Boys, Get A Rope.

Examine the picture for a moment, and then think on these things:

Rope can be bendable, stiff, soft, brittle, strong, or weak. Rope can be stretchy, can sink or float, can burn or is fire resistant, can tangle and fray. Rope can be used for good or for bad. Rope can be used to bind or to loosen. Rope can be used to kill or to set free. Rope can be used to move objects or to restrain objects. Rope can be used to rescue or to abandon. Rope can be used to trip or to snare us. Good rope is made up of many strands. Bad rope is made up of few strands. Rope can be rugged and take a lot of punishment, but also benefits from care.

When the life of someone you care about or the security of all your worldly possessions depends on the integrity of a rope, it's better to have a strong, dependable rope that's in good shape and care, rather than relying on an old, worn, brittle, frayed rope. Take care of your rope, and it will take care of you.

I met with several of my Christian brothers last night as we were all 'tied up' discussing several issues that tend to bind us up, that 'trip' us in our Christian walk. I've heard it said before, and felt it was relevant. So I reminded the guys that when we're together, we are much stronger than we are when we're alone. When we're at work, in our office, at school, out to eat, anywhere that we can name where we are alone or away from our Christian influences, we can become tempted and be 'tripped' up so much more easily than when we're 'bound' together.

Think of our lives, our purpose, our responsibilities toward each other, and I'm reminded of our group as being like a rope. Guys, we're tied and wound up together in this Christian life. Separately, we're weak. But together, we're strong. We can handle so many things together, that would absolutely destroy us when we're apart. Take it further, and our group could be only a small portion of the larger rope. As you've already read, and seen and studied the picture, Rope is made up of many single strands of thread called yarn, which are in turn twisted together into larger strands, which are in turn twisted into larger strands called Rope. When one single strand is broken, the other strands help to carry the load. Our lives should be the same way. When we're hurting, we need to let our brothers know, so that we can help to carry the load. And together, we can pull ourselves out of any situation. Together, we can pull down any walls. Together, we can lift anyone up from out of the pit. Together, we can bind up the devil; we can tie him up to a tree. Together, we can loosen the strangle-hold of hate we have for others by learning to become soft and bendable. Together, we can pull the rocks and trees and stumbling blocks that are before us. But apart, we can do nothing.

Let's take care of what we have brothers. Let us nurture it, care for it, untangle it, straighten it, and soften it. More than that, let us add to it by tying more and more to us, so that we can continue to grow and become even stronger. Think of all the people you know who are by themselves. Let us help to save them. Let us give them the chance to make it - together.

The DISC "C" Personality Type

I learned something about myself, that I never really knew. Or maybe the thought crossed my mind, but didn't fully know or realize it. This morning, in our new Married class in church, which focuses on building better marriages by learning to become a better person, I learned a lot about myself that I didn't know. Why do I act a certain way? Why do I interact with others a certain way? Why do my emotions get the best of me sometimes? Why do I treat my wife and kids the way I do. Why do I work the way I do? I was so interested after our class, that I wanted to know further about me, so I did a quick little research, (a major personality characteristic of the "C" type personality) and my eyes were opened a little further. Now it's been said that most people are hardly ever 100% single personality, but they share some other personality traits, and this further makes everyone unique. In fact, those of you who are familiar with the DISC behavioral style analysis ( I found my information here: http://www.wittcom.com/what_is_DISC.htm ) might be interested to know that I was about 60% "C" type and 40% "S" type. So you can understand a little bit more about me, I'll share with you my findings:

• I have a strong desire to be right - (C)
• I spend a long time in research before I can make a decision - (C)
• I feel as though I am accurate and that my decisions are logical - (C)
• I am a stickler for rules and regulations and guidelines - (C)
• I am interested in boiling a solution down to its finest detail - (C)
• I prefer to work alone - (C)
• I have very high standards for myself, and wish those same qualities on everyone else - (C)
• I am a perfectionist at certain things. - (C)
• I respect the way things have always been done, and I am slow to change - (S)
• I work hard — often behind the scenes — at creating a stable, harmonious environment - (S)
• I dislike conflict and sudden change - (S)

