"Seven years old, third row pew

John 3:16, something changed in me

Red letters coming off the page

Flooding my heart with amazing grace

I knew then I believed

And those roots run deep"

 

Gotta love those lyrics from Anne Wilson's song Sunday Sermons.

 When Billy Graham was 92 years-old, he was struggling with Parkinson's disease. In January, a month before his 93rd birthday, leaders in Charlotte, North Carolina, invited their favorite son, Billy Graham to a luncheon in his honor.

Billy initially hesitated to accept the invitation because of his struggles with Parkinson's disease. But the Charlotte leaders said, 'We don't expect a major address. Just come and let us honor you.' So he agreed.

After wonderful things were said about him, Dr. Graham stepped to the podium, looked at the crowd, and said:

"I'm reminded today of Albert Einstein, the great physicist who this month has been honored by Time magazine as the Man of the Century. Einstein was once traveling from Princeton on a train, when the conductor came down the aisle, punching the tickets of every passenger. When he came to Einstein, Einstein reached in his vest pocket. He couldn't find his ticket, so he reached in his trouser pockets.

It wasn't there.He looked in his briefcase but couldn't find it. Then he looked in the seat beside him. He still couldn't find it.

"The conductor said, “Dr. Einstein, I know who you are. We all know who you are. I'm sure you bought a ticket. Don't worry about it.” Einstein nodded appreciatively. The conductor continued down the aisle punching tickets. As he was ready to move to the next car,he turned around and saw the great physicist down on his hands and knees looking under his seat for his ticket.

"The conductor rushed back and said, 'Dr. Einstein, Dr. Einstein, don't worry, I know who you are; no problem. You don't need a ticket. I'm sure you bought one.'Einstein looked at him and said, “Young man, I too, know who I am. What I don't know is where I'm going."

Having said that Billy Graham continued, "See the suit I'm wearing? It's a brand new suit. My children, and my grandchildren are telling me I've gotten a little slovenly in my old age. I used to be a bit more fastidious. So I went out and bought a new suit for this luncheon and one more occasion. You know what that occasion is? This is the suit in which I'll be buried. But when you hear I'm dead, I don't want you to immediately remember the suit I'm wearing. I want you to remember this:

"I not only know who I am. I also know where I'm going." May your troubles be less, your blessings more, and may nothing but happiness, come through your door. "Life without God is like an unsharpened pencil - it has no point."

May each of us have lived our lives so that when our ticket is punched we don't have to worry about where we are going. See less

 I think I hear more misunderstanding about Grace and Works than any other important subject. Within the Protestant church there is so much emphasis on Grace, that Works are almost discounted.When Paul met with the pillars of the church at the council of Jerusalem, they affirmed Paul and Barnabas's work with the Gentiles, with only one admonition, Paul said, "They only asked us to remember the poor -- the very thing I also was eager to do." Gal. 2:10 Paul was faithful to that as we can see by the following verses. 

"In all things show yourself to be than example of good deeds..." Titus 2:7

"Remind them to be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good deed." Titus 3:1

"This is a trustworthy statement, and concerning things I want you to speak confidently, so that those who have believed God may be careful to engage in good deeds?" Titus 3:8

"Our people must also learn to engage in good deeds to meet pressing needs, so that they will not be unfruitful." Titus 3:14

"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." Eph. 2:10

James, gives us this example of good deeds - 

"This is pure and undefiled religion in the sight of God our Father, to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world." Jas. 1:27

 We are saved by Grace, not by works, but we are saved for good works, as plainly taught by Christ, and all the apostles. Jesus summarized the entire Bible in Mark 12:29-31 "Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. 31 And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

 In Luke 19 we read the story of Zacceus, pictured here, up in a tree so he could look at Jesus who was surrounded by crowds because he was a man of short stature. Jesus walked by the tree and looked up to Zacceus and simply called him by name saying, "Zacceus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house." This picture captures what might have been the look Zacceus had when Jesus spoke to him, a man despised in his community for building great wealth from his corruption towards those in his community. Shocked that Jesus would call him, Zacceus didn't hesitate but immediately came down and he was full of joy. Those in the crowd mumbled and complained because Jesus was going to eat in the house of a "sinner." 

