Then there was flan de leche

A second first ... I did make flan de leche for dessert.  And it wasn't bad.

I used demerara sugar, so the topping's a little darker than what I remember from The Spanish Park or The Cafe Seville.  

"Old Clothes"

Today was a first: I made Ropa Vieja ... Spanish for "old clothes."

Not bragging but Man, it sure was good.  Ooooie good.  All the dish lacked was a couple of chunks of buttered Cafe Mercedes Cuban bread on the side.  

And maybe some flan de leche for dessert.

There are many theories as to how the dish was named. One of the more popular ones is a story about a man whose family was coming to his home for dinner. Being very poor, the man could not buy them enough food when they came. To remedy his situation, he went to his closet, gathered some old clothes (ropa vieja en español) and imbued them with his love. When he cooked the clothes, his love for his family turned them into a wonderful beef stew.

- wikipedia

Is GM going under?

I'm not an economist, but I can guarantee that the answer is an unqualified Yes.

I'm not a prophet, but I can promise that not just our banking system ... but our state and federal governments, too ... are gonna disappear.   In fact, the truth is that you're gonna lose not just your job but your house and your car, too.  And that's just the start of all the material things that will go poof.

Yikes.  What kinda gloomy prediction is that?

No prediction at all; I'm just stating facts.

One day all our businesses will close their doors, all the world's governments will shut down and all our houses and cars will disappear ... and the world as we know it, with all its financial, military and political institutions, will vanish forever.  

See, I just don't know when, and neither do you.  Nor, Scripture says, does anyone else.

But Jesus is coming back one day, and all those things will pass away: every material possession, asset and investment will vanish.  So will all of the world's careers and trophies.  Totally gone ... like, in the blink of an eye.

Stashing away your treasures (or hiding your possessions) in a cave or bank safe won't help: Christ is coming back to reign forever.  Does that sound bleak, depressing and discouraging to you?  As a believer, doesn't everything you own already belong to him?

Maybe your perspective is affected by your priorities, but I'd say the outlook ... and certainly the outcome ... doesn't sound bleak or discouraging at all.

Reason #530 for attending the NewSpring web campus

#530.  You can find out who's preaching without having to call the church office.

:-)

Find out what that means just by clicking here  NewSpring Web Campus

at 2:00pm (11AM Pacific) or 6PM today.

Sharing the harvest

... News from Arusha

I was once again humbled this week by the “Macedonian” type faith of II Cor. 8.  I went to a Masai village with one of our Masai church members.  The aim was to set up a meeting that will involve games for children and youth, as well as a night time showing of the Jesus film IN the language of the Masai.  

As we sat under a tree with hot sun blistering down outside of the shaded area, but cool breeze making it extremely comfortable “in” the shaded area, we talked about their life.  The rains have not been enough, and their corn is dried at half mast with little or no fruit.  Their water has dried up too soon for this season, and they are having to buy water from ox carts, that is hauled from many kilometers away.  

The situation is very tough.  YET.., as I left, three different Masai families gave me some of their dried beans that they were able to harvest earlier.  In my heart, I did not want to accept, knowing what a sacrifice it was for them to give me this gift.  Yet, culturally, I dared not deny them the “blessing” of giving me those beans.  I smiled, and thanked them profusely for this showing of respect to me as their guest.  It will be very easy  for me to remember these people in prayer in the days ahead.

I trust you will have a good week, and may God bless your corn crop!
Yours in Arusha,
Vernon and Mary

Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, like men sent from God. 

- 2 Corinthians 2:8

"Uh ... the girl got in my eyes?"

So you're roaring through Monaco's historic streets at 200mph in the middle of the most famous F1 race in the world, when suddenly ...

Martini girl messes up F1 racers in Monaco

by John Neff on May 28th 2009 at 3:29PM

You'd have a hard time concentrating too if this woman were staring right at you. That's what reportedly happened during last weekend's Monaco Grand Prix. Drivers complained during qualifying that a billboard advertisement located just after Lowes hairpin and before the tunnel was distracting them

. 

The advert was for Martini, the "Italian winemaker founded in 1863 and famous for its iconic vermouth" (according to Luxist), and featured the enchanting gaze of model Jessiqa Pace. Race winner Jenson Button reportedly remarked, "Every time you passed her, it was as though she was looking right at you." Button was able to keep his cool, but others maybe not so much. Last year's champ, Lewis Hamilton, crashed during Saturday's qualifying round in close proximity to the billboard. Eyes on the road, Lewis.

