do the will of God. 11/1/2010 Conversations Within ts (Between)
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
“Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it...” ~George Eliot
“And their leaves are for healing." Ezek.47
Oh the wonder of autumn leaves
In their rain of color and hue
Reds whirling and yellows twirling, countless shapes unfurling
Against a canvas of blue.
They glide, they plunge, some flip, even lunge or playfully turn over and over
So delicate so quietly they fall and drape the forest floor with cover.
Each leaf in its flight is as much an individual as I and my journey as brief a journey as theirs. 10/15/2010 Conversations Within ts (NC Mountains)
Oh the wonder of autumn leaves
In their rain of color and hue
Reds whirling and yellows twirling, countless shapes unfurling
Against a canvas of blue.
They glide, they plunge, some flip, even lunge or playfully turn over and over
So delicate so quietly they fall and drape the forest floor with cover.
Each leaf in its flight is as much an individual as I and my journey as brief a journey as theirs. 10/15/2010 Conversations Within ts (NC Mountains)
“Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it...” ~George Eliot
“And their leaves are for healing." Ezek.47
Oh the wonder of autumn leaves
In their rain of color and hue
Reds whirling and yellows twirling, countless shapes unfurling
Against a canvas of blue.
They glide, they plunge, some flip, even lunge or playfully turn over and over
So delicate so quietly they fall and drape the forest floor with cover.
Each leaf in its flight is as much an individual as I and my journey as brief a journey as theirs. 10/15/2010 Conversations Within ts (NC Mountains)
Oh the wonder of autumn leaves
In their rain of color and hue
Reds whirling and yellows twirling, countless shapes unfurling
Against a canvas of blue.
They glide, they plunge, some flip, even lunge or playfully turn over and over
So delicate so quietly they fall and drape the forest floor with cover.
Each leaf in its flight is as much an individual as I and my journey as brief a journey as theirs. 10/15/2010 Conversations Within ts (NC Mountains)
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
“A life without cause is a life without effect.” Barbarella
“The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.” Ecclesiastes 12 ESV
How would I summarize the purpose of life? I suppose from a Christian point of view there are many ways to put it but to me all of them boil down to the same thing. Is there any difference in fearing God, loving God, glorifying Him even enjoying Him? In my mind, not really. Each looks at a facet of the same diamond. Some may wonder how fearing God and loving God have anything to do with one another. I think the wisest man was referring to the fear of respect and awe rather than the fear of dread and terror. I love my father, I can also properly say I fear him. The purpose of life in my mind it to wake to the reality of God and to know my duty as a creature made in His image and to see my duty mature to delight as I come to enjoy all He desires to be for me in life. 10/29/2010 Conversations Within ts (Gunterhill)
How would I summarize the purpose of life? I suppose from a Christian point of view there are many ways to put it but to me all of them boil down to the same thing. Is there any difference in fearing God, loving God, glorifying Him even enjoying Him? In my mind, not really. Each looks at a facet of the same diamond. Some may wonder how fearing God and loving God have anything to do with one another. I think the wisest man was referring to the fear of respect and awe rather than the fear of dread and terror. I love my father, I can also properly say I fear him. The purpose of life in my mind it to wake to the reality of God and to know my duty as a creature made in His image and to see my duty mature to delight as I come to enjoy all He desires to be for me in life. 10/29/2010 Conversations Within ts (Gunterhill)
“A life without cause is a life without effect.” Barbarella
“The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.” Ecclesiastes 12 ESV
How would I summarize the purpose of life? I suppose from a Christian point of view there are many ways to put it but to me all of them boil down to the same thing. Is there any difference in fearing God, loving God, glorifying Him even enjoying Him? In my mind, not really. Each looks at a facet of the same diamond. Some may wonder how fearing God and loving God have anything to do with one another. I think the wisest man was referring to the fear of respect and awe rather than the fear of dread and terror. I love my father, I can also properly say I fear him. The purpose of life in my mind it to wake to the reality of God and to know my duty as a creature made in His image and to see my duty mature to delight as I come to enjoy all He desires to be for me in life. 10/29/2010 Conversations Within ts (Gunterhill)
How would I summarize the purpose of life? I suppose from a Christian point of view there are many ways to put it but to me all of them boil down to the same thing. Is there any difference in fearing God, loving God, glorifying Him even enjoying Him? In my mind, not really. Each looks at a facet of the same diamond. Some may wonder how fearing God and loving God have anything to do with one another. I think the wisest man was referring to the fear of respect and awe rather than the fear of dread and terror. I love my father, I can also properly say I fear him. The purpose of life in my mind it to wake to the reality of God and to know my duty as a creature made in His image and to see my duty mature to delight as I come to enjoy all He desires to be for me in life. 10/29/2010 Conversations Within ts (Gunterhill)
