Into what do you immerse yourself? Lately, I’ve neglected many things that I both enjoy and feel as though need to be done. Writing here for JonahzSong is one. There are others. But I pulled out a project I’d planned doing at some point. It was one of those “some time or other when I gather what is needed, I’ll do (insert project here).” I became totally immersed in it. It took a while Continue reading “Immersed in a Project”
Category: Back to Basics
Stagger not at the Promises of G-d; Live Successful Lives
“Unbelief is at the bottom of all our staggerings at God’s promises,” wrote Matthew Henry.
He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God. . . (Romans 4;20)
The Creator of the Universe, of all that is, seen and unseen, offers righteousness to His creation; belief is what we offer to G-d. We offer belief in His miracles, His promises, His Resurrection of us. We do this because He offered Y’shuaJesus in redemption for our souls. Through Y’shuaJesus, and only through Y’shuaJesus, Continue reading “Stagger not at the Promises of G-d; Live Successful Lives”
Filthy
Filthy is such a, well, filthy word. Even when it’s not associated with dirt, like filthy rich, it still sounds so negative. I like the word feculent. It sounds so upper crust, don’t you know. One could say “Oh, I love your feculent hair,” and one whose vocabulary was normal, would consider it a compliment. Deceptive, isn’t it?
It’s easy to smile at someone and say something that sounds nice but it isn’t really what is meant. I’ve heard a lot of folks talk about people who seem to feel the need to ask questions such as, “How does this blouse look?” What’s a good response: 1) “Oh, very nice, dear.” or 2) “Well, it’
s a nice blouse, but it looks a bit tight on you today.” There are some people who would handle number two. And then there are some that would be offended and respond curtly, “What? Are you saying I’m fat? I know I’ve gained fifty pounds but I’m stressed and what right do you have to accuse me of being fat?”
A Bull in a China Shop
The Daily Post Prompt Clumsy
It could have been worse. My mother could have said I was like a hog in a china shop. It wasn’t said maliciously. Just an observation based on a me being clumsy. But that only applied on land. In the water it was different. As early as I can remember I’ve loved the water. I remember swimming in the irrigation canal that ran along the road in front of our ranch. And in the icy cold waters of Lake Tahoe, where I spent a lot of summers with my aunt, who was only a bit older than me and like a sister. I learned to water ski, too. In the water I felt graceful. But on land. Yes, I was clumsy. As I look back on it, though, it wasn’t all my fault. Think about it. What if you were trying to walk around in one of those play houses meant for little kids? You’d knock things over too.
The odd thing is that I tend to like small cars, cabins, and boats. My first car was a VW bug. I liked small cars. Eventually I got used to just ducking down low and squeezing into small spaces. I lived in trailer for a couple of years that I couldn’t stand in. My sailboat is the same way. The cabin height is only five foot. I’m six foot five inches tall. The longest bunk is six foot, and both ends are bulkheads—so no room to hang my feet over.
Things got worse a couple months ago when I had an attack of vertigo. It’s been a long road recovering, too. Walking around was a real effort for the first month. Talk about feeling clumsy. I’d weave around trying just to walk across the living room into the kitchen.
Clumsy. Yeah. Been there. Done that. But so what. It didn’t stop me taking a modern dance class in college. I stuck my inhibitions in the trashcan—for a moment—and actually performed before an audience. If there were scouts from some theatre company in the audience, I wasn’t called. I did this crazy dance routine with a women that was in the class. Someone came up afterward and said she did very well. He was honest and pointed out that I was stiff looking. That was nice, I guess. But so what. I enjoyed it. It was fun.
Psalm 149 tells us the dance and sing to the LORD.
Praise the LORD!
Sing to the LORD a new song,
his praise in the assembly of the godly!
Let Israel be glad in his Maker;
let the children of Zion rejoice in their King!
Let them praise his name with dancing,
making melody to him with tambourine and lyre!
For the LORD takes pleasure in his people;
he adorns the humble with salvation.
Let the godly exult in glory;
let them sing for joy on their beds.
Let the high praises of God be in their throats
and two-edged swords in their hands,
to execute vengeance on the nations
and punishments on the peoples,
to bind their kings with chains
and their nobles with fetters of iron,
to execute on them the judgment written!
This is honor for all his godly ones.
Praise the LORD!
3 Quotes, 3 Days: Day Three
I’ve been nominated by Mia Grizzle who blogs at The Grizzle Grist Mill for the 3 Quotes, 3 Days Challenge. Thank you very much Mia. I enjoy Mia’s writing and her variety of posts. Stop by and check out her site. The Challenge sounds like fun, and a great way to contribute to the WordPress Community. The Challenge: Post three quotes and nominate three people a day to the challenge, for three days.