- source here

Are you evil?

Yes, you are.

Someone asked ...

... and because you asked:  Are we living in the end times?

91 --- UPDATED June 7 2009

• 96. Suspicious death, unidentified, 2743 St Paul St. (6/1)
• 95. Unidentified man, 21, Old Riverside Rd. (6/2)
• 94. Joseph Woah-Tee, 60, 4300 block of York Road (5/31)
• 93. Douglas Winston Jr., 35, 600 block of North Port Street (5/30)
• 92. Ricardo Montgomery, 39, parking lot, 2800 Ailsa Ave (5/30)
• 91. Milton Stepney, 32, Eutaw and Lombard streets (5/28)
• 90. Curtis Brown, 32, 1100 block of W. North Ave. (5/27)
• 89. David Parker, 25, 200 block of N. Collington Ave.
• 88. Sean Howard, 24, 3100 block of Cliftmont Ave. (5/25)
• 87. Hardy Jones, 3300 block of Noble St (5/25)
• 86. Quite Vanterpool, 41, near Clifton Park Pool (5/25)
• 85. Keon Cameron, 18, 1800 block of East 28th St. (5/23)
• 84. Chernere Wooten, 18, 300 block of North Carrollton Avenue (5/23)
• 83. Lee Johnson, 28, shot Sept. 27, 2008, 1900 block of Frederick Ave. (5/22)
• 82. Tavon Crawford, 26, shot April 12, 2005, 2700 block of Saint Lo Drive (d. 1/2009)
• 81. Lucio Solarzano, 84, 7001 Reisterstown Rd. (5/16)
• 80. Christopher Ricks, 32, 2000 block of Kennedy Avenue (5/9)
• 79. Anthony Griffin, 23, 3200 block of Montebello Terrace (5/8)
• 78. Deontae Carter, 24, 3000 block of Elgin Ave. (5/9)
• 77. Anthony Eggers, 48, 600 block of Parkwyrth Ave. (5/5)
• 76. Fabian Palmer, 24, 3300 block of Frederick Ave (5/3)
• 75. William Jones, 26, 800 block of Milton Ave. (5/2)
• 74. Frank Swiston, 48, 2800 block of Erdman Ave (4/25)
• 73. Shawn Williams, 18, 2200 block of Christian Street (4/27)
• 72. Maurice Toomer, 17, 3200 block of Normount Road (4/25)
• 71. Jasmon Jiggetts, 28, 1600 block of E. Eager (4/22)
• 70. Kenneth Johnson, 23, 5100 block of Hillburn Ave. (4/21)
• 69. Melody Smith, 54, 700 block of Yale Ave (4/21)
• 68. Qonta Waddell, 24, 3115 Windsor Ave. (4/21)
• 67. Calvin Hayes, 75/78, 2100 block of North Wolfe Street (4/18)
• 66. Ernesto Flores, 23, 16 N Clinton St (4/18)
• 65. Harold Able Sr., 63, 1800 block of Aiken Street (4/15)
• 64. Russell Day, 30, 2100 block of Christian Street (4/13)
• 63. Quinton Savage, 22, 2800 block of Winwood Court (4/11)
• 62. Dominic Baker, 16, 1900 block of Wilkens Ave. (4/8)
• 61. Unidentified man, 1017 Hillen Road (4/7)
• 60. Curtis Pounds, 36, 4700 block of Homesdale Avenue (4/5)
• 59. Dorothea Wright, 42, 500 S. Broadway and Gough St. (4/5)
• 58. Timothy Hebron, near Northwood Shopping Center (4/4)
• 57. Zachary Thompson, 48/ William Clayborne, 32, 400 block of Watty Court (4/3)
• 56. Darrell T. Lee, 19, 2900 block of Allendale Road (4/1)
• 55. Dewayne M. Booker, 20, 2200 block of Sherwood Ave. [shot on Bonaparte Ave] (4/1)
• 54. Unidentified man, 20, 1700 block of McCulloh St. (3/30)
• 53. David Williams, 20, 1500 block of West Fayette Street (3/31)
• 52. Derrick K. Franklin, 3800 block of Lyndale Ave. (3/31)
• Questionable death, N. Abington Ave/Elbert St. (3/27)
• 51. Unidentified man, 700 block of W. North Avenue (3/27)
• 50. Carlos Spence, 23, 5800 block of Edgepark Road (3/26)
• 49. Kara Lawson, 23, 500 N. Ellwood Ave. (3/23)