At some point Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, "Lord, I will give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I will restore it fourfold.” 

After this single encounter with Christ his heart was changed, and because of that his entire community benefited and who ever had a legitimate claim against him was restored four fold! 

And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

Oh the lessons within this story! The high position brought low, the outcast welcomed, the free invitation of Christ, the deeds that faith produces, the impact one person has in a community when Christ dwells in the heart. Truly this is the answer to our nations corruptions and evils!

"Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." Ro. 12:21

Inspired by Pastor Eric, Jacob's Well, Spokane Wa. 

 Eph. 3:16 Roughly speaking, the prayer is divided into four petitions, of which each is the cause of the following and the result of the preceding-

1. ’That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man’  

2. ‘In order that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith,’ ‘ye being rooted and grounded in love’ 

3. The result of the first, and the preparation for the third. ‘That ye may be able to comprehend with all saints ... and to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge,’   

4. And all lead up at last to that wonderful desire beyond which nothing is possible-

’That you might be filled with all the fullness of God.’

I do not know what Christianity means, unless it means that you and I are forgiven for a purpose; the purpose being that we should be filled with all the strength and righteousness and supernatural life granted to us by the Spirit of God.

The Gospel is the gift of pardon for holiness, and its inmost and most characteristic bestowment is the bestowment of a new power for obedience and service.

And that power, as I need not remind you, is given to us through the gift of the Divine Spirit. The very name of that Spirit is the ‘Spirit of Might.’ Christ spoke to us about being ‘endued with power from on high.’ The last of His promises that dropped from His lips upon earth was the promise that His followers should receive the power of the Spirit coming upon them.

 There are so many things right with this photo! To me it represents a vibrant Youth ministry. I notice they are outside the church walls, they  are different ages, the older caring for the younger, how powerful is that when Teen suicide is at an all time high! So many children are isolated by social media bullying but here are older girls standing for this young girl. 

They are all colors, how needful is that in this day of new intellectual racism with divides at every turn. Prayer is powerful! Corporate prayer is more! Prayer is intimate, personal and life changing! 

  

  "He who quarries stones may be hurt by them, and he who splits logs may be endangered by them. If the axe is dull and he does not sharpen its edge, then he must exert more strength. Wisdom has the advantage of giving success." Eccles. 10:9-10 

  The work of the Christian is to delve into the hearts and lives of others; in so doing we are faced with complex and deeply held beliefs and often personal histories that are dark and foreboding. 

So fools must not rush in where wise men fear to tread, but rather cautiously, lovingly, with axe sharpened with wisdom, and Spirit guidance, we sympathetically enter in and painstakingly build trust and intimacy.     

  Lives are not suddenly changed by quoting a verse or casting a rebuke; more often we are hurt by doing so. 

   "I no longer have to prove that I or my group is the best, that my ethnicity is superior, that my religion is the only one that God loves, or that my role and place in society deserve superior treatment. I am not preoccupied with collecting more goods and services; quite simply, my desire and effort is to pay back, to give back to the world a bit of what I have received. I now realize that I have been gratuitously given to—from the universe, from society, and from God. I try now, as Elizabeth Seton said, to “live simply so that others can simply live.”

Erik Erikson calls someone at this stage a “generative” person, one who is eager and able to generate life from his or her own abundance and for the benefit of following generations. Because such people have built a good container, they are able to “contain” more and more truth, more and more neighbors, more and broader vision, more and more of a mysterious and outpouring God.

Their God is no longer small, punitive, or tribal. They once worshipped their raft; now they love the shore where it has taken them. They once defended signposts; now they have arrived where the signs pointed. They now enjoy the moon itself instead of fighting over whose finger points to it most accurately, quickly, or definitively.

One’s growing sense of infinity and spaciousness is no longer found just “out there” but most especially “in here.” The inner and outer have become one. You can trust your inner experience now, because God has allowed it, used it, received it, and refined it.

Richard Rohr, Adapted from Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life,

pp. 121-122

“May what I do flow from me like a river, no forcing and no holding back.” (Rainer Maria Rilke)

Taken from my son Eric's blog.

