Just Like Job

     I want to be just like Job. Not just like him, in that I want to go through all the suffering and have my best friends call me a liar and my wife tell me to curse God and die. 

     I want to be "Just" like Job, meaning moral, upright, spiritually mature and clean. Imagine being so aware of your purity that you know you are not guilty of a single sin which would be cause for the punishment you are receiving. I pray that someday I will be so aware of my state of sin or sinlessness that I can say, "Yes, I am worthy of punishment today," or, "No, I am sinless before the Lord."

     Consider Job's words in Chapter 13, starting in verse 16, "This also will be my salvation, For a godless man may not come before His presence, 17 "Listen carefully to my speech, And let my declaration fill your ears. 18 "Behold now, I have prepared my case; I know that I will be vindicated. 19 "Who will contend with me? For then I would be silent and die."

     When we drop down to verse 23, Job asks, "How many are my iniquities and sins? Make known to me my rebellion and my sin."

     He knows that He is guiltless! Even Jehovah God knew this about Job when this book opened. We read in chapter one and verse 8, "And the Lord said to Satan, 'Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil.'"

     How awesome will that be? I long for the day when I can say to those around me when I am accused of sin, "I know I am innocent of all sin this day." How about you? Are you there yet? Can you look back at the end of your day and say, "I did it! I didn't sin all day!"

     I've been dealing with a herniated disc in my back for well over a year. Do I think this is some punishment for a sin I have committed? No, I don't. A friend of mine has taught me that the more that comes at you, the more it means Satan is scared of you. If you feel like you are a Job, being punished unrighteously, think of it as Satan being scared of you, of God placing His stamp of approval on you.

Yes, I know that God causes the rain to fall on the just and the unjust, but it sure helps me mentally and spiritually to think that I am or have the potential to be so valuable to God that Satan would be scared of me. I want to be "Just like Job," and I hope that you do also.

God Bless you as you strive to be "Just like Job." - Robert

King Asa's Secret to Success

     Do you want to know a little secret? Actually, it's not a secret at all. Do you know how King Asa was able to win a battle in which he was clearly outnumbered, by over a million to 580,000?

     Was it because he was some great master of battle tactics, a Sun Tzu before there was a Sun Tzu? No.

     Was it because he had lured the Ethiopians into a trap where they would be caught in mud pits and be unable to defend themselves? No.

     Was it because he had developed or discovered some new weapon like Greek fire that more than evened the odds against him? No.

     Was it because he had secretly captured the Ethiopians' king or queen or some other high ranking official that the Ethiopians would be willing to trade for rather than risk their death? No.

     So what was it? What was Asa's secret? Look in your Bible at 2 Chronicles 14:11 and you will find Asa's secret. "Then Asa called to the Lord his God, and said, "Lord, there is no one besides Thee to help in the battle between the powerful and those who have no strength; so help us, O Lord our God, for we trust in Thee, and in Thy name have come against this multitude. O Lord, Thou art our God; let not man prevail against Thee."(NASB)

     What an awesome prayer. Asa knew that it was not up to him or the men he commanded to determine the outcome of the conflict, but God! Asa acknowledged in this prayer that they didn't have the strength themselves to accomplish the goal. But what He said that was positive is absolutely amazing. His words, "So help us, O Lord our God, for we trust in Thee, and in Thy name have come against this multitude. O Lord, Thou art our God; let not man prevail against Thee."

     What an amazing statement! This man was king of millions, but he didn't trust in himself. He trusted in God. He said that he was going into this conflict in God's name. And he was trusting that God was powerful enough to prevent any man, no matter how great, how important, how mighty, or how many to overcome the Lord.

     What if we adopted the same attitude as Asa? What if we prayed a similar prayer? What if when we woke up in the morning, we said, "Lord, there isn't anyone but you to help us in the battles we will face today. Please help us, because we know we are weak, but You are strong. O Lord God, You are our Lord, and nothing can stand against Thee. Help me to face this day, knowing that You are on my side, and that you will let no evil prevail against You."

     How different do you think you would face your days? How different do you think the outcomes of the struggles you face tomorrow will be if you pray this prayer when you get up, and remember that God is standing beside you, fighting for you? What an awe-inspiring and humbling concept. God, THE GOD of all Glory, The Maker, The Redeemer, The Most Holy of Holy who loved you enough to want to spend eternity with you is right there beside you ready to fight for you simply because you asked Him to? Wow.