Monday, November 1, 2010
'If there is an itch one does want to scratch... As long as we have the itch of self-regard we shall want the pleasure of self-approval...” C. S. Lewi
'If there is an itch one does want to scratch... As long as we have the itch of self-regard we shall want the pleasure of self-approval...” C. S. Lewis
“And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. “James 3 ESV
Learning self-control may very well begin with something as simple as bridling our tongue. Sometimes when I am on the verge of saying something, that quiet Voice within encourages me not to say it. When He does, I am always amazes at how hard it is for me to hold my tongue once I have thought of something I want to say. Just yesterday I was going to say something to a friend and felt the Spirit's hand on my shoulder prompting me not to say it. Later, I wanted to tell Brenda what I was going to say and again I felt the same encouragement to keep my mouth closed. I inwardly argued back that all I wanted to do was talk to my wife about it. And, as conversations within often go, I distinctly heard, “Why? What will it profit.” It dawned on me that I did not want to share something with my wife for her profit but to scratch some itch I was having just to talk. Perhaps if I learn to say no to talking I may learn to say no to other itches that want to be scratched. I think I have spiritual poison ivy! 10/28/2010 Conversations Within ts (Gunterhill)
“And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. “James 3 ESV
Learning self-control may very well begin with something as simple as bridling our tongue. Sometimes when I am on the verge of saying something, that quiet Voice within encourages me not to say it. When He does, I am always amazes at how hard it is for me to hold my tongue once I have thought of something I want to say. Just yesterday I was going to say something to a friend and felt the Spirit's hand on my shoulder prompting me not to say it. Later, I wanted to tell Brenda what I was going to say and again I felt the same encouragement to keep my mouth closed. I inwardly argued back that all I wanted to do was talk to my wife about it. And, as conversations within often go, I distinctly heard, “Why? What will it profit.” It dawned on me that I did not want to share something with my wife for her profit but to scratch some itch I was having just to talk. Perhaps if I learn to say no to talking I may learn to say no to other itches that want to be scratched. I think I have spiritual poison ivy! 10/28/2010 Conversations Within ts (Gunterhill)
'If there is an itch one does want to scratch... As long as we have the itch of self-regard we shall want the pleasure of self-approval...” C. S. Lewi
'If there is an itch one does want to scratch... As long as we have the itch of self-regard we shall want the pleasure of self-approval...” C. S. Lewis
“And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. “James 3 ESV
Learning self-control may very well begin with something as simple as bridling our tongue. Sometimes when I am on the verge of saying something, that quiet Voice within encourages me not to say it. When He does, I am always amazes at how hard it is for me to hold my tongue once I have thought of something I want to say. Just yesterday I was going to say something to a friend and felt the Spirit's hand on my shoulder prompting me not to say it. Later, I wanted to tell Brenda what I was going to say and again I felt the same encouragement to keep my mouth closed. I inwardly argued back that all I wanted to do was talk to my wife about it. And, as conversations within often go, I distinctly heard, “Why? What will it profit.” It dawned on me that I did not want to share something with my wife for her profit but to scratch some itch I was having just to talk. Perhaps if I learn to say no to talking I may learn to say no to other itches that want to be scratched. I think I have spiritual poison ivy! 10/28/2010 Conversations Within ts (Gunterhill)
“And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. “James 3 ESV
Learning self-control may very well begin with something as simple as bridling our tongue. Sometimes when I am on the verge of saying something, that quiet Voice within encourages me not to say it. When He does, I am always amazes at how hard it is for me to hold my tongue once I have thought of something I want to say. Just yesterday I was going to say something to a friend and felt the Spirit's hand on my shoulder prompting me not to say it. Later, I wanted to tell Brenda what I was going to say and again I felt the same encouragement to keep my mouth closed. I inwardly argued back that all I wanted to do was talk to my wife about it. And, as conversations within often go, I distinctly heard, “Why? What will it profit.” It dawned on me that I did not want to share something with my wife for her profit but to scratch some itch I was having just to talk. Perhaps if I learn to say no to talking I may learn to say no to other itches that want to be scratched. I think I have spiritual poison ivy! 10/28/2010 Conversations Within ts (Gunterhill)
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