Faithful

A handful or so years ago I was talking to a believer who wasn't bashful about sharing their firm conviction that faith in God translates to believing that God materially rewarding those folks who're faithful to him.

What wasn't so subtle was the implication that you can stand back and pretty much gauge a person's faithfulness according to that person's material rewards and financial success.

In other words, I was told, it's obvious that God rewards faithful followers ... and makes their righteousness publicly apparent ... through the bountiful compensation of material success and achievement.

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I don't believe that, not for one minute.

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As believers, God's promised us eternal life, so why do we end up expecting ... no, demanding more?

Do we really have any right to expect perfect health, a wonderful romantic relationship, financial success, on top of praise and adoration from our peers ... after accepting Christ as our savior and surrending ourselves to him?

Wouldn't you think that salvation from eternal damnation is already infinitely more than we deserve? Doesn't that already seem like more than enough?

Or how about a side order of fries, a discounted mortgage and a shoe shine, too?

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When people are praying, I wonder how much time they spend talking and how much time they spend listening.

I wonder how much time is spent asking God for favors (or asking him to save us from a crisis of ourr own creation), and how much time is spent repenting, and asking God for his forgiveness.

How much prayer time is spent asking him to do whatever it takes to rend and extirpate the sin from our lives ... no matter how painful that process might be ... and how much time is spent asking God to bend his word so we can have our own way?

Or how much time is devoted to thanking him for Christ's sacrifice on the cross and praising for what he's already done on our behalf, without us even knowing about it, without us even having to ask?

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Grace is God's gift, and Salvation means that we're saved from what we deserve and is God's promise to us of eternal life. Christ's sacrifice on the cross does not mean that we're promised everything we feel we deserve in this life.

And neither should we act or behave as if we've done anything to merit or deserve what God has mercifully chosen to give us.

The Faith Inbetween: Part 3 --- Am I Hot or am I Not?

The popular position goes something like this:

"Let me tell you what I think about religion, because too many people try to make the subject difficult when it doesn't have to be. I think a man or woman can be successful in their chosen career, and still pursue their own agenda, goals and ambitions without interfering at all with their faith.

"Religion and reality are two separate things, and any right-thinking person will quickly see the difference and learn to keep them apart."

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I dunno about all that. Seems to be it'd be easier for a "right-thinking person" to just go church-shopping until they found a church focused on "having it all" and keeping its members happy and smiling, led by a pastor who didn't let either God's word or the Holy Spirit interefere with anybody's agenda, goals and ambitions.

A church where everybody can dress up in their best and sit around together for an hour on Sundays, playing the pious and religious role ... wondering what to do next to succeed and how much to contribute to impress each other even more.

I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So,because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.

- Revelation 3:15-17

Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: "The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy loads and put them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them."Everything they do is done for men to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues"

- Matthew 23:1-6

You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.

- Galatians 5:13

The Faith Inbetween: Part 2 --- When it comes to Religion, I'm always right

Ever met somebody who talked about Salvation as if it was Eternity Insurance?

In other words, "Just to be safe, I better believe Jesus died for my sins ... and after I'm saved and baptized I can go on about my business."

Does that make a strange kind of selfish sense? Who wants to take chances that Hell might be absolutely real and last forever ... even if the idea of death seems far off in the future?

It simply makes sense to some church-exposed folks to cover their bets, buy a Bible and find a parking space at a church that satisfies all their needs and requirements.

Isn't that what church is all about? Isn't that what the pastor gets paid to do? Isn't church supposed to be a spiritual trough where the flock shows up for an hour every Sunday (or every Easter) to be fed till they're full (so long as the sermon doesn't last past 12PM)?

Isn't that what Scripture says church is all about?

No, Scripture doesn't say that at all.

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I've met lots of folks who call themselves Christians who're almost angrily anxious to argue that their brand of religion is the right one, the only one and the only right one ... and then quote scripture to prove that they're "right."

Excuse me, but isn't that backwards ... and even downright contemptuous of God? Did God divinely inspire others to write the books of the Bible to prove that your religion, your rules, your music, your dress code, your traditions and your politics are always right?

Or maybe you had all the answers to begin with, and are merely using scripture to support your own arguments. Regardless of what God said thousand and thousands of years before you drew your first breath.

The problem might be that your religion, rules, music, dress code, traditions and politics are all man-made.

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Scripture is God's living word and God's word existed loooong before either you or I, so how then can scripture "prove" that we're right?

