How the Body SHOULD function

OK, this is a difficult post for me to write when I am the recipient of such mercy and blessing.  It’s easier when I’m the giver!

I’ve been without bedding for the better part of 7 months now.  In July when I moved, it was discovered that the bed I had was infested with mold and mildew…something that could not be cleaned out or salvaged.  The landlord I had at that time didn’t reimburse me, saying that I was “making it all up” and I was out of a bed.  Things being as they have been, I could not get anything to replace that mattress set.

Until today.

A couple in the area is parting out a house that has “like new” furniture in it…showroom furniture probably got more use!  They have a queen-size bed that they are giving me.  This was all set up by my pastor, who was informed of it and then he passed their contact information on to me.  Then, two dear friends of mine, couples both from out of state, both volunteered to send me sheets, pillows, and a comforter.

This is a beautiful illustration of how the Body comes together to meet each other’s needs.  This isn’t about one denomination or another doing something.  This is about believers doing things for other believers.  Such a beautiful thing to see in action, and I am thankful that I am a recipient of such acts.

I would much rather be the giver though…lol

Meditate on this!

What image comes to mind when I say the word “meditate”?  Do you think of dimly lit rooms, candles all around, people humming strange mantras and sitting cross legged on floors with their eyes closed?  Do you think “eastern religions” when I say this?

You’d be right, and wrong.

While it’s true that eastern religions use meditation very heavily as a means of detachment from the world, the use of meditation has value to us as Christians because it brings in a whole new dynamic.  It allows us to take a step back from this world (the detachment) and allows us to attach ourselves to God.  As we draw away from the hustle and bustle of daily living, we are more able to seek God more fully, and listen to that still small voice of His giving us insight into daily living.

Let’s face it:  life in the 21st Century is fast paced.  We have so many things that have to be accomplished on a day-to-day basis, and very little time to get them all done.  And here’s something that may or may not be a secret to you:  If the devil can’t get you to sin, he’ll make you too busy.  He has a way of getting us so caught up in muchness and busy-ness that we aren’t able to spend the time with God that we usually do…and that makes the devil happy.  If you unplug a lamp from it’s power source, it goes out.  Same with us…and that’s what busyness does to us…it unplugs us from God.

The art and act of meditation is not new, and it’s common to the Bible because there are two distinct and different Hebrew words used some 58 times throughout the Scriptures to convey the concept.  The meanings of these words vary, but what remains the same is that they center around God, His works, His word, His deeds, His law and more.  If I were to list all of the references, you would find one common thread that runs throughout them all:  Changed living as a result of a “God encounter”.  One of the things that can never be overlooked in the Biblical view of meditiation is that repentance and obedience cannot be left out of the equation.  This is a separating line between Christian meditation and the mediation of eastern and secular counterparts.

I’m sure that each one of us, myself included, could sit back and say how we have better spent our time.  We all have so much to do; we all have family matters, jobs, careers, church obligations, etc. to tend to.  We get content in our walk sometimes to hear second-hand messages from pastors, friends, teachers, etc., almost like the Israelites did with Moses (Exodus 20:19).  In that we miss so many opportunities to hear from God and get the insight we need to life’s problems.  Oh, the power a message, a lesson, a word for someone could have if we really stepped away from our busyness and heard from God!  But sometimes we miss out, because we don’t take that time.  God is still talking to us today….He didn’t get laryingitis!

Part of being content is that we like where we are.  We don’t want to change, give up old habits, or think that where we are is ok.  We are content to let the pastor speak, have the worship team sing their songs, and go on with our life.  Exodus 20:19 shows us that it’s been like that for a long, long time.  The Israelites were content to have Moses be the mediator between them and God, because they were afraid of God.  Religious ritual for the sake of ritual does nothing for our walk.  When we take the time to meditiate and be alone with God one on one, we run into that one separating factor of repentance and obedience.  So, when we grow complacent, we’d rather hear from someone else than hear from God ourselves, because change isn’t something we want to make.  That’s when we miss out on God for our own life.

