Pure Gold

Virtue and its Imposters

Three things confuse a Christian;
Yeah, four confound any man.
Unbelief masquerading as wisdom,
Enthusiasm presenting itself as faith,
Fear pretending to be patience,
and permissiveness claiming to be love.

-Thabiti Anyabwile

From Falling Sparrows to Spawling Pharaohs [Part 2]

By way of update - Justus is still in the hospital, but is expected to be discharged tonight. His flu seems to be under control and the peticea [rash] is not believed to be a serious problem anymore, as long as it continues to heal.

I want to thank God for preparing me to lead my family through this, by allowing me to meditate on His Providence in preparation for the Sunday School lessons [starting next week]. I held by boy down while they fished around for his veins with the IV, and my nerves were steeled by mentally repeating: 'No maverick molecules'.

When little things were going wrong, and sleep was scarce, and stress was high, my temper was soothed by the FACT that God's providence is ALWAYS wiser AND BETTER than my preference.

Thank you for your prayers and encouragement - they are priceless.

Valentine Theology

Where was Jesus first mentioned in Scripture?

Just after Adam sinned, God confronted him.

He cursed the Serpent and the ground, and punished the man and his wife.

But the condemnation was interrupted by the promise of Christ and redemption.

In the middle of His curse, God gave hope. On top the thistle, grew the rose. The world is not big enough to contain the goodness of God.

Poetry Worth Reading

Summer warm and lazy
Lemon sun and hazy
Remember?
Popsicle red on my chin
Bikes and plastic army men
And no sign of September
Something in my seven years was telling me
To thank the Author of such a biography

My adolescent 70's
Reads just like the Pevensies'
Adventures
Cause every perfect now and then
I caught a glimpse of Aslan's mane
And I longed for His treasure
Something in His mystery was drawing me
To love the Author of my own biography

All grown up and living fine
Biographies all intertwined
With billions
And soon He turns the final page
We'll look the Author in the face
Then the book really begins
Cause something tells me all these years of memories
Are only the first sentence of eternity

Nonny Nonny
by Chris Rice

Why I'm voting for Ron Paul

There are 2 tenets of modern American politics [Republican or Democrat]:

#1: It takes a long time to sink a big ship

#2: So let's make ours even bigger

The problem with this approach [besides the fact that it's unconstitutional and would've give any of our founding fathers nightmares]:

A ship that's too big will sink itself.

Rich Simplicity - Worship PART 4

Scenario #4: He was a rapper with a yacht, his own record label, and monthly child support payments more than most of us make all year. On Father's Day he might joke about it. On their birthdays a card might be sent, in his secretary's handwriting. Guess there's more to being a father than biology.

Application #4: The case against split services: There's more to being a pastor than preaching. In fact, when we search the New Testament, there is a greater emphasis placed on a pastor's personal integrity, family life, and one on one interaction than on his public preaching abilities. If a pastor is splitting his services to preach to more people than can fit in the building, how can he conceivably be providing them the personal accountability and hands-on shepherding that characterize New Testament eldership?

Please read this not as a bash on split-service churches, but as an earnest plea for church plants ... and laborers for the harvest.

Seek Wisdom where She may be Found

The hotdog stand man in Towson Commons gave me some amazingly insightful marriage advice yesterday. Here are his 3 rules to a happy marriage:

#1. Never go to bed angry with each other - there's nothing worse than waking up mad at the world.
#2. Never say, 'Nothing's wrong' when something is. Even if your spouse is the problem, don't lie and deny it. Deal with your problems.
#3. I'm the only guy in Towson who can tell you what true love is in a single sentence [he said to me]. True love is caring more about your spouse's happiness than your own.

If you desire and/or require an impromptu counseling session with the hotdog man, he can be found outside of the Towson Courthouse on weekdays. If you're headed to the justice of the peace to get married, stop by the stand - he offers free hotdogs w/ chips and drink to newlyweds.

Dad, it's your badge ...

... wear it with pride.

Funny Bumpersticker

Government is not the answer to our problems; government is the problem.

-Ronald Reagan

CHEESEBURGER THEOLOGY

God had promised that a Son would be born to bring victory.
But the whole earth was covered with violence, then water.

Only one family was spared and their survival was the only hope that the promised Son would come.

The earth had been smothered and foodcrops wiped out. Without vegitation how would they keep from starving?

God instructed Noah to now take animals for food. They would be killed so that people might live by their deaths. Meat was messianic. It was Golgotha in Ararat.

Remember redemption at the grill. Give thanks and eat and live, body and soul.

FALSE RELIGION

The notion that some religions are actually false is repugnant to modern sensibilities. But Christ spent his earthly ministry stressing that a devout person could grow up in the middle of a thoroughly religious society and at the end of a gentle life, die and spend eternity in judgment. How many men have died of thirst drifting lost at sea - surrounded by all that salty water?