We're not always "right" and neither is any man-made religion; only God's word is always authoritative, always definitive and always right. As believers, our faith, revealed through our acts, should prove that God's word is always true and always right ... and not the other way around.

Man-made icons ... like steeples, mahogany pews and stained glass windows, are symbols that folks associate with "church" and religion, but symbols don't offer much of a glimpse about how the folks who gather inside are living their lives outside the building ... or whether their faith is just as symbolic and silent.

The Faith Inbetween: Part 1 --- Role reversal

There's a huge yacht from another country visiting the marina. I've been here about a year and seen lots of big boats coming and going in all that time, but I've never witnessed such a minor hysteria of attention as this vessel has attracted.

Let's just say that it's so big that I'm not sure its crew (yes, they're full-time and they're paid) could be carried from the marina to the grocery store in two minivans.

Let's just say it's Huge.

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So the other day around 5PM I was shuffling back to my boat and happened to pass a female crewmember walking in the opposite direction. She was tall ... tall enough in her flat shoes to look me square in the eye, and athletically slim in the genetically-fortunate way as Salukis and Greyhounds are built, with the kind of long blond hair that only comes from months of exposure aboard the teak decks of an ocean-crossing yacht.

I did't say this to describe her appearance; I overheard someone else say it: "That girl has the kind of looks Elle Macpherson would die for." Other speculated that she absolutely had to be the daughter, or some other relation, of one of the world's hundred wealthiest men.

Then as we passed in our opposite directions and got within arm's length of each other, that sun-kissed girl glanced at me for almost a milli-second ... just long enough to turn her face into a harpoon of contempt and disdain like I've never seen (outside of a rabid racoon), as though my ball cap, ratty sneakers, grease-smeared jeans and sweaty t-shirt shouted that I'd just climbed out of someone's bilge after troubleshooting a leak in their holding tank (sewer tank).*

Which is just what I had been doing ... but that's beside the point: she looked at me like I belonged inside the sewer tank, instead of working outside of it.

But then she wasn't my idea of a woman worth pursuing, honoring and cherishing for a lifetime, either.

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Walked by that massive yacht again this afternoon, just as the same girl was welcoming a young couple and their two daughters aboard. And she treated them much differently than the way she treated me.

Couldn't help noticing that this time she was wearing an apron ... the kind worn by by folks who serve food.

Before it comes out the opposite end at the holding tank.

* My own, that is. I only turned off the sea-water seacock.

MY LITTLE GIRL JUST HAD SURGERY AND MY PASTOR DIDN'T EVEN CALL ME TO SEE HOW SHE WAS DOING!!!

Can you believe it? What on earth could my pastor have been doing all week that was more important than calling me personally to express his concern? What else has he got going on that he couldn't find the time to offer to drop by and sit with me for three or four hours every night? In my time of need, what could possibly be more important than that?

Uh, praying, preparing, sharing the gospel and making the name of Jesus Christ famous around the world, for starters.

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This is my little girl, below. She did have surgery last week and she's doing fine, despite life-threatening hemorrhaging on the drive home that required rushing her to an emergency clinic ... things were dicey for almost 24 hours after that. But you know what?

My dog's health and recovery isn't what makes the angels sing and rejoice in Heaven.

Extreme Living

Started thinking tonight about some of the people I've known in my life.

I've met and become friends with hang-gliders, the folks who jump off cliffs with plastic wings strapped to their arms; downhill skiers, who scream down mountain race courses at 90 miles an hour; sailors who've crossed the Pacific in boats only an arm's length longer than Calypso; extreme skiers and paragliders who scoff at the idea that Mont Blanc is "death capital of the world."

Some folks call them extreme sports enthusiasts; some folks call them dare devils; some folks call them crazy. But nobody can argue that they're stupid.

I think that's because all of them, from hang-gliders to offshore sailors to extreme skiers, share one fundamental thing in common: none of them designs and builds their own gear. Sailors don't trust their lives to homemade liferafts, paragliders don't stitch together their own aircraft with a glue gun, downhill racers don't core their own fiberglass skis and paragliders don't wear helmets put together with spare pots from the kitchen cabinet.

The consequences are just too high ... and undeniably permanent, too.

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Yet when it comes to death and salvation, lots of folks are competitors in the sport of extreme living, determined to live life according to their own whims and supremely confident of their ability to fathom eternity and to negotiate and manufacture their own salvation ... while remaining oblivious of and indifferent to the one consideration that matters most:

How can I be sure, and know beyond any doubt, that what I put together is gonna work?

Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him.

- John 3:36

how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him.

- Hebrews 2:3

If I had not done among them what no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. But now they have seen these miracles, and yet they have hated both me and my Father.

- John 15:24

Antenna Envy

- Tuesday morning blog lite

It's no secret that my wifi service is a bit sketchy, and every effort to improve my connection's speed has thus far failed. The problem, I feel certain, lies with the service provider ... but let's skip over that for the moment and focus on signal strength instead.

My friend Will Rodes emailed me an ebay link to this amazing accessory: the 15dBi Outdoor Dish Antenna:

Is that awesome, or not?

Click here to see it for yourself.

"I tried the whole Jesus thing, and religion didn't work for me"

I've heard people announce things like that; you probably have, too.

The statement is often accompanied by a "You can't be serious!" frown, as though they're letting you know that their life experiences since then have proven beyond any doubt that Jesus, religion and church are superstitions, lies and myths ... and that only a fool would believe Christ was literally resurrected from the dead 2000 years ago or that scripture is God's word or that the universe was intelligently and spontaneously created by an invisible, all-mighty being called God.

(Sometimes the same folks will dismiss further discussion by tacking on, "What's true for you isn't necessarily true for me." Uh, then what you just said isn't necessarily true for me, which means that your statement contradicts itself, which means that your statement is false.)

The thing is, when folks say they "tried Jesus" and that "Religion didn't work for me," I'm absolutely convinced that they're being truthful and honest. And that they're totally right.

Huh?!

-- --- --

Jesus is not a 2000 year old self-help plan. Christ did not die on the cross to make you happy or to be your good luck charm or to promise you an easy life. Nor is he your magic 'Jesus in a bottle' that you pray to three times, expecting your wishes to be granted.

Jesus never said Try Me Risk Free! or You're the Boss, I Will Work For You. Christ didn't tell us Where You Lead Me I Will Follow nor did he promise Return Unused Portion for Refund. No, he didn't promise us a happy life ... he promised us eternal life if we trust and believe in him instead.

You don't try Jesus ... you Repent, you Surrender and you Commit to pick up your cross daily and follow him.

Read that last part again, so you won't be surprised if your life suddenly seems to get worse.

Because Surrender doesn't mean Trial Periods or Satisfaction Guaranteed!

Surrender does mean you've put control of your life ... its stresses, worries and concerns ... in God's hands. For eternity. I mean, how can you "give up" on Jesus after you've already surrendered?

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You might be thinking, "Hold on ... I can still be a good person and pursue my own goals and ambitions without go crazy or letting religion interefere with my life."

-Compared to Christ you're not a good person ... you're an evil person. Otherwise, you wouldn't need salvation. Read that part about Surrender again.

"Well, my church says God wants me to be happy and make all my dreams come true."

-That's what happens when your church is asleep and religion is more important than Christ and the gospel.

"If life's only gonna get worse for following Christ, who'd ever wanna be a Christian?"

-The people who can't deny that Jesus was who he said he was and know there's no choice or option hidden inside Surrender.

Church

It's not just for Sundays.

Some tasty gossip

Funny, isn't it, how "church" folks who'll condemn smoking, drinking, rock music, etc. with both guns blazing will suddenly take a deep breath, squinch their eyes together in secrecy, and launch on a stinging gossip tirrade?

Are you thinking "Aw, come on ... bringing our prayer group up to date on brother so-and so's latest shortcomings, or spending an hour on the phone speculating about sister so-and-so's sexual sins, ain't really sinning"?

After all, gossiping (or brainstorming with others about how much the pastor makes) is Fun.

The sinful part is, we're commanded not to do it. Don't roll your eyes or argue with me; I'm not the one who said it.

"But but but ... there's some things people need to know."

But nothing. No matter how important the latest "news" seems. Gossiping is a sin.

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Can you imagine Jesus waiting until Peter walked out of the room, and then turning to the apostle beside him and whispering, "You know that guy's gonna betray me three times before the cock crows, don't you?" or telling John "I'm not sure what it is, but I've got a suspicion Thomas is a doubter"?

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Christ didn't gossip ... and we're sinning any time we think we can get away with spreading dirt, filth and lies over another person's name or reputation. No matter how much fun it seems like at the time.

