Thought

I haven't had an original thought in my life. ~~ Bill Hybels

Miles so close

You can kiss your family and friends good-bye and put miles between you, but at the same time, you carry them with you in your heart, your mind, your stomach, because you do not just live in a world but a world lives in you. ~~ Frederick Buechner, Telling the Truth

Secrets

Nothing makes us so lovely as our secrets. ~~ Paul Tournier, Swiss psychiatrist

Charismatic Time Zone

Time, they tell me is relative. It is relative to what God deems. Time with God is not like normal time. It is real to God but not real to us. I doubt that anytime with God is what we consider real time – time dimensional. I don’t want to be heady or weird – in “Charismatic Time Zone” but I want God’s time, which is perfect and has no boundaries to the One who created it. He can stretch it or condense it into whatever he wishes. “Next the devil led him up and showed him in a flash all the kingdoms of the world. ‘All this dominion will I give to you,’ he said, ‘and the glory that goes with it; for it has been put in my hands and I can give it to anyone I choose” (Luke 4:5-7, NEB) The devil took the glory of the kingdoms of the world and concentrated it into a flash (of time). James Moffatt translation say, “in a single instant.” If the devil is able to concentrate time how much more plausible is it with the One Eternal who created it, at the helm. And that is real time.

Love affair

God is “madly in love” with us. ~~ Catherine of Siena (1347-1380)

How BIG is my God?

God must be greater then the concept I have of God.

Taking the "Fun" out of Dysfunctional

I don’t want to shock you but we all are dysfunctional, some are farther from the norm then others. Whatever that is. They tell me “normality is a subjectively defined characteristic, assigned to those with rare or dysfunctional conditions. Defining who is normal or abnormal is a contentious issue in abnormal psychology.” I have been accused of being farther from the norm then others.
I once was in sin and enjoyed it, at the time I thought that was “fun.” Now my standards seem strange to my old friends and acquaintances. I believe that when we take God seriously this walk with Jesus is an adventure. I have deviated from social norms. I will one day, as standards of normal behavior change in our society, today it seems very rapid, be an outcast.
The Holy Spirit is helping me taking the “fun” out dysfunctional. I am enjoying the new life more and the old less.

Martyrdom

Does the Bible ask it of us? “Take up your cross” (Mark 8:34)? “Whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (Matthew 16:25)? “To live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21)? Hebrews 11 talks of martyrs of whom the world was not worthy. And Jesus Himself willingly gave His life for human redemption.
...true martyrs do not choose death; they are put to death because they cannot compromise their beliefs. When they lay down their lives, it is an act of selflessness, not selfishness. ~~ Mark Earley of Prison Fellowship Ministries.

Reason why we exist

What is the reason for our existence? We are here to satiate the thirst of Jesus, to proclaim the love of Christ – the thirst of Jesus – for souls by the holiness of our loves.... We are here to satiate the thirst of Jesus.... that is why we must be holy. ~~ Mother Teresa’s Instructions to the M.C. Sisters, January 1980

Regret

I have a friend who has been very successful in his field. Yet he lives in regret. The word “regret” comes from an old English word “greet,” which means, “to weep.” The “re,” meaning “again,” suggests ongoing weeping. My All Nations English Dictionary defines regret to be sorry, to be sad. Regret more than any other emotion causes people in the intensity of remorse to throw in the towel over what happened or didn’t happen.
Regret serves very little purpose as it leaves us with resentment. Lot’s wife looked back, in regret, leaving what she loved. She became a pillar of salt – hard hearted. God’s purpose is for us to receive healing so we can practice the presence of God, which keeps us pliable. Regret is a killer of passion.

Beauty

If I am to be like Jesus then I must have a rare face. How tragic when people hide their life marks through plastic and cosmetic coverings. One only need recall the wizened, world-weary, impish face of Mother Teresa to get an image of the nature of delight. Let my hair flee and my face sag! Let my body decay and the creases of suffering show. It is not bush stroked beauty that draws the heart; it is the rare presence of delight that captures us for the journey.” ~~ Dan B. Allender PH.D.