I know I plan to start my day with this prayer when I rise in the morning. How about you? Will you pray the prayer of Asa, and let God be the mighty warrior on your side as you face the day?

Thank You!

                                                                                                       The sign for "thank you" is made by starting with the fingers of your dominant hand near your lips. Your hand should be a "flat hand." Move your hand forward and a bit down in the direction of the person you are thanking. Smile (so they'll know you mean it).                                              

                                                                                  Memory aid:  Imagine blowing a kiss to the person you are thanking. (Don't pucker up -- unless you'd like to get to know him/her better!)
Many of us are familiar with how to say "thank you" in ASL, so why did I put this visual aid and explanation at the beginning of this post?


     That's an excellent question! I'm so glad you asked. The reason these items are here is to remind us of the New Testament  Greek word for worship, "proskuneo." It's literal meaning is "to kiss, to fawn or crouch, to prostrate oneself in homage, or worship." What is implied is a direction, making the meaning "to kiss towards," "to fawn or crouch towards," "To prostrate oneself before the person receiving homage,' or "to worship towards."

     Our worship towards God is, or at least should be, our outpouring of thanksgiving towards Him. Worship is not for us! It is not for our entertainment! It is not for our enjoyment! Worship is our chance to formally and in a holy, prescribed manner, Give Thanks to our Maker, Sustainer, Redeemer and Friend!

     That is what the Hebrew writer is conveying in Hebrews 12:28, when he says, "Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe;" (NASB)

     Tomorrow when you pull into the parking lot, or walk into the tent, or however you arrive at your place of worship, I would ask you to remember this post. When you worship God, give Him thanks that He is due.  Let the words of the old song fill your thoughts as you prepare to worship, "Hallelujah, praise Jehovah, for His name alone is High. And His glory is exalted, And His glory is exalted, far above the earth and sky!"

     May God bless us all as we struggle to worship Him correctly, to remember to say thank you, and kiss our lips towards the Almighty when we do so - Robert

What is the scariest verse in the Bible?

   
     I'm sure the answer to this question is highly subjective. For me, however, the answer to that question comes from the pen of the Apostle Paul to the Corinthians in his second letter. In chapter five Paul is discussing the difference between the temporal and the eternal. It is here in verse seven that he makes this statement, "for we walk by faith, not by sight -."

     If you don't agree with me that this is an absolutely frightening verse, consider the example of a young man who lived by this ideal, one who walked by faith, and not by sight, Joseph.

     We will not look at Joseph of the Old Testament, whose life would well illustrate the fear this verse can contain, but the first Joseph we are introduced to in the New Testament, the step-father of Jesus Christ.

     Matthew 1:19 tells us that Joseph was a righteous man. The definition of righteous is "right with God." When we drop down to verses 20-25, we find Joseph being visited in his sleep by an Angel of the Lord, giving Joseph instructions. What was his action in response to these instructions? In verse twenty-four we find that, "And Joseph arose from his sleep, and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, . . ."

     The faith of Joseph was one of immediate, unquestioning, unconditional obedience!

     We see it again in the very next chapter, verses thirteen and fourteen, and again in nineteen through twenty-three,. Verse 14, "And he arose and took the Child and His mother by night, and departed . . ."and again in verse 21, "And he arose and took the Child and His mother, . . ." then in verse 22, "And being warned in a dream, he departed for the regions of Galilee."

     Think about if you were in Joseph's shoes, what he did. He jumped up and left everything in the middle of the night, on more than one occasion. He was walking by faith, not by sight. He didn't call ahead and book hotel rooms along the way or make sure he had a place to stay when he got there. He was commanded to go, and he went. He didn't even know if there was a job available for him when he got there.

     How many of us are commanded to go just a few miles to the building a couple times of week, and we can't be bothered to leave the comfort of our beds or EZ chairs, knowing they will be there for us when we get back.

     How is your faith? Is 2 Corinthians 5:7 a scary verse now? Are you willing to; do you have a; do you want to have a; faith that is one of immediate, unquestioning and unconditional obedience to God?
God commanded us on multiple occasions to go, preach, teach, baptize, and evangelize the entire world! How many of us have a faith that is immediate, unquestioning, and unconditional in carrying out these commands? Are we going to go do what God said to do because He said to do it? Do we have this kind of faith at home, at work, with our family, with our friends, with the rest of the world?