I am motivated by:

• being right, or finding the right answer - (C)
• having access to information and data - (C)
• having the time to investigate the problem - (C)
• being dealt with in a reserved and courteous manner - (C)
• Working in a stable, harmonious environment where I can complete one task at a time - (S)
• Having clearly defined — and unchanging — rules and expectations - (S)

I am deflated when:

• I deal with sudden or abrupt change - (C)
• I am required to socialize - (C)
• I am required to deal with emotionally charged situations - (C)
• I lack the time to process information or to evaluate the consequences - (C)
• I work in a manner that lacks quality control, organization, or regulations - (C)

When I am stressed I can:

• suffer from analysis paralysis - (C)
• get bogged down in the details, never coming to a conclusion - (C)
• withhold information and become stubborn - (C)
• become overly critical, of myself, and of others - (C)
• give ideas, instead of selling ideas - (C)

Here's a few things that I can work on to be a better person:

• Become more open to other people's ways of thinking and communicating
• Learn when it is appropriate to settle for good enough
• Gain perspective on the consequences of being wrong
• Know that I don't have to know everything before voicing an opinion or making a decision

I'm telling you guys, it would be helpful if we all could really open up further, so that we can learn each other's strength's and weaknesses - in an effort to better understand each other. Now I know why I am what I am, and now you also know.

Forty-three Minutes

Matthew 7:6 "Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces."

Matthew 7:13 "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. 14 Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it."

Matthew 10:14 "And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet."

John 1:11 He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.

John 12:48 "He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him--the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day."

1 Corinthians 2:14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
(The New King James Version)

I had heard an interesting story on the radio a few months ago, back in January. It was a complete setup. An experiment created to see the reactions of busy people, in a busy world, who had the chance - the opportunity to stop for a moment in their busy lives, and listen to beautiful music. The setting was in our nation's capital city of Washington DC. And the target audience was mostly White-collared workers, en-route to their high paying capital offices, working for the nation's high class VIP's. The Washington Post created the experiment with the goal in mind to publish their findings. What the Washington Post wanted to find out is would the typical Washingtonian stop for a few minutes of their busy lives, their busy morning to hear some beautiful music? But more than that, it was a test to see if busy, modern day people would recognize one of the best classical violin players in the world. A child prodigy, Joshua Bell, now 39 is an internationally acclaimed virtuoso playing to crammed symphony halls most every week. The Post was trying to test if the context, or the
place at which Bell played, and in such a busy and inconvenient time, affected the outcome. Or what the perception of the people would be in hearing such fabulous classical music, by such a famous classical player, and if he would even be noticed, or appreciated. Also at stake was the people's priorities. It was set up purposely at a very busy time, in a very busy place only leaving literally seconds for people to first of all notice the player, the beautiful music, determine if it was convenient enough to leave a few bucks in his open case, or simply walk on by without any contact, or best of all, if people were even willing to stop for a few seconds, for a few minutes and listen.

Before the event took place, the possible outcome was asked of a famous conductor who had guessed that there would even be a need for crowd control. When the conductor was asked how much money he felt the undercover classical player might earn, he was confident that he would
earn a whopping $150. The conductor also guessed that at least 30-40 people would recognize the famous musician for who he was. And he figured that at least 75-100 people would be moved enough by the music to stop, and listen for a few minutes. Turns out, the famous conductor was quite wrong.

In the 43 minutes that Bell played, only seven people stopped and stuck around to hear Bell play, for at least a minute. Twenty seven people gave some money for a total of $32 plus change. The rest of the people who were counted, a total of 1,070 people who hurried by, never stopping, practically oblivious to Bell, and the music he played. Pretty humbling if you ask me. For someone like Bell, who is used to playing to the crowd, who is used to being recognized, as long as he's in character, in the right context, normally after his performances, was practically ignored for an hour of soul pouring performance.