Unleash 2010

[blogging behind the scenes]

Several events over the weekend prompted me to write last night's post about how a Christian should "act."

The first one happened for the fourth time on Friday night: someone intentionally turned off the spigot supplying water to my boat. Probably because there's a leak at the fitting leading into my boat.

Might not sound like a big deal, but just imagine if (a) you were taking a shower and someone turned off the water line into your house (b) without incoming water to refill my hot water heater, its element burned out (c) a critical onboard system required a fresh water supply to function properly.

It's happened four times, and always on a weekend. I figure the culprit is a weekend boater ... a do-gooder who's too thoughtless to bother knocking on my boat to check with me first before causing me untold aggravation and grief. It makes me furious.

The second event happened last night. My 12 year old dog-daughter, Atlantis Phred, had surgery earlier in the week to remove several lumps from her breasts. Then on the way home from the vet her stitches opened, and the blood loss was severe enough to be life-threatening (I was told the backseat of the car looked like a murder scene).

Her owner (and the owner's boyfriend) had to literally race to an emergency clinic to have her resutured before she died ... and I volunteered to watch, stay with and give 'Lanis' her meds when her owner's unavailable because of work.

Well, dogs still have bodily functions and still have to "walk," right? So last night while Lanis was trying to finish her business a young couple walked by with their (unleashed) spitzer, who came racing up at full speed to investigate. Which caused Lanis to whirl around to defend herself against her antagonist.

At which point the young man pointed at the sidewalk and scolded me, "Look. She expelled an excrement there." [The city has a strict poop-n-pickup law and yup- those are exactly his words. Oh, and there's an even stricter leash law, too.]

I was already worrying my dog's insides would fall out as she squatted, and then this unleashed and uncontrolled dog interferes with her ... yet that dog's owner felt compelled to point out a piece of poop the size of an acorn to me, while ignoring that the responsibility fell squarely on him?

I had to clamp my jaw shut and totally ignore the tide of expletives I wanted unlease on that guy's face ... and that's what got me thinking, How should a Christian act?

Especially when faced with a situation that's not covered by all the rules.

Christian character ... or caricature?

Ever heard someone say "So-and-so doesn't act like a Christian"?

Makes me wonder, how should a Christian act ... and what does that mean?

Does it mean Don't Drink, Don't Smoke, Don't have sex before marriage and Don't miss church on Sundays? Is "Christian character" measured according to how a person acts?

Sounds like a bad idea to me, especially because of that word "acts." You can google "act like a Christian" and actually find sites replete with long lists-- of man made rules, naturally-- mandating how a Christian should act.

But rules are a superficial, surface-only thing ... and leave lots of holes in the surface, too.

Makes me wonder who's got any idea how that same person "acts" behind closed doors ... when they're not acting any more ... and what their real-life heart reveals through their actions.

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The first two letters in the word Believer are Be ... as in, Be like Christ.

Instead of just acting like a Christian.

car⋅i⋅ca⋅ture

  [kar-i-kuh-cher, -choor] Show IPA noun, verb, -tured, -tur⋅ing.

1.	a picture, description, etc., ludicrously exaggerating the peculiarities or defects of persons or things: His caricature of the mayor in this morning's paper is the best he's ever drawn.

2.	the art or process of producing such pictures, descriptions, etc.

3.	any imitation or copy so distorted or inferior as to be ludicrous.

- from Dictionary.com

Am I attractive, charming ... or even a desireable catch?

No.

I am a slave to the living Christ and belong ... for eternity ... to the God who loves me.

We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.

- Romans 7:14-15

What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.

- Romans 7:24-25

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.

-1 Peter 1:2-5

Life in the dumb lane

Some people think the story of Adam and Eve in the garden is fiction.

After all, they argue, in real-life serpents don't talk. But their rhetoric misses the point.

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In the Selous Game Reserve back in 2005, literally hundreds of miles from pavement (or even the nearest village) one of our trackers suddenly screamed and came back-peddling at near-light speed in our direction.

He'd found a python coiled near a tree.

Being curious, we were of course obliged to investigate ... so we formed a circle as we approached, and sure enough there was the python in the center, with a head the size of a shoe box.

So our guide moved toward its head and called out to me "Joe, grab its tail."

Guess what I did? (hint: I didn't ask What for?)

While our guide distracted the snake's head I came in low from behind and grabbed ... and missed. I grabbed several more times, and despite the onlookers' encouragement, I missed every time.