• 48. Davon Saunders, near train tracks in the 600 block of W. Patapsco Ave. (3/22)
• 47. Marty/Martie Williams Jr., 20, 2600 Maisel St. (3/21)
• 46. William L. Smith, 24, 6500 block of Cleveland Ave. (3/17)
• 45. Adrian Martise, 24, 2900 block of Greenmount Ave. (3/17)
• 44. Anthony Bailey, 2900 block of Greenmount Ave. (3/17)
• 43. Keon Barnes, 35, 1900 block of Pulaski Street (3/14)
• 42. Andrew Goodwin, 22, 400 block of Normandy Avenue (3/13)
• --homicide #14 ruled justified
• 42. Roger Dennis, 24, 300 block of W. North Avenue (shot 1997, d. 8/08)
• 41. Wayne Robinson, 22, 3300 block of E. Baltimore St. (3/8)
• 40. Sctario Tia Edwards, 25, 300 block of West Madison Street/ 800 Linden Ave (3/7)
• 39. Herbert Carsten Jr., 17, 3700 block of E. Lombard St. (3/6)
• 38. Nelson Gause, 29, 1500 block of Clipper Road (3/1)
• 37. Frederick Jeffrey Archer, 68, 700 block of N. Arlington Ave. (2/26)
• 36. Ramon Williams, 2500 block of Loyola Northway (2/22)
• 35. José Escobar Peña, 32, 3500 block of Eastern Avenue (2/22)
• 34. Hubert Dickerson, 32, 2500 block of W. Baltimore St. (2/21)
• 33. Rodger Evans Jr., 24, 5600 block of Sagra Road (2/16)
• 32. James Flannery, 23, 3900 block of S. Hanover St., (2/16)
• 31. Michael Davis, 30, intersection of Erdman Avenue and East Federal Street (2/14)
• 30. Daniel Lee Hoeck, 62, 6100 block of Glenoak Avenue (2/13)
• 29. Eric Pendergrass, Patapsco River (2/9)
• 28. Tracy Kinchen, 34, 1700 block of E. 32nd Street (2/11)
• 27. Faruq Barakaat, 1700 block of N. Smallwood St./ 2100 block of Presbury Street (2/10)
• 26. David Bryan Wright, 47, 1600 block of Gorsuch Ave. (4 p.m. 2/4)
• 25. Lemuel Wallace, 37, 1500 block of North Franklintown Road (1:45 p.m. 2/4)
• 24. Demetrius M. Saulsbury, 22, 1700 block of N. Washington St. (3 a.m. 2/4)
• 23. Kendrick L. Daney, 38, 200 block of W. Dickman St (2/1)
• 22. Theodore E. Moore, 44, North Pulaski Street and Edmondson Avenue (1/31)
• 21. James McKoy, 46, 900 block of Poplar Grove St. (1/29)
• 20. Dewayne Lawrence, 17, 4900 block of Aberdeen Ave. (1/28)
• 19. Jasmine Harris, 23, 3000 block of Windsor Ave. (1/27)
• 18. Stephen Mauk, 47, 200 block of N. Bond St. (1/26)
• 17. Juan Johnson, 14, 4400 block of Pall Mall Road (1/25)
• 16. Jaiwan Jones, 26, 1200 block of Bayard Street (1/16)
• 15. Ronald Crosby, 56, 5400 block of Jamestowne Court (1/14)
• 14. Shawn Green, 17, Alameda and 32nd Street (1/11)- ruled justified
• 13. Bryant Eldridge, 20, 3600 block of E. Lombard St. (1/9)
• 12. Kipton A. Degree Jr., 23, 5000 block of Dickey Hill Road (1/8)
• 11. Antron Betts, 35, North Bond and East Eager Sts. (1/7)
• 10. David Falkinburg, 45, 2800 block of Clearview Ave. (1/6)
• 9. Joshua Harris, 21, 3600 block of Reisterstown Road (1/5)
• 8. Tian Zin Wang, 51, 800 block of Webb Court (d. 1/5)
• 7. Andre Thorpe, 17, 800 block of N. Kenwood Ave. (s. 1/2)
• 6. Lougene Williams III, 4000 block of Chesmont Ave. (1/4)
• 5. Mayresa Craft, 15, 5600 Loch Raven Boulevard (1/4)
• 4. Trevane Ricks, 16, 5600 Loch Raven Boulevard (1/4)
• 3. Glenn Cunnigham, 22, 1100 block of Orleans Street (2 a.m. 1/2)
• 2. Marcel Mitchell, 20, 1100 block of Orleans Street (2 a.m. 1/2)
• 1. Mario Williams, 31, 700 block of N. Luzerne Ave.