The Post writer asked the age old question. "If a great musician plays great music but no one hears, was he really any good?"

This story for me had so many similarities to the life of Christ and how only a few stopped to listen. If the people had only realized who was among them, the famous Joshua Bell, whom they had heard many times in their evenings of concert goings, they would have surely stopped, listened, even asking for an autograph. The same could be said about Jesus. If the people had really known who was with them, the son of God, the creator of the universe, the savior of the world, if only they would have known, they would have treated Him differently. The beautiful music that Bell played seemed so familiar with some, while others were simply too busy to even recognize the same song they heard the week before. The beautiful words that Jesus spoke to the people, only a few realized the worth of such wonderful words, while others paid no attention to His comforting and peaceful words. The instrument on which Bell had played was a priceless antique. Christ's sacrifice was truly one-of-a kind, yet only a few knew and saw it's worth. Many other parallels could be drawn. but I invite you to read the article for yourself if you have time, or for a shorter amount of time, listen to the NPR broadcast of the short story they did on this Pulitzer winning article by the Washington Post.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9521098

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/04/AR2007040401721.html?referrer=emailarticle

Are you listening to what God is saying in His Word?

I Need Some New Shades.

1 Peter 4:7-11

7 The end of all things is near. So keep a clear mind. Control yourselves. Then you can pray. 8 Most of all, love one another deeply. Love erases many sins by forgiving them.
9 Welcome others into your homes without complaining. 10 God's gifts of grace come in many forms. Each of you has received a gift in order to serve others. You should use it faithfully. 11 If you speak, you should do it like one speaking God's very words. If you serve, you should do it with the strength God provides. Then in all things God will be praised through Jesus Christ. Give him the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen. (New International Reader's Version)

Here apostle Peter is warning the early church that the end is near. If the end was near for them over 1900 years ago, how much more is the end near for us? I dunno.... Mark 13:32 "No one knows about that day or hour. Not even the angels in heaven know. The Son does not know. Only the Father knows." What I do know is that apostle Peter is warning them, and us, to be focused, to be ready, to be prepared, to be serious, to be watchful, to be clear minded, and to be self-controlled, so that we would be able to pray. Hello. That's a call for me. How hard is it for me to pray? I tell you that I worry and fret all month long whenever I know that my name is on the prayer duty list at church. I think about recent events at church, I read over the prayer list, I count my blessings, I think of answered prayers. But when it comes right down to it, most all of that goes right out the window as I'm praying, and I forget most of all what I had planned to say. Prayer for me is hard, and public prayer is even harder. Some people can do it and make it look so easy, but others struggle. I think prayer is something that definitely "gets better" with practice. In addition to my shortcomings as a public pray-er, I'm also distracted as Peter states, by my mind and the distractions of this world.

What my real focus is on in this writing, is the topic of Love. So many times, our families, our friendships, our church, our body (church), our family (church), our business, in fact all kinds of relationships are torn apart due in part to Love - well actually, the Lack of Love. It's hard being human (sigh). Sometimes, it's just hard to love some people. It's hard to look at certain people, and see what's inside them. All too often, I criticize people before I can even think about myself. I do admit that I am very far from perfect. Yet, my human nature is quick to judge others, quick to point out sin and shortcomings in their life while I'm turning around and falling into sin. I need to find and buy me some Jesus Goggles. They are very rare in deed, but are really so cool. Put them on, and they allow you to see the best qualities in others. They allow you to overlook all the "hang-up" you have in others, and see what Jesus sees in that person. Just think of it. Jesus, knowing how evil and sinful mankind was and is, He obeyed His father - God, and come and lived on this earth. He lived a perfect, sinless life so that He could be the way - the only way for us. For you, for me, and for everyone. He chose to die for me, because he loved His father, and because both He and His father - God, loved us.