The discouraging part was that every miss only made the head at the end of that 15-foot body more angry and more upset ... while making me more aware of how the Dar es Salaam newspaper headlines might read the next day if it turned out the snake was more serious and intent than I was about our little game of Tag, I'm Bit.

Glad I don't do that kind of thing every day ... I mean, more than five or ten times ... on a good day.

--

Nobody talked me into doing anything I wasn't willing to do.

Whether eating the fruit or grabbing the tail, choice is the freedom to decide ... and when we think and act as though the boundaries of freedom lie within ourselves, why are we surprised when we end up choosing dumb and grabbing a snake by the tail?

You've already seen this, right?

(video technology)

It's really amazing ...

... what Windows can do:

http://www.mach-es-machbar.de/

And I always thought I was so pleasant and cheerful ...

(Wednesday morning blog lite)

Yeah, so. Imagine my surprise when I got home with my take-out sandwich and found this unsolicited observation thoughtfully penned on top of the container.

:-)

Notes on bedtime

On Wednesday I wrote a post titled "All the Time in the World."

It's way past my bedtime, but I've been thinking about that post ... and will be until I fall asleep.

I'm not planning on dying between the time I fall asleep and the time I wake up tomorrow, but then, I'm not in control of my time left on earth ... actually, I'm constantly reminded of and humbled by my own frailty and weakness.

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I won't fall asleep tonight wishing I was in a relationship or that there was someone special in my life, or wishing I was happily married, or hoping to become fabulously rich before I die. I won't be staring at the ceiling wishing my boat was bigger or imagining myself driving a new car. I probably won't even worry about my boat sinking while I'm asleep inside it.

And I won't have trouble falling asleep trying to think of ways to settle scores, gain an advantage or wanting to impress people or become famous ... nor will I be worrying about getting old and sick, or not being physically attractive. I won't spend one minute dreading what the politicians in Washington will do next, either.

Nor will I fall asleep making a mental list of all the things I'd like to do with my life ... or spend two seconds thinking of all the things I wish I'd done differently.

Except for one thing.

I wish people could see Christ in my life and know that he's alive ... and that I didn't fail and fall short every day.

Financial Discipline

I lifted this (without permission) from my friend Joe Sangl's blog ... it's Excellent, and I hope he doesn't mind. :-)

Personal Discipline

Personal discipline. Do you have it? Or do you lack it?

Signs of personal discipline in personal financial management:

• Waiting at least overnight before making a large purchase decision
• Balanced checkbook
• Monthly spending plan
• Saving every paycheck
• Giving every paycheck
• Organized financial documents - including insurance EOBs
• Credit cards paid off in full every month
• Regularly obtain credit report to ensure it is accurate
• Married couples - both know where the money goes and how much they have saved
• Singles - established accountability

Signs of poor personal discipline:

• Overdrafts
• Disorganized records
• Late payments
• Credit cards balances not paid off every month
• Spouses not working together
• Impulsive spending decisions
• Little or no saved money
• No giving

What would you add to either list?

It got me thinking, Who really pays the price when we make BAD financial decisions?

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Check Joe's blog daily here.

Trimming God down to size?

I understand why some folks cherish and endorse what could be called a "traditional" approach to church ... a steepled building with pews, stained glass windows, choirs (and choir robes), a pulpit with lectern, organ preludes ... and all the other physical trappings and symbols most Americans associate with what church is all about.

That's the thing, right there: the traditional trappings that, unintentionally or not, cause religious folks to think (and act) that "church" is God's house ... and that church is where we go to visit him and to be in his presence for an hour or two every week.

Maybe more during annual Revivals.

And trappings ... including manmade traditions ... are what causes folks to worship Religion, rather than to be humbled by an infinite and almighty God and the 24x7 presence of the living Christ.

God's too big for your building ... and being older than the universe and more creative than an army of Beethovens, maybe he gets tired of hearing the same songs every Sunday morning.

Might make him think he hasn't done anything new or inspiring in peoples' lives for the past two hundred years, too.

--

If we say "We go to church on Sundays to visit God in his house" the implication is that we while we believe God is everywhere, God's got to be trimmed to fit our concepts and notions ... down to a size that's convenient, easy to recognize, comfortable n' easy to carry yet not so bulky that he starts interfering with our lives during the week ... that is, when we're not visiting him in his house with the sign announcing "church" out front.