"I want to spend my life with a person who ..."

Got a mental image of the kind of person with whom you'd want to spend your life?

Ok, throw that out: you're already driving down a dead end.

Now start thinking about the kind of person with whom you'd want to invest your life.

It's not a small difference.

Feeling ready to do something BIG and jaw-dropping for God?

Thursday, 8:03 am 

Ambition and personal restlessness ain't the same as spiritual preparedness.

Starbucks Christianity

from last Sunday:

What are you pursuing in the church: God or the things you can get from him? NewSpring Church Student Pastor Brad Cooper warns of having the wrong motivations in the latest series "Now What?" 

ugh, Red Tide

- Wednesday blog lite

I was walking across the Safeway parking lot the other day and suddenly caught whiff of a ... fragrance I immediately recognized, even though decades have passed since the last time I smelled it. 

Sure enough, when I got back to the marina, I noticed a peculiar yellow-brown tint to the water.

Red Tide ... basically a rapid overpopulation of algae, which robs oxygen from the water and creates a fish dead zone.

If you're wondering what red tide smells like, imagine week-old eggs rotting in the sun.  Now multiply the effect times about 20, and then imagine it's everywhere.

Today folks around the docks were speculating about how much longer it'd be before the first fish began floating to the surface; the consensus opinion is "sometime later today."  

Two folks told me that two years ago the fish kill was so severe that the marina basin- including all the slips- was quite literally carpeted with dead fish ... which had to be scooped out with nets.

Ugh.

Psalm 14:4-6

Will evildoers never learn— 
       those who devour my people as men eat bread 
       and who do not call on the LORD ?

  There they are, overwhelmed with dread, 
       for God is present in the company of the righteous.

  You evildoers frustrate the plans of the poor, 
       but the LORD is their refuge.

Controversy?

This morning a Muslim group sent a response to a video from Tanzania I'd posted several years ago on youtube.   In Swahili the title to their video means "Worship the truth."

I watched a quick excerpt from another of their videos, during which a cleric-scholar explained that Christ's resurrection never happened ... and he magniloquently quoted Scripture as his source.

In other words, according to Muslims, the eyewitness accounts of Christ resurrected are lies.

-----

Never mind boycotting Disney World, protesting gay marriage or battling local school boards to include "Creationist" alternatives to Darwinism.  Stop worrying for a minute whether a new liquor store will open across the street, whether teenage girls will be allowed unrestricted access to abortion without parental consent or even whether retail stores will be allowed to open on Sundays.  

Something really controversial is coming up in a minute.

-----

One of our society's most cherished precepts is Tolerance, yet the same culture hates us for being believers and is intolerant of those who follow Christ.

The 21st century world proclaims "There is no universal truth" and "What's true for you isn't true for me" ... without seeing the inherent contradictions: If "There is no universal truth" then "There is no universal truth" can't universally, ultimately and timelessly be true either.  And if "What's true for you isn't true for me" is true then what you just said isn't true for me.

Because any ultimate truth must be rejected, trendy neologisms ... fashionable buzzwords like "Enlightenment" and "Postchristian" ... must be constantly invented and added to the vernacular as countersigns and alternatives to seeking God's living word. 

The world's position is that our faith is built on lies: The Old Testament is man-made fiction, the Gospel accounts of Christ's resurrection are total fabrication and as believers, we're fools to believe in the existence of an invisible, all-powerful and eternal Creator.

Scripture doesn't suit the culture's purpose or intentions so, as a result, the world's denial of any ultimate truth dictates that believers must be ridiculed and scripture dismissed as fiction.

If you believe the Bible is a lie and that the gospels are man-made fiction, wouldn't you just totally hate it if in the nanosecond after drawing your last breath you found out the eyewitnesses to the resurrected King were accurate, truthful and factual after all?

----

How can I say every other religion is wrong and that every other other faith is a lie?  Because God didn't claim any of their leaders as his son, and God didn't raise any of their prophets from the dead to prove it.

-----

The world thinks it's controversial to declare the truth:

There is no salvation apart from Christ, and every faith outside of and apart from him is a lie. If you deny Christ, preach lies and worship any idol or god but God, you are following your father ... the devil. Satan is the father of all lies, and to embrace any belief or to proclaim any religion without Christ is the same as embracing Satan and proclaiming evil.  

Scripture says so ... no matter what the world and its man-made religions believe.