 

In Mark 8:23 Jesus spits on a blind man's eyes, He also lays his hands on him and the man is partially heeled, then Jesus lays His hands on Him again and his eyesight is completely restored. I spent an hour reading commentaries on this miraculous healing because it contains so many perplexing elements. Not the least of which is why Jesus spit in His eyes, a practice which was viewed as an act of disrespect, and was offensive and disgusting. 

There are so many theories ranging from pagan to practical. Some think Jesus used spittle to remove debris that may have gummed the eyes, but why not simply use water? Others surmise it related to pagan practices that believed spittle could cure disease, epilepsy, neck pain, and numbness in the limb. However, the spit is not applied to the area affected. In the case of neck pain, the spittle should be applied to the knees. For a numb limb, it should be spit into the bosom or placed on the eyelid. Also, spitting on the ground can increase the potency of any healing remedy. Others say it had a spiritual application relating to the disciples; and others a host of other things. The only thing scholars agreed on is that it remains a mystery. 

When I read this what struck me was His disciples brought the blind man to Christ and earnestly asked Him to "touch" him. They prescribed to Jesus the method they had seen Him use many times to heal, and it is understandable why they did. But Jesus used a method He had never used before. I couldn't help apply that to myself and how I can sometimes think I know the right thing to say or do, only to find out it's not at all how Christ chooses to bring healing and salvation. 

It reminded me of when Jesus breathed on His disciples, an act of close intimacy, and now He uses his saliva and touch to bring the remedy. The Gospels, what a fascinating account of the miraculous, individual, unpredictable works of Christ! 

  Sex!!!!! Oh the power and intoxication! It can be absolutely electric! It can be a state completely lost in the emotion of unreasoning desire. Urgency, intensity, sexual desire, anxiety, high-risk choices, reckless abandonment of what was once valued and it can overwhelm our good sense, faith, morality and past experience! And when once in the web of romantic passion we are blind to almost everything else; we forget about looking for warning flags, we just steep and drink in the addictive, intoxicating flood of endorphins! Once we are in this state of mind, what chance is there we will truly look deeply into the person's life, past, or faults? We just want more of the life consuming desire.

We often idolize our partner, put them on a pedestal, profess a rapid and deep connection and push for premature commitments. It can feel like the love of a lifetime! In the book Jane Eyre she describes it this way -- "My future husband was becoming my whole world; and, more than the world: almost my hope of heaven. He stood between me and every thought of religion, like an eclipse intervenes between man and the sun. I could not, in those days, see God for this man, of whom I had made an idol."

But all too often the romance fades, the charm diminishes, and we are left with a stranger. And we find this stranger is no longer our passionate lover, but all too often, they are controlling, demanding, and want someone to raise babies and be little more than a modern day slave. After a few years we sometimes find out they were abused and are continuing their model with us, or they had an obsessive porn addiction and become our enemy seeking their pleasure alone without us. Sometimes this doesn't raise its ugly head until we have children, and then getting out is infinitely more difficult. We feel trapped.

So waiting to have sex until we have done deep and vigorous detective work is sooo important! Dating is the most important time we have to find out who they truly are, and sadly, many of us give into the love of pleasure and find ourselves repeating mistakes from the past or making tragic new ones.

What can be done? If we are people of faith we can fall into the breast of Christ and seek His guidance for resolution, reclamation, direction and some redeeming conclusion. Whatever our beliefs we need mature guidance and resolve because the solutions are rarely easy. Prevention is far easier than resolution, which is why I wrote the post for those who have faith and those that do not.

 

"Men in all ways are better than they seem. They like flattery for the moment, but they know the truth about themselves. It is a foolish cowardice, which keeps us from trusting them, and speaking to them raw and honest truth. 

They resent your honesty for an instant, but they will thank you for it always. 

What is it we heartily wish of each other? Is it to be pleased and flattered? No, but to be convicted and exposed, to be shamed out of our nonsense of all kinds, and made men of, instead of ghosts and phantoms. We are weary of gliding ghostlike through the world, which is itself so slight and unreal." Emerson. 

 

I was really struck by the following line from a poem by Tupper.

