Archive for January, 2011
Altar Ego
Sunday, January 30th, 2011
We have all heard the terrifying stories of tragic events occurring due to the neglect of following instructions. Someone walks past the safety line of the gorilla cage, someone else fails to pay close attention at the wheel of a car, and another chooses to remove the saw guard from the table saw. And yet still another fails to keep the fire in a contained area. All of these decisions can yield horrifying consequences, yet the causal mechanism was the same: failure to follow the instructions. (more…)
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Spam Filter
Sunday, January 23rd, 2011
We have all had the miserable online experience of “spam” emails filling up our inbox, those “Stupid-Pointless-Annoying-Messages.” Sometimes they can infect and affect the workings of our computers, at the very least they are a nuisance. A while ago I even had some kind of virus that delivered spam messages to me even when I was offline! It was as though something had taken control of my computer and it was doing all kinds of crazy things. I didn’t get rid of the problem until I got rid of the computer. Fortunately we have the ability to adjust our “spam” sensitivity to junk mail. The idea is that this email runs through some sort of program and that filter determines when it is garbage and automatically sends it to the trash. Hopefully, that will eradicate, or at least diminish the amount of spam filling up our inbox. (more…)
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Scribbles in the Hymnal
Sunday, January 16th, 2011
Oh the signs of youth! They do leave a wake of destruction in their path, but such are the signs of life. Even around a church one can see the evidences of tiny hands: candy wrappers, fingerprints on walls, stains on the carpet, broken crayons and scribbles in the hymnals. Some may contest these disturbances in the sanctuary but I suggest they are precious and valued in the eyes of the Lord. When these indications of a youthful presence are undervalued, it is then that a church is in trouble. (more…)
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Resolution #2 for 2011
Sunday, January 9th, 2011
I’ve heard that January has the greatest enrollment for weight loss programs. Visions of dancing sugar plums may have filled the heads of the children the night before Christmas, but for most of us, those pesky little plums danced their way right onto our hips and thighs. If you made a list of New Year’s resolutions, chances are that somewhere near the top is a pledge to lose those extra holiday pounds. Well, here is good news. God loves FAT people. In fact, being FAT is good for you and pleases Him. But before you reach for that last piece of Christmas fudge you hid away for an emergency, it’s not about being plump. A Bible teacher once used the acronym FAT as a memory tool for what God expects of His followers. Think FAT—Faithful, Available, Teachable. Think Gideon. (more…)
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Two Dollars Worth of God
Sunday, January 2nd, 2011
I remember hearing a story as a young man. It was about a man who desired to buy two dollars worth of God. “I would like to buy two dollars worth of God, please. Not enough to disturb my sleep, but just enough to equal a cup of warm milk, or a snooze in the sunshine. I want a pound of the eternal in a paper sack. I would like to buy two dollars worth of God.” Unfortunately, this is a widely held desire. People want just enough of God to feel good. They want enough of God to “make it into Heaven.” They just don’t want too much of God, at least not so much that they need to change their beliefs or their behavior. (more…)
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