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

- John 10:10

The idols speak deceit, 
       diviners see visions that lie; 
       they tell dreams that are false, 
       they give comfort in vain. 
       Therefore the people wander like sheep 
       oppressed for lack of a shepherd.

- Zechariah 10:2

They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God's people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

- Revelation 20:9

not just worldwide but for all time, too

Yesu akamjibu, "Mimi ni njia, na ukweli na uzima. Hakuna awezaye kwenda kwa Baba ila kwa kupitia kwangu."

—Yo soy el camino, la verdad y la vida —le contestó Jesús—. Nadie llega al Padre sino por mí.

⁶ فَأَجَابَهُ يَسُوعُ: «أَنَا هُوَ الطَّرِيقُ وَالْحَقُّ وَالْحَيَاةُ. لاَ يَأْتِي أَحَدٌ إِلَى الآبِ إِلاَّ بِي.

⁶ 耶 稣 说 我 就 是 道 路 、 真 理 、 生 命 ； 若 不 藉 着 我 ， 没 有 人 能 到 父 那 里 去 。

- John 14:6

Monday Picadillo, etc.

Terrifically hot and humid today, so it seemed like a good idea to spend the afternoon catching up on the cooking ... which went straight to the freezer.  Here's two samples:

above: my latest secret real Cuban Picadillo recipe.

above: chicken breasts sauteed in Kerrygold Irish butter.  I read somewhere on the interweb that "sauteed" is French for "fat free."

Oh, and I installed a new 1 1/2" drain and thru-hull for the sink, too.

... and then came the protest signs and the boycotts?

Been re-reading Luke this past week, and a couple of things have stuck in my mind (you might want to check Luke 4 before proceeding).

The first thing I noticed comes right at the beginning:

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit ...

Did you catch that?  Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit.   Like, "full" as in "leaving room for nothing else."

  

 -- -- 

The second thing I noticed is that the first verse also tells us Uh oh, that's where Jesus was tempted for 40 days by the devil ... who asked him to turn stones into bread, who offered to give Christ all the kingdoms of the world, who challenged Christ to throw himself down from the highest point on the temple.

Are you seeing this?  I mean, Jesus literally came face to face with evil.

So how did Christ respond to this one on one encounter with Satan?

Did he form a Steering Committee to formulate a comprehensive list of recommendations, followed by a Budget Committee vote?  Did he respond by creating protest signs, writing fiery letters to The Temple Times or by threatening a boycott?  

Did Jesus rebuke Satan by mailing a big check to a political party promising anti-Satan reforms ... or did he storm into the temple to complain to the chief priest, "Do you have any idea what my life's been like for the past month?  Where were you when I needed help and advice?"

No, Jesus didn't react in any of those "modern" ways: instead, the Son of God slammed the door in Satan's face:

It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone.'

It is written: 'Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.'

It says: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'

--  --  --

Scripture is God's living word and God's word is true ... more powerful than any protest sign.  The gospel carries more strength and authority than any man-made rule, slogan, law or legislation.

Christ didn't fall into Satan's trap by arguing with the enemy.  Nor did he engage the devil in a lengthy theological debate to prove his position.  Scripture tells us that instead, Jesus returned to Gailee in the power of the Spirit ... and began preaching the gospel.

---   ---

I'm not one of those folks who dives into a book and immediately jumps ahead to read the ending.  I figure the ending makes more sense if I catch everything that happens in-between ... but if you're one of those people, this is what happens at the very, very end:

Jesus comes back.  Jesus throws Satan into hell and Jesus wins with an overwhelming show of power, justice and righteousness ... and there is never any doubt or discussion or debate about the best way to do it or what to do next.

Reason #504 for attending the NewSpring Web Campus

504.  You're out of town for the Memorial Day weekend but don't want to miss the second message in the What Now? series.

You did remember to bring a laptop along, didn't you?   :-)

clicking here is all it takes:  NewSpring Church Web Campus

11:15AM, 2:00PM (11:00AM Pacific) and 6:00PM Eastern

Low-T, or Low-C?

Saw a commercial on TV yesterday concerning a condition known as Low-T. 

The symptoms include reduced drive and function, loss of strength, moodiness and a lack of energy; Low-T occurs as androgen levels decrease ... typically in inactive men over age 45.

The symptoms are virtually identical to a spiritual condition we could call Low-C: decreased interest and motivation, loss of spiritual strength, argumentativeness and a lack of direction or purpose.

Low-C occurs as Faith levels decrease ... typically in inactive believers of both sexes, no matter what their age.