Peter said it best, and it needs to be said again, 1 Peter 4:8 And above all things have fervent love for one another, for "love will cover a multitude of sins." The same phrase is used elsewhere in the new testament as well, over in James 5:20 let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins. Brothers and Sisters in Christ, we are to love each other. We are to look and see others in the same way that Jesus sees them and us. We need to look at ourselves and ask ourselves, "What do I need to correct in my own life" before we start casting stones at other people. Luke 6:42 Or how can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me remove the speck that is in your eye,' when you yourself do not see the plank that is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck that is in your brother's eye. We need to spend our empty time worrying about ourselves, and where we stand in front of God's eyes, rather than spending our time worrying about some one else's life. We need to spend more time "Welcome others into your homes" being hospitable, being concerned and loving rather than condemning people.

And now, here are some verses, found in the new testament, about Love. It could be argued that I'm taking verses out of context. That may be true. Just read for yourself and you decide.

Matthew 5:44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,

Matthew 22:37 Jesus said to him, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.'

Matthew 22:39 And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'

John 15:9 "As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love.

John 15:10 If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love.

John 15:12 This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.

Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 12:10 Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another;

Romans 14:15 Yet if your brother is grieved because of your food, you are no longer walking in love. Do not destroy with your food the one for whom Christ died.

Galatians 5:13 For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.

Ephesians 5:2 And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.

Philippians 2:2 fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.

I Love You!

Are you listening to what God is saying in His Word?

A Story of God's Love

After the emotional lesson I heard yesterday at church, my mind could not stop thinking about God's love. I spent several hours yesterday going through tons of my photos and putting together this short video. It's kind of rough, as this was my first attempt to do this. But God's world is amazing. However, as amazing as it is, it's only temporary. But His message is timeless. More to come about Love.

God Loves Me - a sinner

We know that the law is holy. But I am not. I have been sold to be a slave of sin. I don't understand what I do. I don't do what I want to do. Instead, I do what I hate to do. I do what I don't want to do. So I agree that the law is good. As it is, I am no longer the one who does these things. It is sin living in me that does them. I know there is nothing good in my sinful nature. I want to do what is good, but I can't. I don't do the good things I want to do. I keep on doing the evil things I don't want to do. I do what I don't want to do. But I am not really the one who is doing it. It is sin living in me. Here is the law I find working in me. When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. Deep inside me I find joy in God's law. 23 But I see another law working in the parts of my body. It fights against the law of my mind. It makes me a prisoner of the law of sin. That law controls the parts of my body. What a terrible failure I am! Who will save me from this sin that brings death to my body? I give thanks to God. He will do it through Jesus Christ our Lord. So in my mind I am a slave to God's law. But in my sinful nature I am a slave to the law of sin. Romans 7:14-25 (New International Reader's Version)

Huh? You say. I wanted to find the verse that kept saying to me that sin is a constant struggle. This verse is it. Isn't sin frustrating? Isn't sin just awful? Sometimes it feels like I can't even stop myself from sinning, even when I’m consciously aware of my guilt, even while I’m right in the middle of sinning. I know to do the right thing, I know what I'm supposed to do, but I just can't. I know what I'm supposed to avoid, I know what I shouldn't do, but I just do it anyway. Argh! I like how the old King James reads in Romans 7:24 “O wretched man that I am!”

For me, it's slightly comforting to know that even the great apostle Paul struggled with sin. Not that he had a habitual sin problem, but he was at times weak and did fall. He was frustrated to be such a mature Christian, and yet still have to fight within himself to beat down his humanity. 1 Corinthians 10:12 We've got to be careful, and compare our lives with the pattern -- God's word -- to know whether or not we are standing. Our lives can't just 'feel right’; we've got to know for sure. Romans 10:17 God is wonderful in that he would never 'leave us hanging' and have us not knowing what we are to do. God tells us and His way is found in the bible -- the word of God.

