Christianity 101

Choosing a President

There for quite a while, Hillary Clinton was considered the inevitable Democrat nominee.

No more.

And for quite a while, RudyG (I’m stumped on spelling his last name) was an apparent shoo-in for the Republicans.

Today he’s out.

And Fred Thompson supposedly could have the nomination for the taking.

He finally reached out for it. It eluded him. And he’s been out for a few days now.

Then there’s Mitt Romney, who really seemed to have something going for him.

That effort seems to have stalled out.

And John McCain had supposedly reached the end of his rope this past summer.

Now he’s the Republican front-runner.

For now?

I’m looking forward to seeing who God has picked out to set up as President.

And how will Christians react to His decision?

Overcoming Worry

I posted this earlier this morning at Anabaptists and just now got done referencing it at Panting Hart. (Yes, I rarely crosspost like that.)

Overcoming Worry

Do you believe what God says? I mean, can you — do you — accept at face value what He has to say…and believe it, and live it? Or are you like most humans — selective, doubtful, logical?

I believe one of the “good” reasons we struggle with covetousness is our need for security for the future. We don’t want some calamity to catch us totally unawares and unprepared. Neither do we wish to have holes in our roofs, clothes and stomachs. The problem is, we tend to anchor our security in stuff instead of in the Stuff Giver. And when our stuff is in short supply, we worry.

God orders us to give sacrificially, that is, of our sustenance. In return, He says He will never leave us nor forsake us. He assures us He is aware of our need for the basic things of life. He promises to provide all we need if we will give our lives to His kingdom and righteousness. He tells us not to worry about tomorrow.

To read the rest, click the Panting Hart link above.

(Written originally in August 1994)

[If then God so clothe the grass... (Luke 12:28)]

from Luke 12:28

Bye, Fred

I thought he would have made the race much more interesting.

And maybe he did.

But now we won’t know for sure.

Because Fred Thompson dropped out. (No, I’m not linking to any blogs or news stories about the matter.)

Too bad he left, I think.

On the other hand, it’s surely part of God doing part what the Ancient of Days does — setting up and taking down rulers.

I rest in that.

And I look forward to learning more of what He is up to in the US Presidential election.

Oh, and here’s the requisite statement on the subject: Maybe Fred’s departure is another signal to me to start making public the planks of the platform of my own Presidential campaign. (I suppose you still think I’m joking, eh?)

You Reap What You Sow

Over the last two or three months, I’ve had reason to think about that.

And how easily we forget it. Or purposefully ignore it. Even when we know it. And maybe even believe it.

Oh the foolishness (stupidity, if you will) of planting something that will bring us a heart-breaking harvest later!
        • contempt and scorn
        • mockery and disrespect
        • deceit and hypocrisy
        • pride and cockiness
        • ungodliness and impurity
        • wrong example and unwise counsel

So stop and think and analyze and look to the future.

(Yes, this applies to you, believe it or not!)

Elsewhere you can find more I wrote on this subject: here and here.

Well, I ask you right now — do you want to harvest what you planted earlier today?

If not, maybe it’s too late. (Though it certainly isn’t too late to confess and abandon the wrong planting.)

And for sure it isn’t too late to start planting something better — something that you can look forward to harvesting.

For myself, my harvesting continues to this very day. Too much of it is quite wretched. (Yes, I’ve been in some kind of a downer of late.)

Now, having written all that, I urge you to hope! You reap what you sow works for the good harvests just as well as it does for the bad ones.

Anyway, eventually it dawned on me that this might make an interesting search term: you reap what you sow.

So I tried it and among the top 10 (of 208,000) Web-search results are these:

What You Do Comes Back To You

The words “What you do comes back to you” are an excellent paraphrase of the Biblical truth, “You reap what you sow.” You plant the seeds (sow), and then later you gather the resulting harvest (reap). The harvest that you reap depends on the kind of seeds you sow. If you sow corn, you will not reap olives.

1 Way Only–You Reap What You Sow

…what you sow in life has a direct relationship to what you’ll receive in your life. In other words, your actions all have consequences. Good actions result in good consequences, and bad actions result in bad consequences.

…But don’t ever be fooled into thinking that your actions don’t have consequences. Don’t think you can get away with bad choices even if you don’t seem to get caught. Remember verse seven tells us that God cannot be mocked. He sees it all. You reap what you sow.

You Reap What You Sow

Another so-called exception to the rule is the belief that time alters the reap-and-sow principle. That is, if the penalty or reward for an act doesn’t come quickly, it isn’t coming at all, and hence the law of cause and effect is broken.

And among the top 10 (of about 35) news-search results are:

Frost Illustrated: Morality in Media leader offers explanation for mass killings

“There is a saying, ‘You reap what you sow,’ and the American people are reaping what the entertainment media have sowed and we have bought for more than forty years.”

allAfrica.com: Zimbabwe: Govt Distributes 535 Ploughs to Farmers

“Let us take heed of the saying ‘you reap what you sow’ and make use of the ploughs given to you today. Sow the seed that will give us a bumper harvest,” he said.