     If not, then I believe yes, 2 Corinthians 5:17 IS the most scariest verse in the Bible. If you have that kind of faith, that is awesome. That is awe-inspiring. WOuld you do me a favor? Can you teach me how to have immediate, unquestioning, unconditional obedient faith?

God Bless You where ever you are in your walk of faith. My prayer today is that we all develop the faith of Joseph, the faith that makes 2 Corinthians 5:17 not the scariest verse is the Bible! - Robert

Forgetting to Focus

     Have you ever taken a picture with a 35 mm camera, but forgot to focus? What was the result? If you were lucky, you got a picture that still looked okay. If you weren't quite as lucky, you had a wasted shot. With film, that meant that you could never recapture that moment. From this illustration, we know that focus is important.

     When the United States first entered the War on Terror back in 2001, there was a singular focus - Get Osama Bin Laden and Saddam Hussein. Both of those objectives have been accomplished, yet over 50 thousand U.S. personnel remain in Iraq, and we are still actively engaged militarily in Afghanistan. The U.S. government has lost focus. The result is that the troops continue to die, because there are now multiple ideas regarding the goals of our involvement across the seas. Losing focus can be deadly. Just ask the parents of our young men and women who have returned to our shores in flag-draped coffins.

     As Christians, we also should have a singular focus - to get ourselves and as many others to heaven as possible. Unfortunately, all too many of us wearing that holy name have lost focus. We are now mired down in this world, arguing over different ideas/ideals and goals. The result is much more significant than a ruined picture, or even physical death. The result is spiritual death. Literally millions are dying everyday without hearing the Gospel. This should not be! The first century church had a singular focus and was able to evangelize the entire known world. In this day and age, we have no excuse for not doing the same.

     
May God Bless you as you re-examine your focus!  - Robert

Prayer Request

Hey y'all,

In about an hour I am going under the knife for back surgery. If you would say a prayer on my behalf, I would really appreciate it. It has been almost sixteen months since I first injured my back, and I would like for this to be the final step in making it right.

Thank you much and God Bless you for Blessing me with your Prayers - Robert

"Difficult Times Will Come" - Are they Here?

   
     In Second Timothy chapter three, Paul is writing to Timothy. Paul is talking about the last days. He starts by saying that difficult times will come. Verse two talks about this time, and says, "For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, 4 treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God; 5 holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power;" Paul concludes verse five with the statement, "and avoid such men as these."

     Really, Paul? How is that even possible? Judging by the list he gave Timothy, I'd say we are in the last days, 'cause I know a lot of folks or hear about them on the news that fit just about every category he listed. What's even worse, some of 'em are in the church!

     So what do we do about it? How are we going to get through these times? In verse twelve, Paul says that, "And indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted." I was accused one time of belonging to the church of Christ. He said he could tell, because we all have a "persecution complex." Maybe it's not a complex, maybe we really are being persecuted, because we are desiring to live godly lives! When you put someone who is godly in the midst of the people mentioned before, you will stand out.

     But what does Paul tell us to do to get through this? He says, "You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them; 15 and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 16 All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17 that the man of God may be adequate, (thoroughly) equipped for every good work."

     Paul says stay in the word. It is what we need to keep ourselves from the contamination around us, and to bring the light into this world of darkness. Pick up your Bible and use it the way God meant us too.

God Bless you richly as you spend time in His word - Robert

Oaks of Righteousness

     Isaiah 61 starts with a prophecy of Jesus, speaking of His work bringing Good News, healing and freedom. In verse three, those that are the recipients of His efforts have this said about them, "So they will be called oaks of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified." (NASB)

    That term really struck me, "oaks of righteousness." What symbolism. Why an oak? Why not a birch or a cedar tree? Why an oak? Here is my perspective.

     Oaks are mighty trees. They are incredibly strong. They can withstand fierce storms. They are also very useful. Oak is one of the best woods for building with. If you build an oak dresser, you can count on it lasting hundreds of years with proper care. Oak is used in many different settings. You can use it in furniture, construction of buildings or boats, and in curing or smoking meats and cheeses, to name just a few applications.

     I believe the Holy Spirit inspired Isaiah to use the oak in this verse because of the reasons just listed above. With salvation, we become incredibly strong, because we are rooted in Christ. We can withstand whatever trials and storms come our way. We can be extremely useful to Jehovah God, with each of us having a different use, because of the skills and attributes God has blessed us with.