It also says a lot about apostle Paul in that he was such a mature Christian he was able to distinguish the difference between right and wrong, good and evil. We must continue our walk in Christ, continue to learn from Him, and continue to grow and flourish and bear fruit. One of our Christian goals should be that we should resolve to never stop learning God's word, it is inexhaustible. Each time we read a passage of Holy Scripture, we can think about it, chew it up if you will and allow it to nourish us, and grow in us.

The point that's made in Romans 7 shows how the law was necessary and that it did its job perfectly. The law is holy. One of the things that it did perfectly was to show, or to expose sin. Without the law, no one could know what sin was. But with the law, everyone knew what sin was, and everyone knew that it was impossible to be perfect. What a bummer it must be to go through life and be unable to be found perfect. But, we do have hope. Hebrews 7:19 Hebrews 7:22 by so much more Jesus has become a surety of a better covenant. It is up to us to study for ourselves and determine what God's word teaches about sin. We must know for certain if our actions or practices are sinful or right. And it is through this knowledge of God's word that we can see that we certainly cannot save ourselves. Romans 3:10

But we do have hope. We do have grace. We do have love. Ephesians 2:8 and Romans 5:2 God sent His son to this earth, in order to be the perfect sacrifice -- to take away the sin of the world. No longer is offering sacrifices, or burnt offerings for sin necessary. These practices were only a pattern of what was to come. John 1:29 And also, John 3:16

Sinning is definitely a hard thing to swallow. Every time I sin, I just feel like kicking myself. The 'silver lining' if you will about sin is this, Romans 5:6 Romans 5:7 Romans 5:8 Romans 5:9 Romans 5:10 God's love is so deep and wide, that I just cannot comprehend. I cannot even put myself in His position to fully understand. I'm not required to comprehend, or to fully grasp His love. But I can freely accept it. I must believe that He is, and that He can save me. It's called faith. Hebrews 11:6

A few more passages on God's love, and then I'm finished with this one:

Romans 8:31, Romans 8:32, Romans 8:34, Romans 8:35, Romans 8:38, Romans 8:39

Ephesians 3:14, Ephesians 3:15, Ephesians 3:16, Ephesians 3:17, Ephesians 3:18, Ephesians 3:19, Ephesians 3:20, Ephesians 3:21

Are you listening to what God is saying in His Word?

Noah Wanted A Cool Ride

Genesis 6:13 Then God said to Noah, "I have decided to put an end to all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence because of them; therefore I am going to destroy them along with the earth. 14 "Make yourself an ark of gofer wood. Make rooms in the ark, and cover it with pitch inside and outside. 15 This is how you are to make it: The ark will be 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. 16 You are to make a roof, finishing [the sides of the ark] to within 18 inches [of the roof.] You are to put a door in the side of the ark. Make it with lower, middle, and upper [decks]. 17 "Understand that I am bringing a deluge-floodwaters on the earth to destroy all flesh under heaven with the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will die. 18 But I will establish My covenant with you, and you will enter the ark with your sons, your wife, and your sons' wives. 19 You are also to bring into the ark two of every living thing of all flesh, male and female, to keep them alive with you. 20 Two of everything-from the birds according to their kinds, from the livestock according to their kinds, and from every animal that crawls on the ground according to its kind-will come to you so that you can keep them alive. 21 Take with you every kind of food that is eaten; gather it as food for you and for them." 22 And Noah did this. He did everything that God had commanded him. 

Wow! Aren't there some awesome stories found in the Bible? I've said before that there are certainly some times that I read in the Bible that I wish I could've been there to witness. Well, let me clarify. I certainly wouldn't want to be stuck on the earth when that event happened. Well, let me think about that again. I don't think that I'd like to be stuck on/in the ark for a year either. Shooo-weee. As a matter of fact, I appreciate the Bible even more now that I think about that a little longer. I can read of these magnificent/horrible stories from the Bible and learn something from other peoples examples. God truly is amazing, and I'm so glad he's blessed me to allow me to live in this time on earth.
 