"Heed only this, -- not whether those be swine,
But whether these be pearls, precious and pure."

So my take on this is, that we need be less concerned about the faults in others, and make sure what we call the pearls we have to give, are truly pearls.

 

  "It was found that the intellect could be independently developed, that is, in separation from the man (soul), as any single organ can be invigorated (like a bicep), and the result was monstrous. A canine appetite for knowledge was generated, which must still be fed, but was never satisfied, and this knowledge not being directed to ACTION, never took the character of substantial, humane truth, blessing those whom it entered. It gave the scholar certain powers of expression, the power of speech, or the power of poetry, of literary art, but it did not bring him to peace or to beneficence." R. W. Emerson. 

Do you still date your wife? 

I think it's important to think of dating as "marriage insurance." There is not a couple that is immune to marital problems, and if we neglect our spouse we threaten all we hold dear. 

To have a thriving marriage, which allows us to share our joy with everyone in the household, it is the product of time and effort, joy and fun together alone with our spouse. 

Somewhere near half of all marriages fail, it is no doubt the half that fails are the couples that fail to prioritize their relationship. Best way I know of to ruin a good marriage is to have no intimate, romantic, fun filled experiences together.

 In successful businesses they have weekly meetings, some have daily meetings, a marriage is infinitely more difficult than running a business. So invest in your marriage! 

Help insure its success by making time for each other, every one will benefit.

Far better to have less income than face the enormous costs of divorce, both financially and emotionally. The happiness of those in the household, each person being nurtured, shown time and affection each day, made to feel loved, secure and protected is what everyone will remember in the years ahead. The luxury items, toys, size of the home or car, all pale in comparison to a loving home. That's my story and I'm stick'n to it!

 

 

  "To be effective, one cannot "pole-vault" over the essentials. Which are - anointing, Bible study, wise counsel, and prayer/fasting, and working with the poor, downcast, oppressed and hurting in a successful Christian ministry being done by mature Christians. 

We must work in another's "vineyard" and in so doing, if we are faithful, God will expand our territory. 

   "I directed my heart and mind to know, to investigate and to seek wisdom and an explanation, and to know the evil of folly and the foolishness of madness." Eccl. 7:25

  I spend a lot of time studying the impact of childhood abuse, sexual assault and domestic violence. An alarming percentage of the  population are victims of these life altering traumas. 

  Jesus began His ministry proclaiming, "God has anointed Me To preach the good news to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed..." 

When I read the verse in Ecclesiastes I applied it to the "Folly and madness" of abuse.

 Folly means - "tragically foolish actions or conduct, a lack of good sense or normal prudence and foresight. 

Madness means - "behavior or thinking that is very foolish or dangerous : extreme folly. A state of severe mental illness, an extreme inner darkness."

The remedy for the deeds of darkness, folly and madness are found in Christ who "casts out demons and performs cures." 

May I be an informed conduit to better help my fellow man and woman find healing the same way Solomon pursued it: by turning my heart and mind to investigate, to seek wisdom and an explanation for the folly and utter madness of abuse.  

 

 "The heart and mind of the wise is in the house of mourning, while the heart and mind of fools is in the house of pleasure." Ecc. 7:4

The house of the mourning is where hearts are laid bare, connections are made, the presence of God falls, soul needs are recognized, confessions are made, tears are dried, hope is sparked, and salvation is won. 

Much of Jesus' ministry took place in the house of the mourning; The daughter of Jairus was raised; Lazarus came forth, the leper was cleansed, the widows son was brought back to life. 

"Go and do likewise."

 

103 Bits of Advice I Wish I Had Known

Today is my birthday. I turn 70. I’ve learned a few things so far that might be helpful to others. For the past few years, I’ve jotted down bits of unsolicited advice each year and much to my surprise I have more to add this year. So here is my birthday gift to you all: 103 bits of wisdom I wish I had known when I was young. Dan Bergman.

 

• About 99% of the time, the right time is right now.

• No one is as impressed with your possessions as you are.

• Don’t ever work for someone you don’t want to become.

• Cultivate 12 people who love you, because they are worth more than 12 million people who like you.

• Don’t keep making the same mistakes; try to make new mistakes.