May our Lord bless you as you grow as an Oak - Robert

Bringing the Profane into the Pure

     In Exodus 3, God appears to Moses in a burning bush that is not consumed. When Moses approaches, Jehovah tells him to, ". . . take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground." Why did God command Moses to be barefoot? Could it be a symbol of leaving the profane (the regular dirt of the sinful world) which was on his sandals behind, so that he did not bring it into the presence of Jehovah?

     We need to be reminded today to take off our sandals on occasion. We have gotten very good at bringing the profane into the pure. We would be horrified if someone brought a muddy dirty hog into our Sunday service and drove it down front and kept it there, squealing and stinking and disrupting the worship, wouldn't we?

      We know that this would be wrong. This would be mixing the profane with the pure. Yet, this is what happens when we bring musical instruments not commanded by God into our worship. When we show "video clips from today's hottest movies and T.V. shows" in the lesson as a local denomination advertised recently. When we mix eating and drinking with our worship. When we spend time thinking more about what's on T.V. or for lunch after services than we do about the message being presented.

     Here's the bottom line. We are no different than that pig I mentioned when we are not pure ourselves, but come to worship our Almighty Father, Lord and Master anyway. We are mixing the profane and the pure. When we have not kept ourselves "unspotted from the world," we are bringing the profane into the pure. When no one can tell the difference between a "Christian" and the rest of the world, we have mixed the pure and the profane. We have become guilty of dragging the profane into the pure on so many levels. It. Is. Shameful.

    Moses needed a burning bush to wake him up and get him on the right road. His objections were many. What will it take for us to purify ourselves? What objections do we need to overcome? What changes do we need to make in ourselves, our lives, our conduct, our speech, our behavior, our attitudes, our entertainment, our friends, our relationships, etc., so that we may purify ourselves? So that when we do approach the Pure God of Heaven and Earth, we are in essence barefoot, no longer bringing the profane into the pure?

May God Bless you today as you examine yourself, and separate the profane from the pure.  -- Robert

Amidst the Tears and Wails

Taken from the Garden

With sword and club and cheers

Sent before three false trials

Amidst the women's tears

Back and forth they sent him

None willing to send to jail

Pilate tried to set him free

Amidst the women's wails

A Roman scourge, a Roman cross

Three blacksmith's iron nails

That pierced the Son of God's pure flesh

Amidst the women's wails

Back and forth between two men

The insults and the jeers

Christ was raised up on that tree

amidst the women's tears

Six short hours suspended

Hung there by those nails

Then he cried, "It's done!"

Amidst the women's wails

He gave up mortal with a sigh

His side was pierced with spear

The water and the blood ran down

Amidst the women's tears

They buried Him in a tomb

Wrapped in linens, aloes bales

The stone was rolled into place

Amidst the women's wails

Come first day's dawn arising

An empty tomb was found

He is risen, Hallelujah!

and now,

He reigns aloft in Heaven

The price for sin He paid

We can rejoice that there we'll be,

Eternally,

No more tears, No more wails!

Are you content or comfortable?

     Are you content or comfortable? The Apostle Paul said he had learned to be content no matter his circumstances, (Philippians 4:11) and we are commanded to be content with what we have in Hebrews 13:5. So what is the difference between content and comfortable?

     Let me make an illustration from my own history. For most of my adult life, no matter what else is going on, I have been comfortable, because I AM HOME. I have my family and friends nearby. I know where everything is (or should be!) I have the food I like, the wife I love, the right pillow and as we phrase it, "all the comforts of home." When I am deployed, I am not comfortable. I can be content, because I have what I need, and I am doing a good thing helping our wounded troops, but I am never comfortable. I am only comfortable when I am home.

     That is the way we need to be in our spiritual life. We have sung on many occasions that, "This world is not my home, I'm just a passin' through," but the reality for many of us is that we are not just content in this life, but we have become comfortable! We have made this world our home, something that is against God's will. That is not right. The only place we should consider ourselves comfortable spiritually is when we get to our home, heaven. We can be somewhat comfortable around fellow christians and in our worship because it is a small taste of heaven, but the bottom line is that we should only be content in this life.

     For those of us who have become comfortable in this life, how do we go back to only being content?

