“Embrace Your Weakness”

So I see the above article title as I sit to write. While my neighbor's kid has his idiot music so loud that it would wake the dead if anything but God could do such a thing.

As I analyze the title of that unread article I wonder what God is teaching me in this situation? These days, to speak out against the idiot culture seems like a scary thing to do. If we open our mouths we declare who we are and what we stand for. Which seems only popular if you are on the far left. So where do we Christians fit into this age? How far should we go to make a point? What is our responsibility and what should be our goal? Should we rock the boat or stay in our holy huddle? Are we to be Gandi types or George Parton types? These are all burning questions.

I believe that we have caved to the mainstream already in many ways. We are a nation of millions of Christians yet it seems that nobody is doing anything as we see our snile president bumbling and stumbling through a softball press conference. "Come on man!"

We actually think that someone else is going to stick their neck out to stop the foolishness. Really? Do you really think that?

We Christians are not militant, right? We should lay our head on the chopping block and let it roll without a fight. We are pacifists like Jesus, correct?

We have become spiritual jellyfish. We cower in our homes and wear masks because we're told to do so by the governing authorities. We have church online and think, "well at least we're meeting!" We fear reprisals from hate groups or gangs of thugs. We see news reports of normal people being taken to jail and fear the same treatment. Why?

As he took lunches to his brothers and heard the idiot giant screaming philistine obscenities at God, David began to ask questions. "Who is this blasphemous beast? What is the price on his head? Is there not a cause?"

Saul's reaction is classic, "You can't go battle this guy! You're a kid, he's been a warrior since he was a kid!" David then begins to tell the king how that God had helped him protect his flock by killing attacking wild animals with small weapons, and Saul suddenly has a change of heart. "Go, and the Lord be with you." was all he could whimpering.

Strange that as king, he didn't ask about the battle plan or if David wanted backup. Just a feeble astalavista as if to say, "Have fun storming the castle boy."

Admittedly, David's reaction and battle plan was not the seemingly wise thing to do. A kid against a giant? What were the odds?

That's was it, there were no odds. All bets were off. The battle was the Lord's!

In the aftermath did everyone live happily ever after? Nope. David's problems really started with that victory. Not because he beat that bad old giant, but because the king's envy took center stage for the next few years. There was a price to pay for that battle against evil. The bigger enemy for those following years was his own leader. The man who David called, "God's chosen". Wow.

Where does this leave us? Here are some observations.

There is a battle
God is being blasphemed
There is a cause
We have enough to win the battle
The victory probably won't bring ease

So, get those smooth stones ready.

God Made Clothes

And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them. Gen 3:21 I have always heard the following explanation of this verse. Because Adam and Eve had sinned, they died spiritually. They also lost the right to be in the Garden of Eden and were cursed in other ways. For example, they had made clothes out of fig leaves, but God sacrificed a lamb; thus, God shed blood and made clothes. This sacrifice of an innocent lamb symbolized what Jesus Christ would do in the distant future. Is this what you have heard? I don't know; it seems like this interpretation is stretching what Moses wrote in the above text. The text says that God made clothes for Adam and his wife from skins. We see no blood, we don't know what kind of skins, nor can I imagine God making an animal sacrifice. Did God have to skin animals to make these clothes? Or could he have just made them like he had everything else in the universe just a little while earlier? To th...

What Are You Worth?

What are you Worth? Have you ever thought about what you are worth? In investing circles there is a term used to gauge this exact question, it's called Net Worth. You take all of your assets, like property owned, funds in your bank account, clothes, jewelry, car, etc.. You total all of these things. You then take everything you owe, like mortgage, car loan, and credit card debt, and you subtract these items from the first total. This gives you your net worth. That number represents where you are financially. Most people never stop to think about this number because they don't understand anything about it. They never have two nickels to rub together. They live from hand to mouth and know (or at least believe) nothing will ever change so, they fall into the "daily grind" mentality. Psalm 49 should be a great encouragement to such as these. The sons of Korah write about them. These sons write about all of us. They call all people everywhere to listen to their wisdom. Bo...

Grazi and Cris Are Getting Baptized!

Graziele / Cris Grazilele (hard to pronounce if you are not a Brazilian) and Cris are getting baptized on Saturday night. Baptism is a big step of faith and these young ladies are ready. Grazi accepted the Lord several years ago when Company C was in it's infancy. She was invited to club by a friend, who has since left, and not long afterwards she opened her heart to the Savior. She is a determined twelve going on twenty year old. When Grazi sets her mind on a task she usually gets it done. Dawn has been teaching her Bible lessons and sewing skills recently and she's noted Grazi's abilities. Grazi plays the recorder in o ur orchestra. Cris is Alexandre's youngest sister. She accepted Christ when her older sister Dani shared her own personal decision a few years back. Cris always has a smile on her face and is a ready helper too. She is quiet but gifted. She is learning to play the violin and is also a part of our growing orchestra. Both of these gi...

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