And another thing:  This art and act of meditation is not for a spiritual “thrill seeker” either.  This is for people who seriously seek to grow and deepen their relationship with God and develop perspective and balance in the world we live in.  Am I saying that there aren’t exciting things that happen in these times? No.  But I would say that they may be more the exception than the rule.  More often, God imparts to us divine direction in the mundane:  how to deal with issues in our marriage, issues in the family, business, and other things that could almost be considered “boring”.  Thomas Merton said once that “meditation has no point and no value if it is not firmly rooted in life.”  and he’s right.  We so strongly need God’s guidance in the here and now.

To truly impact our world, and even the little sphere that we call our world that is our family, friends and communities, we need to take the time to draw away and hear from God.  So many throughout the scriptures did it.  Jesus himself did it.  We need His guidance to solve the every day mundane issues we deal with.  Men need it to truly find direction as head of the home or for in the business world and know how to deal with those things that affect his family.  Women need it to truly find guidance in the matters of family, home, and personal relationships.  As believers, we all need it to hear how to live lives that bring Him honor and glory and allow ourselves to be molded into His image.

I challenge you to consider meditiation as a part of your spiritual commitment this year.  See what God can do when you truly take the time to listen to Him!

Mounting a comeback

Hello again, blogland!

Yeah, it’s been a few months since you’ve seen me out here. It’s not because of not wanting to, believe me.

You saw the posts about the house phone, and the internet. Well, it wasn’t long after that when things started really cooking. I am in a very delicate situation right now that I’m not going to be detailing here (just yet) but required a lot of time and attention outside of the internet world. It’s not an easy place to be, but sometimes things have to be done this way. Add to that a new computer that’s been purchased and set up, and it’s been 3 months away from writing.

Time to mount a comeback.

So, this week sometime we’re going to be back in full gear (maybe just maybe in time for the Carnival, not sure).

Until then….GO STEELERS and God bless

GRRRRRRR!

Well, we go from internet to home telephone.

And since it’s the day after Thanksgiving, and Deer Season is a “religious holiday” in Pennsylvania, I am without a home telephone until probably Tuesday. At least my cellphone works so people can call me, etc. But in the meantime, I’m still without internet because I’m still dialing up.

Anyone who’d like to donate to my “Overthrow Verizon” fund can email me for more details! I think I can do it for $175!

I hate not having a home internet connection…..

Internet Woes

Internet woes have kept me from posting to the blog since Friday.

At least I have a good backlog of material waiting to go? I’ve typed up some good posts, but just can’t get from the computer to the internet. I’m going to save some of them to disk and upload them at work tomorrow over the lunch hour, but in the interim…

RRRRRR.

Hopefully, the internet stuff will get ironed out soon.

Mad as #@!!

Guys, if there’s one thing we all need to learn it’s to give respect to the women/girls around us.

NO woman deserves to be abused, molested, or raped.

I live with the effects of what several men did to my wife years ago. I struggle in my marriage because I can’t shed the anger. Frankly, I’m mad as hell at the men who did this to her. Today is no exception.

My wife required a very sensitive surgical procedure today, one that is difficult enough for a woman who has not been scarred by the damage of molestation and abuse. To hear her mother tell me about how I have to watch how I say everything, how I do everything, how I dress, how I even BREATHE because of what those men did…well, let’s just say I’m at a boiling point.

If this were the old west, there’d be an old fashioned hanging going down. Unfortunately, the US has become more civilized than that (now we just send them to country-club type prisons rather than actually punish them).

No woman’s life should ever EVER be scarred by abuse and molestation.

And that’s OUR responsibility!

Give ‘em an offer they can’t refuse…

An offer to those in the blogosphere who are in ministry, writing, small business, and are thinking about or looking to build/change/modify/update/overhaul their website.

This is something I do on the side. I have done my share of web design over the past several years, and am looking to expand the market a little. For a small fee (I have to keep the lights on I guess) I can do some pretty nifty and professional-looking things for a webpage. Especially at heart for me are small businesses, ministry groups, churches, and such…those who want a website, can’t figure out how, and don’t have the huge dollars to spend on a professional website design firm.

Comment or send an email to junior at floodcity dot net if interested!