Times when you just HAVE to trust the pilot

- A friend forward these along in an email ...

1. Tioman Island , Off the coast of Malaysia

2. Wake Island, Pacific Ocean

3. Macao Intl Airport

4. Kuujjuaraapik , Quebec !



5. A rock, off the ?coast of Greenwood (Canadian Military Labrador Helicopter)

Outstanding job by a great young pilot from Pennsylvania !

Can't add anything else to this... ?the picture is worth 10,000 words
If you don't think our military pilots earn their pay, you need to take
a look at this picture.


This photo was taken by a soldier in Afghanistan of a helo rescue mission.
The pilot is a PA National Guard guy who flies EMS choppers in civilian life.

Seeing Job 1:21

I snagged the above photo from a friend of a Facebook's friend's album.

This boat and I are literally on opposite ends of the 500+ slip marina, but next time I'm over on the west side, I'd like to drop by and say hello.

"Naked I came from my mother's womb, 
       and naked I will depart.
       The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; 
       may the name of the LORD be praised."

- Job 1:21

Removal, Re-building and Re-Installation of the Velvet Drive Transmission

- Friday afternoon blog lite

Yep, you'll really wanna study up good for this one ... and be ready for tomorrow morning's 10am Practical Exam in the Calypso Classroom Living and Learning Laboratory.

Yikes.

- full text here

Jesus was a rebel

I'm guessing most folks who grew up in church with traditional hymns would probably blanche out loud at this song's beat ... before even getting to the lyrics.  I sure did.

But Scripture tells us Christ is coming back to earth one day ... on his schedule, not ours ... and when he does it won't be to cuddle lambs,  fold his hands and make sad-faced frowns or to be mocked all over again by the modern world's Pharisees.

Jesus was a rebel, a renegade, outlaw

A sanctified troublemaker but He never sinned, naw 

and He lived His life by a different set of Rules

the culture ain't approve

so you know they had they had to bruise em

that's the way they do.

No glory in me

all glory to the King on the throne (Jesus)

you either love Him or leave Him alone but you cant do both

yeah, you probably heard that once in song

I pray you hear 10 mo fo ya gone

yeah listen up, holmes   

yeah that's the God I roll wit

ya boy gotta wife and no I neva cheated

I'm prayin for humility whenever I get heated

forget about the drugs

rebel against pornography

this ain't how it oughta be, homie

this is how it's gotta be

A rebel

the little rabbit that could ...

... whup up on rattlesnakes.

Good thing nobody ever told him That Can't Be Done.

Texas Rabbits Rule - Funny video clips are a click away

up at the crack of an insight

Not sure exactly how this happens, but sometimes solutions to thorny problems occur to me in first three or four seconds as I'm waking up.  No kidding.

Could be that I've been scratching my head for weeks trying to figure out how to plumb a new drain hose through an unreachable bulkhead, or it might be that I've been cross-eyed for days trying to remember where I left the cut-out saw ... or it could have to do with a tortuous situation affecting someone I know.

No resolution, work-around or happy remedy seems even remotely possible, then suddenly a pre-dawn epiphany turns the Sandman's dust into pay dirt.

You know, sorta like what happened this morning.

----  ----

Might be easier to follow along if you read last night's post here first.

It occurred to me this morning that more folks believed in God, and had greater faith, back in the days when wind powered ships, when mules pulled plows and wagons, when horses pulled carriages and when a person's feet & legs did their commuting.

Before men invented engines.

Ocean-going steamships replaced schooners, tractors replaced mules and automobiles rendered carriages obsolete in just a few short years by the turn of the 20th century ... a time period that includes the emergence of Communism (1848), Darwinism (1860),  and Freudianism (1895).

As if the invention of engines caused mankind to collectively sigh and murmur, "Thank God we're no longer dependent on him to move our loads and carry our burdens."

-----

- Air travel made faraway destinations seem closer, but had the effect of making God seem farther away.  

- Cars make transportation seem faster, but the time we save leaves us too rushed and hurried to seek God.  

- Satellites and digital phones make world-wide communication cheaper and easier than ever, but make hearing God over the interference and earthly ground noise more difficult.  

- Access to the internet puts practically all of mankind's knowledge and wisdom at out finger tips, yet it seems more reliable to seek answers from Google than to find solutions in Scripture.

And that's what occurred to me today as I was waking up ... before all the inventions aboard starting making my life so much easier and more convenient.

"I never hear from or have contact with anybody in my church."