I want to have a little fun at Noah's expense right now. I sort of want to make a modern day funny story in order to make a serious point. Now let's be clear - right up front. There's no way in this earth that Noah would ever do what I'm fixing to tell. But I'm using Noah and his situation as an example of how I see some people in their religious freedoms today. I'll try not to drag it out too long, but maybe just long enough so you can get my point. So again - this story is definitely not true. In fact, we just read in Gen 6:22 that Noah did everything that God commanded of him.
 

The next day, after Noah thought about what God had said to him, he was very thankful that God was willing to spare him and his family. Noah was proud that his righteous living and many lessons that he taught his family were paying off for him in such a special way. "I can't believe that we're the only one's going to be left on this earth. We'll have it all to ourselves." he thought. "But before any of that will happen, we've got to get busy on building this humongous ark. Let me think.... God said build an ark out of what? Gopher wood? He didn't say Gopher wood did He? Surely not. Does God know how hard that wood is to cut? Does God know how heavy that stuff is? Does God know how far away those trees are? Why there's hardly any Gopher wood around here, but way over in the next territory. I'd have to cross other peoples lands and set up some kind of trading arrangements to get that. I think I'll just skip that and get some local wood that's lighter, softer, closer by, and right in my own back yard." 

The next day, after chopping a few trees down and sawing them into boards, Noah started to check his notes again. "God said build the art how big? 450 feet long? And 75 feet wide and 45 feet tall? Does God know just how much wood I'm going to have to chop down to get that done? I think I'll make it just a tad bit smaller. Let me see....how many trees do I have around here anyway? I'd also rather not use tar pitch on the inside of this ark anyway. Between the smell of pitch and all the other animals, I just don't think I could take that smell. Besides all that, my wife will already have plenty to complain about anyway, I certainly don't want to add any more that she can whine about. I'll skip that step." 

A few years later, as Noah was finishing his decked-out yacht complete with sun roofs, moon roofs, horns, digital satellite tracking devices, large screen TVs, soft leather seats, showers, game room, cafeteria, xbox entertainment system, surround sound speakers, theater style seating, and on and on.... He started to check his notes again. "God said bring two of every living thing into the ark, plus seven sets of clean animal. Uh, well, how am I gonna get those wild animals that are too dangerous to handle. No one can even get close enough to capture such wild and dangerous animals, let alone capture them and live with them on my yacht. I gotta bring food and store it in the ark for all these critters too. There's just no way that I can even accomplish these task. Surely God didn't mean to do all that. Surely God just meant to do just what I was able to and he'd save the rest from perishing in His own special way. Besides, I don't want all these animals getting my shiny new yacht dirty and smelly anyway. I'll just get a few of my favorite animals and bring them along so that we could have a few to play with and and few to sustain us once the flood leaves."
 

After Noah gathered a few of his favorite animals, and put them away in their compartments, he and his family climbed in his yacht and shut the door. Soon, it clouded up and started to rain. Aw cool. Never seen that before. That's pretty neat. Rain and rain and floods quickly covered the earth and just as quickly the yacht started springing leaks. "Shem, Ham, Japheth! Get me some of those reeds we gathered for the animals food. Stuff them in these cracks. I had no idea that God was going to lock us up in this leaky yacht. Honey!!!! Bring me some of them rags so I can stuff them in here. Ya'll tie them animals up. (blub, blub, blub) Turn the TV off and get over here." ( blub, blub, blub)
 

Okay. That's all I can come up with. I think that we can see in this fictional story that Noah and his family were sunk. Why? Well, they didn't listen to God. God told them what to do. God told them how to do it. God found Noah to be faithful in everything that He told him to do.
 

What I get out of this story (and believe me, I didn't even have to be there to get this though my thick head) is that in order to live and be pleasing to God, I'd better figure out what he's told me to do and do it -- and do it right. I see no reason to be consumed in finding "better" ways to do what God has told me to do. His words are sufficient for me. If God's ways were good enough for those before me to do it, then His ways are good enough for me.

Are you listening to what God is saying in His Word?