• If you stop to listen to a musician or street performer for more than a minute, you owe them a dollar.

• Anything you say before the word “but” does not count.

• When you forgive others, they may not notice, but you will heal. Forgiveness is not something we do for others; it is a gift to ourselves.

• Courtesy costs nothing. Lower the toilet seat after use. Let the people in the elevator exit before you enter. Return shopping carts to their designated areas. When you borrow something, return it better shape (filled up, cleaned) than when you got it.

• Whenever there is an argument between two sides, find the third side.

• Efficiency is highly overrated; Goofing off is highly underrated. Regularly scheduled sabbaths, sabbaticals, vacations, breaks, aimless walks and time off are essential for top performance of any kind. The best work ethic requires a good rest ethic.

• When you lead, your real job is to create more leaders, not more followers.

• Criticize in private, praise in public.

• Life lessons will be presented to you in the order they are needed. Everything you need to master the lesson is within you. Once you have truly learned a lesson, you will be presented with the next one. If you are alive, that means you still have lessons to learn.

• It is the duty of a student to get everything out of a teacher, and the duty of a teacher to get everything out of a student.

• If winning becomes too important in a game, change the rules to make it more fun. Changing rules can become the new game.

• Ask funders for money, and they’ll give you advice; but ask for advice and they’ll give you money.

• Productivity is often a distraction. Don’t aim for better ways to get through your tasks as quickly as possible, rather aim for better tasks that you never want to stop doing.

• Immediately pay what you owe to vendors, workers, contractors. They will go out of their way to work with you first next time.

• The biggest lie we tell ourselves is “I don’t need to write this down because I will remember it.”

• Your growth as a conscious being is measured by the number of uncomfortable conversations you are willing to have.

• Speak confidently as if you are right, but listen carefully as if you are wrong.

• Handy measure: the distance between your fingertips of your outstretched arms at shoulder level is your height.

• The consistency of your endeavors (exercise, companionship, work) is more important than the quantity. Nothing beats small things done every day, which is way more important than what you do occasionally.

• Making art is not selfish; it’s for the rest of us. If you don’t do your thing, you are cheating us.

• Never ask a woman if she is pregnant. Let her tell you if she is.

• Three things you need: The ability to not give up something till it works, the ability to give up something that does not work, and the trust in other people to help you distinguish between the two.

• When public speaking, pause frequently. Pause before you say something in a new way, pause after you have said something you believe is important, and pause as a relief to let listeners absorb details.

• There is no such thing as being “on time.” You are either late or you are early. Your choice.

• Ask anyone you admire: Their lucky breaks happened on a detour from their main goal. So embrace detours. Life is not a straight line for anyone.

• The best way to get a correct answer on the internet is to post an obviously wrong answer and wait for someone to correct you.

• You’ll get 10x better results by elevating good behavior rather than punishing bad behavior, especially in children and animals.

• Spend as much time crafting the subject line of an email as the message itself because the subject line is often the only thing people read.

• Don’t wait for the storm to pass; dance in the rain.

• When checking references for a job applicant, employers may be reluctant or prohibited from saying anything negative, so leave or send a message that says, “Get back to me if you highly recommend this applicant as super great.” If they don’t reply take that as a negative.

• Use a password manager: Safer, easier, better.

• Half the skill of being educated is learning what you can ignore.

• The advantage of a ridiculously ambitious goal is that it sets the bar very high so even in failure it may be a success measured by the ordinary.

• A great way to understand yourself is to seriously reflect on everything you find irritating in others.

• Keep all your things visible in a hotel room, not in drawers, and all gathered into one spot. That way you’ll never leave anything behind. If you need to have something like a charger off to the side, place a couple of other large items next to it, because you are less likely to leave 3 items behind than just one.

• Denying or deflecting a compliment is rude. Accept it with thanks, even if you believe it is not deserved.

• Always read the plaque next to the monument.

• When you have some success, the feeling of being an imposter can be real. Who am I fooling? But when you create things that only you — with your unique talents and experience — can do, then you are absolutely not an imposter. You are the ordained. It is your duty to work on things that only you can do.

• What you do on your bad days matters more than what you do on your good days.

