Ok God, its true that being obedient to you is the better way. By following you, you put us in touch with someone who is hungering for more of you and searching

Bias? What bias?

You've heard about the Episcopal church's liberal direction, right?

It's hard to miss when the media praises the "inclusiveness" etc., ad nauseum, of the Episcopal church.

Well the American branch of the Episcopal church has about 2 million members, and with the frequent (and fawning) news coverage of the ordination or promotion of yet another liberal and/or gay person within the American church, you'd think the Church as a whole is in decline...

But did you know ...

Recently the General Conference of the United Methodist Church voted against rules that would liberalize the church and set in place more of a pro-gay agenda.  Didn't hear about it in the New York Times or Newsweek, did you?  That's because there was no coverage...  Apparently the U.S. liberals are angry at the growing influence of African and Asian church who (are you ready?) actually believe what the Bible says.

Read the article.  It's fascinating, and encouraging.

Is there an appropriate response to sinning against God?

Yes, there is. It is brokenness; brokenness and repentance.  Those of you who listen to
James MacDonald know of his meme "me in the dirt, and God on the throne;" though not
specifically the same as brokenness, having a right relationship to the Creator of the Universe
does require humility and the acknowledgment on our part that we are completely
dependent on Him for our being and salvation.

Contrary to popular culture, we should be broken when we sin.

Voddie Baucham delivers an hour-long sermon split up into six ten-minute videos that is one
of the most moving sermons I have heard.  I encourage you to listen/watch also, and share
your thoughts.

The sermon is at http://thefoolishgalatian.wordpress.com/2009/06/23/voddie-baucham-brokenness/

God's blessings,

Lawrence

Experience

We should be careful to get out of an experience only the wisdom that is in it— and stop there; lest we be like the cat that sits down on a hot stove-lid. She will never sit down on a hot stove-lid again— and that is well; but also she will never sit down on a cold one anymore.

— Mark Twain

Less of a man

I felt sad and lonely,

old, worn out and

somehow less of a

man than before I'd

began

To be together last

night for

companionship was like

looking at a shell of a

man: somehow still

alive and yet,
not so much

a total lack of

one might expect

from a friend who

accepted your help and now

had no gratitude

no awareness there

might be give and take (usually),
not just take

this

sounds harsh perhaps,
and yet, sadness rushed in

because his friendship

I miss

and now

I feel sad and lonely,

old, worn out and

somehow less of a

man than before I'd

began

Interesting question: does having more people praying for healing (for example) going to see result in a different outcome than only one or two people praying?

Some humor this morning

Enjoy some laughs at the new "Real-time polling" technology . . .

New Live Poll Allows Pundits To Pander To Viewers In Real Time

Words of Wisdom . . .

So I said to him, "Barack, I know Abe Lincoln, and you ain't Abe Lincoln." You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich. You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong. You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift. You cannot lift the wage earner up by pulling the wage payer down. You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred. You cannot build character and courage by taking away people's initiative and independence. You cannot help people permanently by doing for them, what they could and should do for themselves. ...Abraham Lincoln

Car design parody video

Hello,

The below link points to a YouTube video that is a parody of the government's efforts to direct the car industry's work. 
It's rather amusing and perhaps a bit too prophetic, given how things appear to be headed.  Enjoy!

The 2012 Pelosi GTxi SS/RT Sport Edition Vehicle 

Prayer is like a walkie-talkie

Pyromaniacs: What prayer is and isn't [requested classic re-post]

Fascinating article defining prayer as "you talking to God;" nothing more, nothing less.
The points of view mentioned (along with apparentl biblical references for substantiation)
is a new one to me and challenging ... your thoughts?

Pyromaniacs: Sister... show mercy! (Annual repost #2)

Pyromaniacs: Sister... show mercy! <i>(Annual repost #2)</i>

Incredible advice and wisdom. It is difficult to defend against what Dan supports, but if you can do it,
I really want to hear from you. Just ... read the article!

Set Apart

Do not be afraid to stand apart from others if others are following the world's ways. Following God often means not following what's popular or what the majority wants. Peter speaks to this in 1 Peter 4:4

When you stand apart, but in God's will, you will appear beautiful to those around you. Maybe not always welcome, but beautiful in the aura of obedience to God.

Think about it.

If you have a relationship with a fellow believer, being open with him/her is much easier than with someone with sion you don't have that relationship.

Shut Up!

It is interesting, really, to notice that people who call themselves Christians often are the ones must unable to cope with the reality of suffering by others in their congregations. You know, the ones who always respond with that beautiful smile as they say, "fine" when asked how they are doing.

But what about the people in church who are suffering? To whom can they turn? Shouldn't church be the first place you would turn when you experience a crisis, or need to talk about how you want to cheat on your spouse, or how to process the awful news you just heard?

Instead, how many of us turn to gossip, judgment before its appropriate, backbiting and just mean selfish behavior instead of helping someone stuck in sin?

My friend Anne Jackson has put up an interesting post asking what things people wish they could say in church... take a look - you may see yourself in the list.

Solitude and Reflection

Israel: Did you know?

Recently George Will gave a speech in which he properly dealt with many of the awful declarations by President Obama in Cairo:

"...How many Americans understand that when Israel was founded in 1948, no Palestinian state was invaded, no Palestinian state was destroyed? There had not been a Palestinian geographic entity since between the departure of the Romans and the arrival of British rule...

"How many know that the West Bank, referred to by the President as "occupied territory," inferentially as occupied Palestinian territory, is under international law [an] unallocated portion of the Palestine Mandate rightfully occupied by Israel, because it occupied it in repelling aggression that came from that territory in 1967...

"...How the President believes that if we return to the 1967 borders, the antipathy to Israel, which predated the 1967 borders, will disappear, I do not know..."

Somehow, that quote from George Santayana seems really appropriate just about now: "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

Did you know the above facts about Israel? How many do? How many assume that Israel is "illegally occupying" Palestinian land?

The truth will set you free.

Facebook Profiles: photos you delete -- are they really gone?

Friends,

Found this today while perusing tech & security sites. 

You may wish to consider advising those you know who use Facebook of this potential privacy concern.

Personal photos uploaded to Facebook and later deleted, do not actually get deleted: a real privacy concern!

url = http://www.lightbluetouchpaper.org/2009/05/20/attack-of-the-zombie-photos/


-Lawrence

A Guide to recognizing your sinners

A well-written summation, maybe even exposition, of what it means to be a Christian. . .

At the very heart of the Christian way of life is the belief that we individual Christians, no matter what our faith, can best effect society with gentle nudges towards God by living a Christ-like life the best we possibly can, while recognizing at the same time that there has in fact only ever been one real Christian to walk the Earth - Jesus. We’re not capable of that kind of perfection. We know this. We are merely asked to try. [emphasis mine]

Secularists don’t know that simple fact about faith and feel threatened by their own ignorance, which quickly spirals into enmity as a defense against what they deeply fear is the truth. After all, Pride is what made the Devil. And the Devil’s main goal is your total separation from any kind of relationship with God, which can easily be described as anxiety, loneliness, fear, panic attacks, suicide…anything to get you away from sincerely trying to follow God. In other words, people of faith go to church while secularists go to therapy.

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