Today I offer three
from J. R. R. Tolkien. I was first introduced to Mr. Tolkien’s most famous work, The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings trilogy, in the early 1980s. It was my Continue reading “3 Quotes, 3 Days: Day Three”
3 Quotes, 3 Days: DAY TWO
I’ve been nominated by Mia Grizzle who blogs at The Grizzle Grist Mill for the 3 Quotes, 3 Days Challenge. Thank you very much Mia. I enjoy Mia’s writing and her variety of posts. Stop by and check out her site. The Challenge sounds like fun, and a great way to contribute to the WordPress Community. The Challenge: Post three quotes and nominate three people a day to the challenge, for three days.
Today, from across the pond, I have three quotes out of the many wonderful words and works of C.S. Lewis. Well known for The Chronicles of Narnia, Mr. Lewis also wrote some incredible books that explained the Christianity in a simple, straight-forward manner. According to Wikipedia, “Charles Colson‘s conversion to Christianity resulted from his reading [Mere Christianity], as did the conversions of Francis Collins, Jonathan Aitken, Josh Caterer and the philosopher C. E. M. Joad.
I hope you enjoy these three from C.S. Lewis:
Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without caring twopence how often it has been told before) you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it.
A man can no more diminish God’s glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word ‘darkness’ on the walls of his cell.
Try to say the very thing you really mean, the whole of it, nothing more or less or other than what you really mean. That is the whole art and joy of words.
And the nominees for Day Two are:
Like Mia at The Grizzle Grist Mill, these writers/bloggers write from their hearts, sharing with us there lives and how they see the world. I hope you’ll find their work a joy to read.
Unashamed of Jesus
Jason C. Cushman
Josephine
Let me leave you the rules of the challenge:
Three quotes for three days.
Three nominees each day (no repetition).
Thank the person who nominated you.
Inform the nominees.
Thank you to Mia for nominating me for this challenge.
3 Quotes, 3 Days Challenge: DAY ONE
I’ve been nominated by Mia Grizzle who blogs at The Grizzle Grist Mill for the 3 Quotes, 3 Days Challenge. Thank you very much Mia. I enjoy Mia’s writing and her variety of posts. Stop by and check out her site. The Challenge sounds like fun, and a great way to contribute to the WordPress Community. The Challenge: Post three quotes and nominate three people a day to the challenge, for three days.
Since my high school days in the Rebellious 60s, I’ve enjoyed the works of Henry David Thoreau. I can’t say I’ve ever lived as simply as he did at Walden’s Pond, nevertheless, his works left their indelible mark.
Here’s three of many things he said/wrote that I love:
How vain it is to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live.
I once had a sparrow alight upon my shoulder for a moment, while I was hoeing in a village garden, and I felt that I was more distinguished by that circumstance that I should have been by any epaulet I could have worn.
If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.
And the nominees for Day One are:
Like Mia at The Grizzle Grist Mill, hese writers/bloggers write from their hearts, sharing with us there lives and how they see the world. I hope you’ll find their work a joy to read.
Let me leave you the rules of the challenge:
Three quotes for three days.
Three nominees each day (no repetition).
Thank the person who nominated you.
Inform the nominees.
Thank you to Mia for nominating me for this challenge.
Openers. . .
Battles have opening shots, as do politicians, directed against enemies perceived and real. Comedians have opening lines, while the Olympics have opening ceremonies.
Dr. Waldrop said on a table in a lecture hall waiting for the first class of the semester to settle in.
“Good morning,” he said casually.
A few murmurs were heard and a few said “hi.” Most of the guys were only half present, not necessarily wanting to be there but wanting student deferments; we really didn’t want to go to Viet Nam. Dr. Waldrop walked quietly to the back of the hall, exited though double doors, re-entered. Slamming the door shut, he raced down the aisle, resuming his place on stage.
“GOOD MORNING!” That got our attention.
A frail old man entered an assembly of seminary students, teetering occasionally, walked to the lectern, grasped it firmly, and looked out at the young students’ faces.
“Jesus loves me,” Alan Redpath sang. “Jesus loves me, this I know. . .”
Faces turned slowly toward that old pastor, whose voice cracked occasionally as he continued singing.
“For the Bible tells me so;
Little ones to Him belong;
They are weak, but He is strong.”
The hall was quiet except for the lone voice calling out.
“Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
The Bible tells me so.”
Pastor Redpath sang the entire song. By time he finished, not a dry eye was to be seen.
That’s the way to open whatever is worth opening.
Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .
Fireflies, Dragon Flies, and a Dog in the Back of a Pickup
It seems to me that I long too much to be back in rural America. My dislike for cities is apparent when I reread things I’ve posted, or thought about things I say when talking to people. Just this morning, a fellow and I spoke about the way things were “Back in the Day.” He was raised in McDonough, Georgia. While now fully connected to Atlanta, he recalls when it was a small town, where everyone knew one another.
“Things were different back then—simpler,” he said.
“Not necessarily easy, but indeed simpler. And more cordial,” I said.
He mused about walking down the street and everyone he’d pass would nod their head or raise their hand just enough—the Southern Salute.
To that I raised the ante. . . Continue reading “Fireflies, Dragon Flies, and a Dog in the Back of a Pickup”
Salvation and the Sinner’s Prayer
There is a lot we need to understand about ourselves, and about G-d and His plan for all people, in order to become Genuine Christians. To this end, when reaching out to people with the Gospel, refer to four spiritual laws before offering to have folks pray the Sinner’s Prayer. I’ve included the text from a tract below that explains these laws and contains a version of the Sinner’s Prayer.
There are times in which G-d has sown the seeds of need within peoples hearts, and they simply need immediate peace though receiving the Lord Jesus. Hence, they’re often offered a hand and prayed with to receive Christ. I’ve included another version of the Sinner’s Pray toward the end of this column.
It seems to me G-d is not limited in the way in which He finds and saves the lost. Luke tells of a criminal, a sinner, dying on a cross next to our Lord Y’shuaJesus.
One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise. Luke 23:39-43.
The Four Spiritual Laws and Sinner’s Prayer
Law 1
God loves you and offers a wonderful plan for your life.
God’s Love
“God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16, NIV).
God’s Plan
[Christ speaking] “I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly”
[that it might be full and meaningful] (John 10:10).
Why is it that most people are not experiencing that abundant life?
Because…
Law 2
Man is sinful and separated from God. Therefore, he cannot know and experience God’s love and plan for his life.
Man is Sinful
“All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
Man was created to have fellowship with God; but, because of his own stubborn self-will, he chose to go his own independent way and fellowship with God was broken. This self-will, characterized by an attitude of active rebellion or passive indifference, is an evidence of what the Bible calls sin.
Man Is Separated
“The wages of sin is death” [spiritual separation from God] (Romans 6:23).
Separation
This diagram illustrates that God is holy and man is sinful. A great gulf separates the two. The arrows illustrate that man is continually trying to reach God and the abundant life through his own efforts, such as a good life, philosophy, or religion -but he inevitably fails.
The third law explains the only way to bridge this gulf…
Law 3
Jesus Christ is God’s only provision for man’s sin. Through Him you can know and experience God’s love and plan for your life.
He Died In Our Place
“God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
He Rose from the Dead
“Christ died for our sins… He was buried… He was raised on the third day, according to the Scriptures… He appeared to Peter, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred…” (1 Corinthians 15:3-6).
He Is the Only Way to God
“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father but through Me'” (John 14:6).
Bridge The Gulf
This diagram illustrates that God has bridged the gulf that separates us from Him by sending His Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross in our place to pay the penalty for our sins.
It is not enough just to know these three laws…
Law 4
We must individually receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord; then we can know and experience God’s love and plan for our lives.
We Must Receive Christ
“As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name” (John 1:12).
We Receive Christ Through Faith
“By grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as result of works that no one should boast” (Ephesians 2:8,9).
When We Receive Christ, We Experience a New Birth
(Read John 3:1-8.)
We Receive Christ Through Personal Invitation
[Christ speaking] “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any one hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him” (Revelation 3:20).
Receiving Christ involves turning to God from self (repentance) and trusting Christ to come into our lives to forgive our sins and to make us what He wants us to be. Just to agree intellectually that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that He died on the cross for our sins is not enough. Nor is it enough to have an emotional experience. We receive Jesus Christ by faith, as an act of the will.
The following explains how you can receive Christ:
You Can Receive Christ Right Now by Faith Through Prayer (Prayer is talking with God)
God knows your heart and is not so concerned with your words as He is with the attitude of your heart. The following is a suggested prayer:
Lord Jesus, I need You. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life and receive You as my Savior and Lord. Thank You for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Take control of the throne of my life. Make me the kind of person You want me to be.
Does this prayer express the desire of your heart? If it does, I invite you to pray this prayer right now, and Christ will come into your life, as He promised.
(from CRU store)
Sinner’s Pray, another version
Father, in Jesus Name I ask you the best way I know how that you forgive my sins and take my life and direct it, lead it, and guide it, all the days of my life. I want to know You Lord Jesus in a more personal way and to have You help me to grow in Your Word. I believe that You died on the Cross for me and that You were raised from the dead. I confess You Jesus as my Lord and my Savior. Thank You Lord Jesus. Amen.
Jonah’s Song 