• Make stuff that is good for people to have.

• When you open paint, even a tiny bit, it will always find its way to your clothes no matter how careful you are. Dress accordingly.

• To keep young kids behaving on a car road trip, have a bag of their favorite candy and throw a piece out the window each time they misbehave.

• You cannot get smart people to work extremely hard just for money.

• When you don’t know how much to pay someone for a particular task, ask them “what would be fair” and their answer usually is.

• 90% of everything is crap. If you think you don’t like opera, romance novels, TikTok, country music, vegan food, NFTs, keep trying to see if you can find the 10% that is not crap.

• You will be judged on how well you treat those who can do nothing for you.

• We tend to overestimate what we can do in a day, and underestimate what we can achieve in a decade. Miraculous things can be accomplished if you give it ten years. A long game will compound small gains to overcome even big mistakes.

• Thank a teacher who changed your life.

• You cant reason someone out of a notion that they didn’t reason themselves into.

• Your best job will be one that you were unqualified for because it stretches you. In fact only apply to jobs you are unqualified for.

• Buy used books. They have the same words as the new ones. Also libraries.

• You can be whatever you want, so be the person who ends meetings early.

• A wise man said, “Before you speak, let your words pass through three gates. At the first gate, ask yourself, “Is it true?” At the second gate ask, “Is it necessary?” At the third gate ask, “Is it kind?”

• Take the stairs.

• What you actually pay for something is at least twice the listed price because of the energy, time, money needed to set it up, learn, maintain, repair, and dispose of at the end. Not all prices appear on labels. Actual costs are 2x listed prices.

• When you arrive at your room in a hotel, locate the emergency exits. It only takes a minute.

• The only productive way to answer “what should I do now?” is to first tackle the question of “who should I become?”

• Average returns sustained over an above-average period of time yield extraordinary results. Buy and hold.

• It’s thrilling to be extremely polite to rude strangers.

• It’s possible that a not-so smart person, who can communicate well, can do much better than a super smart person who can’t communicate well. That is good news because it is much easier to improve your communication skills than your intelligence.

• Getting cheated occasionally is the small price for trusting the best of everyone, because when you trust the best in others, they generally treat you best.

• Art is whatever you can get away with.

• For the best results with your children, spend only half the money you think you should, but double the time with them.

• Purchase the most recent tourist guidebook to your home town or region. You’ll learn a lot by playing the tourist once a year.

• Don’t wait in line to eat something famous. It is rarely worth the wait.

• To rapidly reveal the true character of a person you just met, move them onto an abysmally slow internet connection. Observe.

• Prescription for popular success: do something strange. Make a habit of your weird.

• Be a pro. Back up your back up. Have at least one physical backup and one backup in the cloud. Have more than one of each. How much would you pay to retrieve all your data, photos, notes, if you lost them? Backups are cheap compared to regrets.

• Don’t believe everything you think you believe.

• To signal an emergency, use the rule of three; 3 shouts, 3 horn blasts, or 3 whistles.

• At a restaurant do you order what you know is great, or do you try something new? Do you make what you know will sell or try something new? Do you keep dating new folks or try to commit to someone you already met? The optimal balance for exploring new things vs exploiting them once found is: 1/3. Spend 1/3 of your time on exploring and 2/3 time on deepening. It is harder to devote time to exploring as you age because it seems unproductive, but aim for 1/3.

• Actual great opportunities do not have “Great Opportunities” in the subject line.

• When introduced to someone make eye contact and count to 4. You’ll both remember each other.

• Take note if you find yourself wondering “Where is my good knife? Or, where is my good pen?” That means you have bad ones. Get rid of those.

• When you are stuck, explain your problem to others. Often simply laying out a problem will present a solution. Make “explaining the problem” part of your troubleshooting process.

• When buying a garden hose, an extension cord, or a ladder, get one substantially longer than you think you need. It’ll be the right size.

• Don’t bother fighting the old; just build the new.

• Your group can achieve great things way beyond your means simply by showing people that they are appreciated.

• When someone tells you about the peak year of human history, the period of time when things were good before things went downhill, it will always be the years of when they were 10 years old — which is the peak of any human’s existence.