Isn't Jesus at your church ... or has he never been welcomed inside ... or been asked to take charge? 

God's hand in a whisper

8:45pm

Too dark to get a photo from a man-made camera, but tonight about a mile south of Calypso's slip I watched two sailboats ... one working toward The Inner Harbor, the other tacking its way east toward the Atlantic ... for almost 15 minutes until it got dark.

Amazing to catch such a sight?  Was it awesome and amazing?

No, what I saw was infinitely more than that.

--------------

We tend to forget it wasn't so far in the past, really hardly more than a few generations ago, that wind was the engine driving hundred-ton cargo ships across the oceans to crisscross the seas; literally hauling civilization's heaviest loads from one end of the world to the other.

Yet still, wind-power wasn't good enough and couldn't keep up the pace: men wanted something Faster, more On Schedule and more Immediate.

Never mind that wind-power was a free gift that never needed maintenance, overhauling or refueling.

Men and the urgency of their demands prevailed:  tall-masted sailing ships have all but vanished from the seas.

And hardly anyone seems to notice the wind any more.

--------

I couldn't help but stop to watch the two sailboats as the wind steered both vessels along their courses into the night.  

Both captains at the tiller could see the stars hanging still and motionless overhead, but neither one of them could actually see the wind that filled and stretched their sails ... the invisible power that coaxed and effortlessly urged them along their way: I've got more wind than you've got sails.

Even though wind is invisible, its effects are not: the captains simply trusted the wind was there, to quietly guide their vessels ... and their lives ... to their destinations.

----

Set against the grace of their motion and the rhythmic ease of their movement, the total silence and absolute lack of engine noise or any other man-made sound seemed other-worldly.

As if God's invisible hand merely brushing past the sails, or the force of his  slightest whisper echoing down from Heaven through thousands and thousands of years, was again proved powerful enough to move and drive men and their ambitions over oceans, through stormy seas and tempests of every description to circle the globe ... and bring them back home safely again.

---

As believers, sometimes we fall back upon disproportionate phrases like "God is huge," "God is amazing," "God is infinite" or "God is awesome and all-powerful."

Of course they're all true but even if we strung ten thousand cliches together the sum total doesn't come close to describing the sovereignty, the majesty, the righteousness and the power of the Creator.

Even if somehow we could convey and communicate our perception of the universe God created, our efforts would amount to nothing more significant or complete than describing a beach according to the first grain of sand we'd seen blowing past our toes on a windy afternoon.

God has just that kind of power, God is just that capable.

-

In the beginning God created the universe.

 I think given that kind of power, authority and imagination, it's unlikely God will ever get tired, give up, lose interest, turn his back, change his mind, get distracted, change priorities, go on vacation, ask for a vote or lose control of his creation.  No matter what burden we feel like we're carrying onboard toward the night.

When I consider your heavens, 
       the work of your fingers, 
       the moon and the stars, 
       which you have set in place,

 what is man that you are mindful of him, 
       the son of man that you care for him?

- Psalm 8:2-4

Is not God in the heights of heaven? 
       And see how lofty are the highest stars!

- Job 22:12

So he said to me, "This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: 'Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the LORD Almighty.

- Zechariah 4:6

 

I'm convinced

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

- Romans 8:28-39

the high price of boating and living

Everybody's heard the old adages about "A boat is just a hole in the water you throw money into" and that the word "boat" is an acronym for "break out another thousand" or that "something's always going wrong on a boat."

Cliches like those get passed around and become popular, in part, because most folks live on land ... which means facing the financial burdens of paying the mortage or the rent, taxes, homeowner's insurance, maintenance, upkeep and all the rest.

The expense of owning a boat includes all of those expenses, too; so for folks with two sets of bills to crunch each month, the redundancy of unavoidable costs certainly contributes to the perception in the public mind that boating is expensive, frivolous and all of those things.

------

Boat owners who actually live on their boats have just one set of bills to face each month, just the same as land-dwellers.  So for live-aboards, the cost of boat ownership doesn't seem nearly as onerous, expensive or aggravating.

After all, that's where we live: we're live-aboards.

---

Like the folks who live on land but who also own boats and might think the price of boat ownership and upkeep is too high, sometimes folks who identify themselves as believers feel the price of belonging to Christ is too high:  too many rules, too many don'ts, too many interferences with our lives "outside of church."

That's because they're trying to live with two sets of priorities.

But folks who're full-time, Holy Spirit-lives-onboard believers don't ever describe their relationship with Christ as being too costly, too time-consuming or too aggravating.