     First, we have to remember that this is only a temporary assignment, like my military deployments. I don't spend all my money and time trying to make myself comfortable in a temporary abode when I am overseas. I am willing to be a little uncomfortable, because I know it is temporary. We need to allow ourselves to stop being comfortable in this life, because it is not our home. Instead, I would argue that we need to make ourselves at least a little uncomfortable, so that we can remember that this world is not our home.

    Second, just like we invest in making our homes comfortable, we need to invest in making our heavenly home comfortable. Jesus put it this way, 'For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. (Luke 12:34)

My prayer for you this week, and from here on is that you always be content in this life, but never comfortable!

God Bless you in your contentment - Robert

The weight of Sin

    With Thanksgiving just past and the Lord's Day tomorrow when we participate in the Lord's Supper, remembering the sacrifice of Jesus on our behalf, I thought this would be a great time to consider the weight of sin.

     How does one calculate the weight of sin? Hebrews 12:1 compares sin with weight. In Isaiah 43:24, God says that Israel had burdened him with the weight of their sins. So what does sin weigh?

     Spiritually, each sin is the weight of the executioner's axe, poised above our necks. Emotionally, it can vary from a nearly unnoticeable burden, the feather's weight in our hair, to the weight of the world on our shoulders, leaving us like Atlas, struggling under it's weight, unable to accomplish anything else.

     Physically though, how do we weigh sin? I am not aware of any recorded answer to this question. Consider this. If we were to assign sins a very minute weight, say the equivalent of one drop of water, what would the weight of the sins that Christ bore on the cross be equal to?

     There are 15 drops in 1 milliliter of water. 1000 milliliters is equal to 1 liter. There are about 3.79 liters in a gallon of water. A gallon of water weighs 8.333 pounds. Using these facts, we can extrapolate the theoretical physical weight of sin that Christ bore on the cross.

    There are currently nearly 7 Billion people living on earth. Since the dawn of man, estimates range from 10 Billion and up for the total number of people who have populated the earth. Not knowing when Christ will return, we can take this number as a starting point, and know that the burden will only increase for each additional person. For this calculation, let us use an extremely conservative number of 1000 sins per person. 1000 sins per person times 10 Billion equals 10 Trillion sins. If we divide that by 3.79 we come up with a volume of sins equal to 264 Billion, then we multiply that by our 8.33 pounds per gallon, we come up with 2.2 Trillion pounds!

    That weight is physically impossible for any man to bear. The world record weight lifted by an individual in the clean and jerk is a measly 263 kilograms or 578.6 pounds. Men and women have snapped there tibias, broken their backs and died trying to lift such heavy weights. If sin had any physical weight, the burden on Christ was so overwhelming we cannot comprehend it.

    If we have anything at all to be thankful for, it was that Christ was willing to take on the weight of the sins of you, I, and every person who has ever or will ever live. When you participate in the Lord's supper Sunday, remember this post, please.

    Thank God our Father for his plan, and Jesus Christ for being willing to bear that burden and be our sacrifice. God is so good. Were He only just, we would all die for our sins. He is just, but He is also gracious, because he is willing to accept the blood of Jesus for our sins. Praise Jehovah! Praise Christ!

Thanksgiving thoughts

I received the following in an e-mail. Please take time to click the link and listen.

     Do you remember the famous ABC radio commentator Paul Harvey? Millions of Americans listened to his programs, broadcasted over 1,200 radio stations nationwide. On April 3, 1965 He made an amazing prediction. 

     Remember, this was said 47 years ago and just look what we have going on now. Paul Harvey was a very perceptive person and one who seemed to have a handle on just how things were progressing in a very non-productive and negative way. When you listen to this, remember the commentary was broadcast 47 years ago 
     It's short...less than 3 minutes. You will be amazed. 

                        http://stg.do/9LDc



     If that doesn't make you think we have reached the era of bread and circuses, how about this picture that has been circulating on Facebook?

When you gather around your Thanksgiving feast tomorrow, remember why we are here on this earth. May we all work urgently to spread the necessary Gospel.

God Bless,

Robert

Lets talk about church growth!

     During our Bible class yesterday morning, the teacher was focusing on Saul's conversion in Acts 9:1-31. Saul's conversion account ends in verse 19, so why did he include the next 12 verses? That is where most of us would stop in teaching about conversion, right? Saul was baptized in verse 18, and the conclusion of his baptismal event was him eating and regaining strength in verse 19.