More about the issue of gambling

If you’d scroll thru the comments on the post “It’s Too Much of a Gamble”, you’d see that Susan from Sisters’ Weblog dropped a comment in about the issue of gambling. I happen to really like what link she left me…it’s from her notes on a sermon that Pastor Chuck at Northbrook Church gave a while back. I apologize that I don’t have her direct permission to post this, but I’m going to do it anyhow. I cut a few things off, but here is the crux of the post about gambling and the lottery, etc., and I thought these were good points:

Jesus would NOT play the lottery because:

I. IT IS MOTIVATED BY GREED – Greed and God can not exist in the same heart. (Luke 12:13-21)

People who support the lottery claim it is used for education. While a small portion of it may be used that way, is that really the reason people play it? Does Joe buy a ticket thinking “I’m going to contribute to the education of Tennessee’s youth”? I doubt it, I think Joe wants to win the jackpot.

(Bill’s side note: 38 cents of every dollar goes to PA Seniors programs, the beneficiary of the lottery in Pennsylvania, with the other 62 cents going to payouts, administration of the lottery, etc. Not a real great ratio…)

II. EXPLOITS THE POOR – Jesus loves the poor. The lottery hurts them. (Luke 18:18-23)

I learned today that in statistical studies on the lottery, it shows that those people with incomes below $10,000 a year participate in the lottery more than any other group. Middle income families a little less and high income brackets rarely at all.

Studies also show that at the end/beginning of the month, once welfare checks are recieved, that there is a spike in lottery sales in poor neighborhoods. The lottery is looked upon by the government as a way to get back the money from the welfare system.

There are more lottery outlets in poor neighborhoods than in affluent ones, because that is where the players are.

III. IT IS POOR STEWARDSHIP OF GOD’S RESOURCES – Everything on earth belongs to God. (Matthew 25:14-30)

The lottery is like playing the midway games at the fair. You know you will lose, therefore, why spend money on playing? Statistically there is a greater chance of being struck by lightning TWICE, than winning the “big one”.

That was the crux of it that I wanted to share with you all. I would just encourage you to meditate on those thoughts a little…they were good ones.

Ultimate?

I was telling Jana how I enjoy bouncing around the blogosphere and seeing what people are up to and talking about.

This post caught my attention this morning. My comment was “I’m with ya!” Go have a read over at Jana’s blog and enjoy it. I thought she hit it right on! We have modified the language and changed what words really do mean.

Too Much of a Gamble?

Oh, could I start a stir with this one…

I was approached in the office today by one of our survey party chiefs. He says to me: “Hey Bill, Cash5 is up to $660,000 tonight, you playin’?” Of course my answer is no. He replies: “ah, but you gotta play to win!”

Gambling never made sense to me, even when I was unsaved. Why on earth would I spend money to have a chance at winning more money? And surely, the minute I won a big sum of money, I’d be related to just about everyone in town! I could never understand why it’s such a draw. Then, once I got saved, I figured it out.

“No slave can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.” – Luke 16:13

Does God want us to be grovelling around for everything, depending on government social programs, barely having enough to get by? NO! God wants to prosper us. But here is the thing: Money is a hard master that can easily replace God as the first priority in our lives. Wealth promises power and control that it can’t deliver, and it surely can’t bring health, happiness, or eternal life. It is much better to trust God, serve God, and have eternal peace and security, than to serve money that’s here today and gone tomorrow.

Herein lies the draw I was talking about: Many think that money can bring those things. If I just had that kind of money, my bills would be paid. I’d own my house. I’d be out of debt. I’d save the rest.

Yeah, right. Not many I know who came into big money “saved the rest”.

Now, before someone comes along and blasts me for teaching some sort of commandment of men here and that Paul told us that we have liberty not law, consider:

“All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable”

Is it lawful to go buy a lottery ticket? Sure. Every state has a lottery, as long as you’re older than 18 (maybe 21 in some places) and possess enough American dollars to purchase a ticket, you can get one. But ask yourself, is it profitable? Is spending $2, 5, 10, or more on the lottery helping you? Is it helping others? Is it providing your family’s needs? Does spending that money that way bring glory to God?

If your answer to one or more of those questions is “no” then perhaps you should reconsider your stance on the lottery.

Hard statement to hear, I know. But as Christians, I believe in my heart that we are given a responsibility to do things to bring glory to God and to minister to and serve others. This may strike a nerve with you, but if that’s the case it’s not me; I’m just the paperboy.

To me, it’s just too much of a gamble.