MORE THAN A DUSTY ROCK

Loss hurts. How do you recoup after the loss of a love one, a friend, or just someone who has touched your life, even if it was from a distance. Death is something that everyone of us has to deal with. We deal with it in many ways, our own personal ways, but how do we help each other through the heart pains of death? In Hebrews 9:27, it says that EVERYONE is destined to die once. It is a fact of life. Death and taxes, I know you have heard that old addage. Death touches everyone, and how we address the cause of our sorrow, can say alot about how we view life in and of itself. Our view of death reflects our view of life.

Read the rest of this entry »

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Let me give you an overview of my family. I have a family of special needs. All three of my children have special needs, each in their own extreme way have limitations. My wife and I both have physical and financial situations that would put us in that category, very popular in the Christendom today, known as You Must Believe and have More Faith-ism. Everything I have seen and read in the scripture is that faith is aquired, usually not of our own fruition, but is granted through grace from a holy God who wants complete reliance upon Himself. We all go through times in our faith walk, where we just don’t know how to keep-on-keeping-on. You know those times where you feel that the harder you try, the harder you pray, the harder you put into application what others, in and outside of the brick and mortar church, say . . . you just never reach the proverbial carrot at the end of the string in front of you? Faith, or our faith walk, is an ongoing task. One thing I have learned is that faith is not an action of “if”, it’s an action of “although”.

Read the rest of this entry »

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

What is true repentance? I have been struggling with that question. Do we pacify God by going to Him, time and time again by committing sin, the same sin, time and time again, saying a prayer of forgiveness which we have polished up to make ourselves feel better, and take advantage of His grace and mercy with the knowledge that He forgives His children. Are we, am I, just plugging in the card and password of our continual sin with the knowledge that we will get the forgiveness in the little slot that we can take and put in our proverbial minds wallet? How dare we, how dare I, take advantage of that! Do we foolishly assume that it is His responsibility to forgive me and make me feel better?!

Read the rest of this entry »

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

There is an author named Madeleine L’Engle who once said, “Those who believe they believe in God but without passion in the heart, without anguish of mind, without uncertainty, without doubt, and even at times without despair, believe only in the idea of God, and not in God Himself.” Wow look at that list again: Read the rest of this entry »

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Sometimes you come across products online that just escape words. I am not going to comment on this, but with this single solitary statement . . . Jody . . . this butts for you! LOL!

Read the rest of this entry »

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Wow, the concept of biblical doubting. Is there such a thing? I have been reading quite a bit, both books about faith, and post modern worship, as well as how the world sees the church universal. In all of these books I have noticed questions popping up, and one that has struck me was actually not a question but a recommendation to youth ministers and counselors. Here it is . . . Encourage your kids to doubt. Wow! Everything that is within me, which has been built up like mounds of mud upon mud, tells me to never doubt! It has a negative connotation to it. And God forbid anything being negative in nature. Always think positive, you know the glass half full or half empty thing?! Well think about it . . . doubting can have a “positive” connotation to it! Yeah, I said it . . . doubting can be positive! Man, if my bible teacher in high school could hear me now! HA! Read the rest of this entry »

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!