• You are as big as the things that make you angry.

• When speaking to an audience it’s better to fix your gaze on a few people than to “spray” your gaze across the room. Your eyes telegraph to others whether you really believe what you are saying.

• Habit is far more dependable than inspiration. Make progress by making habits. Don’t focus on getting into shape. Focus on becoming the kind of person who never misses a workout.

• When negotiating, don’t aim for a bigger piece of the pie; aim to create a bigger pie.

• If you repeated what you did today 365 more times will you be where you want to be next year?

• You see only 2% of another person, and they see only 2% of you. Attune yourselves to the hidden 98%.

• Your time and space are limited. Remove, give away, throw out things in your life that don’t spark joy any longer in order to make room for those that do.

• Our descendants will achieve things that will amaze us, yet a portion of what they will create could have been made with today’s materials and tools if we had had the imagination. Think bigger.

• For a great payoff be especially curious about the things you are not interested in.

• Focus on directions rather than destinations. Who knows their destiny? But maintain the right direction and you’ll arrive at where you want to go.

• Every breakthrough is at first laughable and ridiculous. In fact if it did not start out laughable and ridiculous, it is not a breakthrough.

• If you loan someone $20 and you never see them again because they are avoiding paying you back, that makes it worth $20.

• Copying others is a good way to start. Copying yourself is a disappointing way to end.

• The best time to negotiate your salary for a new job is the moment AFTER they say they want you, and not before. Then it becomes a game of chicken for each side to name an amount first, but it is to your advantage to get them to give a number before you do.

• Rather than steering your life to avoid surprises, aim directly for them.

• Don’t purchase extra insurance if you are renting a car with a credit card.

• If your opinions on one subject can be predicted from your opinions on another, you may be in the grip of an ideology. When you truly think for yourself your conclusions will not be predictable.

• Aim to die broke. Give to your beneficiaries before you die; it’s more fun and useful. Spend it all. Your last check should go to the funeral home and it should bounce.

• The chief prevention against getting old is to remain astonished.

 

 "True instruction was in his mouth..... And he turned many back from iniquity." Mal. 2:6 

This touching photo of Nicky Cruz reaching a young man's heart illustrates so vividly Christian ministry. Most of us will speak to people one on one, as we sympathize and win their trust; it may be at work, or in church, the streets or online. Today's youth are lost in a cloud of confusion and with few to point the way of truth; may I be one who tries. 

   

 "Christianity went forth into the communities where multitudes were held in slavery, and all ranks were ground and oppressed by despotism; abuses on which the spirit of our religion frowns as sternly as on any which can be named. Yet Christianity did not command the master to free his slaves, or the despot to descend from his absolute throne; but satisfied itself with proclaiming sublime truths in regard to God's paternal character and administration, and broad and generous principles of action, leaving to these the work of breaking every chain, by gradual, inward, irresistible influence, and of asserting the essential equality and unalienable rights of the whole human race."  William Ellery Channing. 

  The great joy of reading the Bible is we discover truths that are new to us. Sometimes we think that all truth has been discovered and that we have nothing to do but to repeat what others have taught. But don't feel as if Christianity has spoken its last word, and there is nothing more to say; God has intended that truth should be our own discovery.

 Paradoxical as it may seem, we ought to discover the truths which we have been taught by others; because the light which our own earnest free thought will throw on these, will make them so different from what they were when first passively received, that they will be virtually rediscovered by ourselves.

   It is the characteristic of Divine Truth that it is inexhaustible and infinitely fruitful. It does not stand alone in the mind, but combines with, explains, illuminates and broadens our other knowledge.

The very spirit of God's great moral truth is to touch the deep springs of thought within us, to awaken the soul to new activity, to start a throng of suggestions to be followed out by patient contemplation.

William Ellery Channing, abridged. 

 

  There are denominations and sects of Christianity that have cult like characteristics; they seek to control by fear or exclusivity; and they use the Bible as their authority but do not foster freedom or Christian liberty. 

One of the most common ways I've seen this, all my Christian life, is to try and control what you read. The Christian is told to beware of wolves in sheep's clothing and they have their exclusive list of "safe" books, as well as "safe" Preachers, Teachers, commentaries and churches. They discourage reading anything but the Bible, and their approved versions of the Bible.