    That is one of the problems facing the church today. We think that when someone is baptized, we have done our duty. We have converted them. Let us look at what follows in this account. Saul spends several days with the disciples, and immediately begins preaching about Jesus. That kind of enthusiasm in our new converts is often squashed, because we think they "don't know enough" to do evangelistic work, or some other equally lame excuse. We need to encourage our new converts. They have access to a whole new pool of lost souls we might never have come in contact with before. We should be right there with them, helping them, building them up, etc.

     While what I just mentioned above is very important, that is not my primary focus today. I want to look at verse 31 of this chapter where it talks about the church growing.

     We read, "So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria enjoyed peace, being built up; and, going on in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it continued to increase."

       My question is: are these the requirements for a congregation to grow, in addition to evangelistic effort? Do we need to have peace both within our congregation, and within the congregations we interact with? Do we need to have a congregation that is being built up, meaning encouraged from within? Do we need to be going on (or conducting ourselves daily) in the fear of the Lord and the comfort of the Holy Spirit?

     The short answer is, I don't know. I do find it important to point out that Jehovah God through the Holy Spirit inspired Luke to write these words, associating all these items with church growth. Are these direct commands that we have to follow? I don't see that they are, but my question would be, what harm would there be in ensuring that our congregation and the congregations around us are all at peace with each other? Or that we are encouraging the congregation from within, or conducting ourselves in the fear of the Lord and comfort of the Holy Spirit? What would it hurt? Would our congregations not be stronger for it? Would our congregations not be somewhere that we, and those we are evangelizing to, would want to be?

    So my challenge to you today, and everyday from here on out, is this. In addition to being evangelistic, try to be at peace within the congregation you are in, encourage those you worship and fellowship with, and conduct yourself in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit!


God Bless You as you strive to serve Him!


Robert

Christian living is like tight-rope walking!

     I would guess you have never heard this comparison before. If you have, why didn't you share it with me? Anyways, I don't remember when I thought of this, but it is one of the multitude of little notes I have jotted in the notebook I carry with my Bible. Enjoy!

     In Christian living, just as in tight-rope walking, there are some essentials that we must have to be successful.

     For example, in tight rope walking, you must have balance. To achieve that balance, tight-rope walkers will use tools. For example, they have specific shoes, training, and a long pole to help them balance while they are on the rope.

     As a Christian, we also require balance. We can fall just as easily as a tight-rope walker can, but the consequences are eternal, not temporal. We don't use particular shoes or a long pole, but we do have tools that we can use to help us maintain the necessary balance. Bible study is the first and most important tool, followed closely by worship attendence.

     In tight rope walking, you must have focus. Lose your concentration for a minute and, . . .  whee! Down you go!

     Christians need focus as well. We can lose our concentration even easier that a tight rope walker. They have been trained to block out all the extraneous noises, thoughts, or anything else that might cause them to lose their focus. We simply are not capable. We still have to be in the world, so there are always distractions that pull at our focus. Whether it is finances, kids, sports, or who knows what else, we can easily lose focus. We can't afford that, because our fall can hurt so many others than just ourselves.

     Finally, a tight-rope walker needs a safety net. If he/she loses their balance or focus, a safety net is there to catch them. They can get up, and go right back to it.

     We followers of Christ need a safety net too. For some of us it is our family, for others our congregation. Whoever it is, make sure you are involved enough to know that your safety net will be there for you when you need it. Then we too can get up and get back to it. The biggest safety net of all is God's grace. Without it, any fall would be fatal. With it, any fall, no matter how big or small can be forgiven if we are willing to ask. Ephesians 2:8 tells us "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not of your own doing; it is the gift of God,"

God bless you as you walk the tight-rope of a life in Christ.

The Penguin

Where to begin?

It has been over eleven months since I last posted on this website. So much has happened since then. You might say I'm a new man.

My intent is to now use this blog to share a biblically related thought or two a week, as time permits. Suggestions are always welcome if there is a particular topic you would like me to address.

Stay tuned for tomoorrow's post: Christian living is like tight-rope walking!

That's all she wrote!

Hey all,

I know it's been a while since I've posted. I've been that busy, and this just isn't a priority any more. Sorry if that disappoints anybody. Please check Kari's posts on FB, she keeps that community well apprised of what's going on in our world. God Bless and have a wonderful 2012! Don't forget to pray for our troops! Thanks,

Penguin