Moultrie Observer – Rants and Raves for Dec 11

“If we are not careful, nobody will want to come here to coach. No true support, no participation, and we expect to win. After what happened to Coach Singletary, you reap what you sow boys! Football is not king anymore! Queen at best!

And among the top 10 (of about 14,440) blog-search results are:

Everyday Woman Radio Show with Vicki Hinze: Stealing Religion

But first it’ll be a long look into a harsh mirror in which nothing is hidden and all that is true is exposed. Then the thief will learn the penalty of his/her actions, and then s/he will suffer the utmost consequences. Because in the very symbols stolen are promises that remain intact: you reap what you sow. And from that, the thief cannot hide.

I wonder. When the thief sows, feels the full weight of the consequences of his/her actions, how will s/he feel about stealing then? Because the truth is, the thief(s) might have stolen and damaged and destroyed that family’s property. But s/he did far more lasting damage to him/herself. The kind self-inflicted that requires far more than mere repayment to be satisfied. It requires forgiveness, and that requires divine grace.

You reap what you sow

It is said that we reap what we sow.

In fact, it could be argued that even the most fertile soil throughout the world is barren unless time and effort is expended to take seeds and have them properly planted, cultivated and nurtured.

Peephole into My Heart

This week we’re having revival meetings at our home congregation. Our visiting preacher is my cousin AH from Georgia. His message last night was on individualism. Wow! What an excellent message! I’ve got to talk to my friend LM about getting it in MP3 format so I can post it online.

Anyway, about the meat of this post. In his devotional before the message, one of our local ministers (PT) read from and commented on Psalm 26.

These two verses spoke to my heart in particular:

“Judge me, O LORD; for I have walked in mine integrity: I have trusted also in the LORD; therefore I shall not slide” (1).

“For thy lovingkindness is before mine eyes: and I have walked in thy truth” (3).

That’s how I want to walk!

Well, that seemed like a good “Search of the Day” candidate, but I opted to use my computer Bible instead of Google.

Not many results. Here are two in the Outstanding to Me category:

“If I have walked with vanity, or if my foot hath hasted to deceit; Let me be weighed in an even balance, that God may know mine integrity” (Job 31:5,6).

“And said, Remember now, O LORD, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore.” (Isaiah 38:3).

I need to work on that. The talk part of Christianity is important; much more the walk part. If my faith in Jesus doesn’t direct my walk (that is, my life in every dimension), that faith is suspect. Like I said, I especially need to work on the walk part.

Thankfully, it’s not just me at work on me. God Himself is the Master Craftsman!

These days His work has me struggling in deep waters that seem to crash over my head and surge into my nose too often.

So these two songs presented by Voice of Praise in their Reunion release have made new connections with me:
      • No, Not One
      • Leaning on the Everlasting Arms

God is greatest and John the Baptist was His prophet!

Treasure — Trash — Treasure

There’s a lesson in this, right?

A painting found in a pile of trash on a New York street sold at Sotheby’s auction house late Tuesday for a million dollars, nearly 20 years after it was stolen from a warehouse in Texas.

“Tres personajes” (“Three People”), a 1970 work by Rufino Tamayo, one of Mexico’s best known artists, was bagged for 1.049,000 dollars by a north American buyer who fought off a telephone bidder, the auction house said.

It had been saved from the garbage by Elizabeth Gibson, who spotted the work while out walking one morning in 2003.

Maybe even more than one.

The painting, even while in the trash, was valuable.

Value isn’t always recognized by people.

Somebody had to put forth effort to rescue the treasure from the trash.

Does this apply to me somehow?

Jesus rescued me from life’s trash heap.

My value to Jesus wasn’t diminished by the fact I was in the trash heap.

I need to learn to value people better (and more accurately).

I need to work with Jesus in the We Rescue Treasure from Trash business.

Got Food?

We have lots of food — on shelves, in fridges, and in freezers; upstairs and downstairs; canned, frozen, dried, and fresh.

Some folks don’t.

So other folks help them.

Food pantries struggling with shortages

Operators of free food banks say they are seeing more working people needing assistance. The increased demand is outstripping supplies and forcing many pantries and food banks to cut portions.

Demand is being driven up by rising costs of food, housing, utilities, health care and gasoline, while food manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers are finding they have less surplus food to donate and government help has decreased, according to Lisa Hamler-Fugitt, executive director of the Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks.

“I’ve been doing this for 20 years, and I can’t believe how much worse it gets month after month,” she said.

What will their Thanksgiving be like?

Do I have any opportunities I’m missing?

Jesus said we should help those who cannot help us in return. He said our helping the destitute shows our love for Him.

Does anybody know of any reputable trustworthy efficient food banks in the Molalla-Woodburn-Canby-Silverton area?

Above all, love God!