Blogotional

Mark Daniels preached a sermon back in June of last year that is simply outstanding:

To yield to fear, to allow it to control our lives, is more than psychologically and physically destructive, though. Fear, quite simply, is the opposite of faith.

Many speak of the "culture of death" we live in, but I worry more about the culture of fear. Children now ride bicycles with so much protection, it is surprising they can move. I have been involved in a couple of day care/nursery school situations where tens of thousands of dollars had to be raised to meet child protection standards for playgrounds that had served children for decades as they were. What were expected bangs, bruises, and broken bones of my childhood have become the great fears of parents today. Don't even get me started on "germs."

What are we afraid of? As Mark says:

When Paul speaks here about “flesh,” he’s talking about the world’s way of doing things. It describes all that we do in order to feel important or secure, gain acceptance from others, and even, to placate God. We can be enslaved to the fear that that system breeds, Paul warns us.

We simply fail to believe that God will take care of us.

And yet, all of us have had hard times of some sort. Maybe financial, maybe health, maybe the loss of a loved one, but here we are. We have all that we need and a God that loves us. God is and has been true to His word - all we have to do is know that. Again, Mark:

Faith is the calm assurance that we are accepted by God as we are.

Faith is the certainty that God accepts and transforms sinners into His friends.

Faith is the belief that no matter what, God is bigger than our problems, bigger even than death, and that when we belong to God, all ultimately will be well.

Faith is the God-given certainty that the Lord we know in Jesus Christ, Who has conquered sin and death, will stand by our sides in all circumstances, granting us peace today and life forever with God tomorrow!

Scripture says:

Isa 35:4 - Say to those with anxious heart, "Take courage, fear not. Behold, your God will come {with} vengeance; the recompense of God will come, but He will save you."

Isa 54:4 - "Fear not, for you will not be put to shame; neither feel humiliated, for you will not be disgraced; but you will forget the shame of your youth, and the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more.

Jer 30:10 - 'And fear not, O Jacob My servant,' declares the LORD, 'And do not be dismayed, O Israel; for behold, I will save you from afar, and your offspring from the land of their captivity. And Jacob shall return, and shall be quiet and at ease, and no one shall make him afraid.

John 12:15 - "Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your King is coming, seated on a donkey's colt."

Amen and Amen.

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Pi calculated to 'record number' of digits

Sounds like fun!

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MMI
quotes a Philly paper on a "sermon" by George Gallup (Yes, the George Gallup.)

Believers could transform the world in a decade by remaining faithful to the church, by caring for others and, by their example, making it easier for people to believe in God, said George Gallup, who has spent 50 years in the field of polling.

Interesting beginning, with the exception of that "making it easier..." part I'm right there with him. I mean how hard it is to believe in God is up to God and nothing worth having is easy. But, the caring and example stuff is pretty good. It continues:

He also said that the lack of cohesiveness among various churches leaves a spiritual vacuum that church leaders could fill if they banded together to speak for those who are marginalized by society.

OK, now I starting to worry, ecumenism and social justice in a single sentence - that's troubling. And then there is this repeat:

He urged the congregation to counter "lukewarm" attitudes by "living spontaneously and with abandon, making it easier for others to believe in God," he said.

Ok, we've descended into liberal claptrap.

There are forces at work to rob the church of two very fundamental things. 1) Truly being a disciple of Jesus is hard, not easy. God has never intended it to be easy - He'll provide us with all the help we need if we let Him, but that's still hard, it's just hard with help. 2) Sin and evil are real, the key to truly being a Christian is to learn how to identify and condemn them while still loving. And that is the hardest task of all.

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Mark Daniels links to a Daily Bread devotional on letting go:

It has been said that “one person’s junk is another’s treasure.” When David Dudley tried to help his parents clear their house of “unnecessary items” before moving to a smaller home, he found it very difficult. He was often angered by his parents’ refusal to part with things they had not used for decades. Finally, David’s father helped him understand that even the worn-out, useless items were tied to close friends and important events. Clearing the clutter felt like throwing away their very lives.

A spiritual parallel to our reluctance to let go of the clutter in our homes may be our inability to clear our hearts of the attitudes that weigh us down.

Note that in the illustration the desire to hold on to things also kept the parents in the home - like virtual prisoners. To be free to move they needed to let go.

The attitudes that hold us back from a deep relationship with Christ enslave and imprison us. They are more than just obstacles, they are shackles. Worse, it is a self-inflicted imprisonment

Why do we hold ourselves in prison?

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Heroes and Artists - Vic Stone -- CYBORG

Ken Lashley

George Perez

Mike McKone

Rags Morales

Angel Unzueta

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Church Marketing Sucks put up an interesting idea:

But what if we took the idea of helping people find a church to the next level? What if instead of just pointing to other churches, we were honest about what people would find at our church? What if we acknowledged our flaws up front so visitors could find out now instead of after six months of pew-warming? What if we gave visitors fair warning about our flaws, issues and firm convictions?

He then goes on to rather sarcastically provide a number of suggestions - some of them funny if you are in the right mood, but in another mood just disturbing. He closes with:

What about your church? If you had to give fair warning to a visitor, what would your church say? They may be honest, embarrassing or nothing to apologize for, but visitors should know. They'll find out eventually.

What a concept - "They'll find out eventually." Could not agree more. He aims his sarcasm at things like worship styles and stances on homosexuality, but what if we aimed deeper - discussed spiritual matters?

Too often we offer people salvation without transformation. We talk about "your sins are forgiven," but mention the "go and sin no more" only in the deepest darkest recesses of a barely attended Sunday school class.

Why do so many churches have a revolving door? Is it really about stuff like worship style and altar calls? Or maybe its because they come and find no roots? Trees, even in a storm, generally stay put when their roots are deep and strong.

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