Could be that's because they're focused on the one life they're living.  The one that's lived for Christ ... full-time, all the time, every time.

Faith is, the Obstacle is ... [updated]

My silly knee started hurting again two days ago, waking me up nights and creating something of an inconvenient complication in terms of getting dressed (like, pulling on my pants and socks or tying my shoelaces).

Things had been going so well recently, too.   Four days without wearing a knee brace, four days of walking without worrying my left knee might give out with no warning, four nights without waking up feeling like a steel pin had suddenly replaced my kneecap. But then ...  

What happened?  Was there something I'd done?  More precisely, what went wrong?

I don't know, but I can say that I got a firm and vivid reminder that walking upright, unassisted and pain-free isn't something we should ever take for granted.

After almost nine months of trying and waiting I was beginning to think my injury had healed.  After four solid days of being totally pain-free, I started thinking Hey, I'm all well!

But guess what.  The reality of the experience proved that what I think doesn't matter too much.

-----

Sometimes I used to wish that I'd had a "Road to Damascus" experience like Paul's.  

Once upon a time I badly wished Jesus had arrived in a bright ball of light, knocked me to my knees, appeared to me in the flesh and called out my name in a deafening roar of thunder.  That way I'd know he was real because I had seen.

That didn't happen, and I started thinking Why?

Maybe God saw how hard Saul's heart had become, and he knew that the chains enslaving Paul's heart could only be broken by Christ's fiery first-hand appearance.

Whatever the reason, God knew what to do ... at just the right time and in just the right place.  And as a result Saul, the greatest persecutor of Christians on the planet became Paul, the greatest apostle to the world.

Because of what he had seen, Paul believed ... and believed with a faith that most of us can only pretend to imagine.  Which is exactly what makes it so easy to be envious of Paul's experience: if I only I could have seen what Paul had seen.  I want faith like Paul's.

On the front end, Paul's brand of faith seems easier than living with the kind of lukewarm day-to-day "I hope God's on my side" religion most folks know best.  But then, even standing face to face before Rome's emperor and realizing his life was on the line, Paul could not change his mind, make excuses or deny his  faith ... and paid the ultimate price as a result.

Why?

Because of what he had seen: before he came face to face with the emperor, Paul came face to face with the living, resurrected Christ.

----   ----

Is Christ's appearance in the flesh really what it'd take to give me rock-solid faith like Paul's? Or if there's an obstacle in the way of 100% faith and assurance, what can it be?

Nothing, but me.

-----------------

On a pragmatic and theologically comparative level, there's one critical difference separating Christianity from every other religion, faith and belief system ever devised: whether its disciples profess faith in Buddha, Mohammed, "the brotherhood of mankind," Darwinism, reincarnation, space aliens, or even if they're atheists who deny God's existence, the common point of reference (and value system) rests upon "what I think is true."

Christianity is different because faith resides not within thought, philosophical examination, theological reasoning or "what ought to be" ... but upon the resurrection: Jesus's disciples' lives were changed not by what they thought, but by what they had seen.

As believers and followers of Christ the resurrection proves God's word is true; Christ's victory over the grave is our assurance that God keeps his word.

No other faith promises that kind of rock-solid, 100% guaranteed, God's-word-is- his-promise assurance.

------

Because our hope is through Christ's resurrection, faith cannot include "maybe," "sort of," almost" or "I think so."

Jesus wasn't halfway free of sin, wasn't "sort of" crucified, wasn't "maybe" resurrected nor did he "almost" ascend into Heaven.  Neither did he halfway, maybe, or sort of promise us eternal life.

Which is why halfway, maybe and sort-of faith is no faith at all.

Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."

- John 20:29

tech timeout

Virtually no web access; strong signal so I'm assuming the problem is with my wireless service provider.  Finally uploaded 3 photos to Facebook, but it's taken since 7am.

Reason #337 to visit the NewSpring web campus

337.  You can come in late and nobody has to fold up their knees, uncross their legs or wake up from their nap while you're  squeezing past to get to your seat.

ps.  Two more services today at 2pm and 6pm EST; 11AM Pacific

click below:

NewSpring Church web campus

click above:

Feeling at your wit's end on a Saturday night?

The Almighty is beyond our reach and exalted in power; 
       in his justice and great righteousness, he does not oppress.

- Job 37:23

And he became more and more powerful, because the LORD God Almighty was with him.

-2 Samuel 5:10

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.

-2 Corinthians 4:7-9

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

- Romans 15:13