Stories and other stuff

I had an interesting experience today. I felt led to take a road trip today, and through a confluence of circumstances and a substantial nudge from the Holy Spirit, I decided to go. I didn't want to, but I knew I needed to. There is a thrift store up the coast in the next large town that I like to go to. Sometimes I find really good stuff there and I just had a "feeling" that there was something there for me. So much so that I told a friend that I had to go there, that there was something for me. And there was. But there was something more....I was listening to a radio program and as I was getting ready to turn into the parking lot, I heard something I needed to hear about taking my feelings, or lack thereof, in this case, to God and talk to Him about them. I did, right there in the parking lot. And then I went inside the thrift store. I like looking for Christmass stuff at thrift stores. Sometimes you can find a lot of nice stuff and over the years I have foun...

Last nght, I saw a United States Congressman, on national TV call Christians the "forces of hate" and "relics of the past", in response to them declaring what God's plan for marriage is. I found the idea nonsense, but that's the time we live in. Right has become wrong, what used to be taboo to even talk about on TV is now the law of the land, and we can't expect God to bless America when we're living in outright defiance to His word. Think about that. Do we trust God, or does our money lie? If we trusted God, it seems to me that we surely would pay more attention to what He has to say on matters. But we don't. At least not our secular government. I don't hate anybody. There are people I prefer not to be around, but that's just life and if I feel that way about some, I'm sure the feeling is shaared by people who feel the same about me. I prefer these days to be not as controvercial as I used to be so there's that. But st...

One of the greatest conundrums of the Christian faith is wanting to do something for God, or wanting something (or someone) in your life, and God says "No." We think of God, sometimes, in light of our favorite attributes. He is Love. He is good. He wants to give us good things. And all of these things are ture, but like any good father He sometimes tells us no to things. He has reasons for that. One of them is that He is God and we are not. And either He is in charge or He's not. (Let me help you discern this simple truth, so you might avoid some hard and unnecessarily painful things by accepting this simple truth up front: He IS very much in charge and you're not!) In the New Testament, the Apostle Paul wanted to go lots of places. He wanted to go to Spain. He wanted to go to Asia, and the Holy Spirit told him no. Paul documents thes things in his Epistles to the New Testament churches. The no is a necessary part of being a Christian. I'm having...

I was blessed to bring a message on Sunday to a little country church near my home. Something in John 5 had really convicted me about Christmas and what we, as Christians are looking forward to. Sometimes, I think this time of year, we're looking forward to looking back. We demonstrate that in a lot of ways by the traditions we keep, and I wondered if maybe we keep them too tightly. I had finished up the sermon on Saturday night and I was feeling pretty good about life. My Utes still had a chance at the PAC12 championship game (they're in!) and I felt good about the message. I was deliviering a pot of soup to some sick friends and was driving down the Cape Arago Highway here when I got convicted about traditions: What about candy canes, Dale? Ouch! I have this "thing" about candy canes. Red and white ones are not good enough. I need red, white, and green Kencraft candy canes (before them, they were called Ike's candy canes). But they don't make the...

I'm old, but back in the day, we used to use the expression "what he said" to indicate agreement with someone else. I know it's still used today, but not as frequently as it used to be. Last night at our Bible study we were discussing a portion of the Gospel of John and it's an exchange between Thomas and the Ressurected Christ in a room. This from the Gospel of John, chapter 20:24-29 24 Now Thomas (also known as Didymus[a]), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” 26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and...

We all have things we struggle with, things we wish we wouldn't have done, etc... I've been thinking a lot the last few days about how we move on from them. Or how sometimes we don't. I wonder why, sometimes, that God in His sovereignty chooses things to take from us instantly and how for others we need to keep working (and working, and working, and working) at getting past whatever that thing is. I need God. I know that sometimes by the things I deal with on a day-to-day basis. I can't get through a day without realizing that without God, I'd likely still be stuck in the same bad choices I made without Him. The new tool I have for dealing with those things which has helped me, is just the two simple words of the title of today's post: "No, thanks," I'm unwilling to pay the cost of disobeying God. I know God honors obedience and I have seen some pretty unique ways that God has showed up in my life. It's amazing to see God move. It...

When God speaks, I think it wise to listen. There's been a lot of this going on in my life this week; almost like some 911 emergency instructions to me to be wise. It started Sunday when I saw or heard Isaiah 43:1-2 4 times in four different ways. Two of them were Facebook memories from literally exactly 7 years ago that day. Today, it was about two things. The first is fearing the Lord. And I don't mean that reverent awe. I'm talking about straight up fear. I have a healthy fear of the Lord because I have seen Him do things that have frightened me. I think it's OK to be frightened by the awesome power of a God who can, and does orechestrate circrcumstances to suit His perfect will. The Bible is full of verses telling us that God's purposes always prevail. God does speak through His word and today those words seemed to be aimed at a place where I was at. And I was listening.