I recently heard about a teen having a total of 3,000 text messages in one month. That's 3,000 texts either sent or received.
Last night I preached to a roomful of teenagers at Central Church of God. In the middle of my sermon, I laid this line on them:
"God will not text you His plan for your life."
Pretty good, huh?
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Mercy!
I've been kind of lazy lately as my number of blog posts would indicate. But honestly, I either haven't been able to find the time to post, or I haven't had anything to say. I think I'm through posting just for the sake of posting. But I wanted to share a thought today:
"He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities."
~ Psalm 103:10
This single verse of Scripture changes everything, doesn't it?
God has not dealt with us according to our sins. That's mercy. I deserve punishment. Death should be my just reward. I am like the woman brought before Jesus in John 8 .... "caught in the act of adultery." I'm guilty. Caught in the act. Can't hide it. Can't talk my way out of it. He's got me dead to rights.
But like that woman in John 8, He didn't deal with me according to my sins. He didn't reward me according to my iniquities. He extended mercy to a woman caught in the very act of sin. Mercy!
This is not new, is it? We all know about mercy. It's all around us. It's throughout the pages of our Bibles. In fact, maybe we know a little too much of God's mercy. Maybe it's so familiar, we tend to take it for granted. That's an easy place to get to. But it's a dangerous place to be.
When you read the words of Psalm 103:10, what do you do? Do you wanna shout? Fall on your face in praise and thanksgiving? Or is it just another verse in the Bible to you? "Ho hum. That's nice. Now let's move on to something else. Let's get to the good stuff, okay chaplain?"
We need to be in awe of the mercy of God.
"He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities."
~ Psalm 103:10
This single verse of Scripture changes everything, doesn't it?
God has not dealt with us according to our sins. That's mercy. I deserve punishment. Death should be my just reward. I am like the woman brought before Jesus in John 8 .... "caught in the act of adultery." I'm guilty. Caught in the act. Can't hide it. Can't talk my way out of it. He's got me dead to rights.
But like that woman in John 8, He didn't deal with me according to my sins. He didn't reward me according to my iniquities. He extended mercy to a woman caught in the very act of sin. Mercy!
This is not new, is it? We all know about mercy. It's all around us. It's throughout the pages of our Bibles. In fact, maybe we know a little too much of God's mercy. Maybe it's so familiar, we tend to take it for granted. That's an easy place to get to. But it's a dangerous place to be.
When you read the words of Psalm 103:10, what do you do? Do you wanna shout? Fall on your face in praise and thanksgiving? Or is it just another verse in the Bible to you? "Ho hum. That's nice. Now let's move on to something else. Let's get to the good stuff, okay chaplain?"
We need to be in awe of the mercy of God.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Monday, June 8, 2009
We Must be 'In Him'
"Sin comes when we take a perfectly natural desire or longing or ambition and try desperately to fulfill it without God. Not only is it sin, it is a perverse distortion of the image of the Creator in us. All these good things, and all our security, are rightly found only and completely in Him."
~ Augustine, The Confessions of Saint Augustine
~ Augustine, The Confessions of Saint Augustine
Monday, May 18, 2009
The W-H-A-T in the Sand?!
A new twist on a worn-out poem. Enjoy.
One night I had a wondrous dream,
One set of footprints there was seen,
The footprints of my precious Lord,
But mine were not along the shore.
But then some stranger prints appeared,
And I asked the Lord, "What have we here?"
Those prints are large and round and neat,
"But Lord they are too big for feet."
"My child," He said in somber tones,
"For miles I carried you alone.
I challenged you to walk in faith,
But you refused and made me wait."
"You disobeyed, you would not grow,
The walk of faith, you would not know.
So I got tired, I got fed up,
and there I dropped you on your butt."
"Because in life, there comes a time,
when one must fight, and one must climb.
When one must rise and take a stand,
or leave their butt prints in the sand."
~ author unknown
One night I had a wondrous dream,
One set of footprints there was seen,
The footprints of my precious Lord,
But mine were not along the shore.
But then some stranger prints appeared,
And I asked the Lord, "What have we here?"
Those prints are large and round and neat,
"But Lord they are too big for feet."
"My child," He said in somber tones,
"For miles I carried you alone.
I challenged you to walk in faith,
But you refused and made me wait."
"You disobeyed, you would not grow,
The walk of faith, you would not know.
So I got tired, I got fed up,
and there I dropped you on your butt."
"Because in life, there comes a time,
when one must fight, and one must climb.
When one must rise and take a stand,
or leave their butt prints in the sand."
~ author unknown
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Happy Odd Day
Today is May 7, 2009 ..... or 05/07/09.
Happy Odd Day! A day made especially for guys like me.
Happy Odd Day! A day made especially for guys like me.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