But Christianity is not fear based, God will lead and guide us all the days of our lives, and we know the Master's voice, and the ways that lead to spiritual growth. Brethren, every time we have a deep conversation with another human; or when we hear a radio, podcast or any media presentation; when we listen to a sermon or read a commentary as well as a book, we are being influenced; and in truth, all interaction with other humans exposes us to their expressions of opinion and explanation, in short, their commentary on living. 

All interaction with others, regardless of the source, is in essence a commentary. But Jesus commands us, not only to engage with people, but go into all the world and engage others and their varying opinions. He not only demands that we talk with others, but as He invited His disciples after the resurrection to see and touch His wounds, He sends us to share our wounds with others, to talk "cheek to jowl", to engage the world in the deepest ways possible, close and personal. When Jesus revealed Himself He "breathed on His disciples", meaning; He was close, intimate, personal and vulnerable. So have no fear, Christ will not forsake you, He will not leave you as orphans, but rather, He will be a light for your path; He will guide your steps and will not let anyone pluck you from His hand. Each of us has His anointing within us, and that Holy Spirit will keep you safe and always directs you to the heart of Christ. 

              

    I understand the sentiments that we need more Bible preached from the pulpit today, but I also believe that the wisdom, insights, understanding, and power that we see in the New Testament church didn't end with the Apostles. Or to quote another -- "Moral greatness did not die out with the Apostles. Their lives were reported for this, among other things, that their virtues might be propagated to future times, and that men and women might spring up as worthy a place among the canonized as themselves."

  Christianity has produced men, and women, who walked in nearly the same anointing that the Apostles did, gallons of blood flowed from the martyrs, the gospel has been spread into the darkest parts of the world, revivals have swept towns and countries by the same power working through men long since the apostolic ages. To think, even for a second, that God stopped equipping men and women to lead, to give example, to inspire and to do world changing things is simply to not have read church history. Even today God is distributing his "Gifts" to edify and lift up the blood stained banner of Christ in ways that most of us can only dream of doing. The preachers today, most of which are but a husk of their predecessors, view the Bible from the light that was given from past power filled men of God that displayed the same anointing that the apostles did, they, and even we, have the ability by the Holy Spirit "to do even greater things." 

Of course we preach Bible first and foremost; but what Christian hears and understands all they heard??? None, that's why we have "teachers." So then, choose your "teachers" well, and few today, if any, come anywhere near those of the past.

 John McArthur is hailed as a great Bible teacher, but he is merely an echo of the Reformers of the 1,600s, the host of Puritans that shaped McArthur's thinking and permeate his sermons put him to shame. Same with John Piper, R.C. Sproul, shoot, all the revered preachers today grew up reading the Christian greats of yesteryear. Every one. 

 Will you let this massive tide of intellect, inspiration and wisdom fall further from the church they influenced. I would far rather hear a sermon from one of the greats of the past preached today instead of the shallow pablum we hear in nearly all churches today. Mercy, read the Bible, but also read, quote and emulate the great saints of all ages. Dip your finger into Thomas Brooks, Thomas Watson, Richard Sibbes, Jeremy Taylor, Martin Luther, Charles Spurgeon, George Matheson, and the countless others that changed their world and influenced the church forever. 

  Forgive me for the rant, but much of the church today is a mile wide and an inch deep because they neglected the world changers of the past. God bless their sacrifice, spilled blood, tortured bodies, inspired minds, hours of dedication and holiness which few today hold a candle to.

You may object and say, "Just preach the Bible!" No preacher just recites or reads scripture, they expound scripture, they explain the meaning as they understand it; and that is as good, or as bad, as the man preaching it. God forbid that any of us would ever be spoon fed by one man's interpretation, as admirable as he may be.                   An uneducated laity does not glorify God. "A wise man will hear and increase in learning, and a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel, To understand a proverb and a figure, The words of the wise and their riddles." Pr. 1 Again, I understand the sentiments, many pulpits today have drifted so far from the Bible they are not much more than a "Ted Talk".