It's reflexively easy to pre-package God into buildings with steeples, pews and organ music. And to keep him there, too ... where he won't get in our way or become a nuisance during the week ... at least until we need him to intervene with a supernatural miracle or solution on our behalf.

---

What goes unsaid (but not necessarily unnoticed, according to our actions) is that if we believe that a building with symbols and traditions is where God lives ... and that "church" is the best place to find and commune with him for an hour on Sunday mornings ... maybe it's because Christ's not living in our hearts every hour.

just 2 things

I was wondering today why, if God is in control, he allowed his temple in Jersusalem to be destroyed by the Romans back in 70 AD.

Then I wondered about the Greek Jews who had begun following Christ (described in Acts), and whether they had Greek translations of scripture available ... or did the early church insist that only the Hebrew versions were inspired and authentic?

Inside Out

"Secular music has no place in church."

Ever heard somebody say that? I think it means that there's two types of music: "religious" music and non-church "sinful" music, so therefore only "religious" music belongs in church.

I think it also means that it must be OK to listen to non-church music outside of church, because non-church music belongs outside of church. Otherwise, the only music believers would ever listen to is "church" music.

Rules sure make faith easier, don't they? And rules hardly ever contradict each other, either.

Unless there's more than one.

---

"Church" isn't a building, it's not a memory of "the good old days" nor is it an adjective describing one hour of the week on Sunday mornings. The church is Christ's body ... and I don't see how we, as believers, can start drawing lines or making distinctions about when we're In Church or Out of Church.

Or how we can offer a straight-faced argument that something can be perfectly OK and acceptable in our lives for 167 hours of the week ... except for the one hour between 11AM and noon on Sundays we reverently set aside for "church" ... when it's time to lower our heads and put on the religious face.

Which goes so well with our organ preludes, hymnals and Sunday Best coats n' ties.

North Carolina Man Catches Record Marlin in Maryland Tournament

NC man reels in 1,062-pound marlin

(AP) – OCEAN CITY, Md. — Robert Farris will have an honest big-fish story to tell.

The Charlotte, N.C., resident broke a 20-year-old Maryland record at the White Marlin Open in Ocean City, snagging a blue marlin that weighed 1,062 pounds.

That exceeds the previous record by more than 100 pounds.

It took Farris more than three hours Wednesday to reel the fish in. The blue marlin is worth about $550,000.

The White Marlin Open is dubbed the largest billfish tournament in the world, with nearly 300 registered boats and cash prizes exceeding $2.1 million.

Farris was aboard the No Problem out of Fenwick Island, Delaware.

Information from: The Baltimore Sun, http://www.baltimoresun.com

-original source here

All the time in the world

People are strange, aren't they? I can't figure them out at all. Take relationships, for example.

Why is it that so many people who claim to be committed in long-term relationships, whether married or single, feel entitled to browbeat, rage against, condescend to, provoke fights with, backstab, cheat on, or just generally emotionally torment the person they chose to be involved with?

For that matter, why is it that so many people who profess to be followers of Christ only seem to follow him when it's convenient?

Why is it that so many people conduct their lives as though they've got all the time in the world to prepare themselves for eternity?

---

What if the last words you said to a family member turned out to be things you'd said in anger?

What if the last thing you did in your life was skip tithing to pay for that new car or big screen TV ... or season football tickets?

What if the last thing you did in your life was cheat on your spouse?

What if the last thing you did in your life was avoiding sharing your testimony as a believer because you felt afraid of what other people at work might think?

Seems to me like those would be some pretty heavy burdens to carry into judgement and eternity. Unless, of course, you don't believe that either Judgement or Eternity exist in the first place ... or maybe your life-long plan includes living forever ... and skipping death altogether.

Could be that be you do believe in Judgement and Eternity, but feel pretty sure you've got all the time in the world to "do a 360 and get yourself turned around" ... before the last second of your life arrives.

After all, that moment's far, far off in the future ... isn't it?

Thing is, so long as you're planning on" getting yourself straightened out in time," all the time in the world isn't going to do any good or make any difference.

That's because all the time in the world doesn't belong to you. And anyway, you can't do a thing to save yourself from eternity, either.

"He said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.' "

- Luke 16:31

"Therefore since we are God's offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by man's design and skill. In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead."

-Acts 17:29-31

As God's fellow workers we urge you not to receive God's grace in vain. For he says,
"In the time of my favor I heard you,
and in the day of salvation I helped you." I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation.

- 2 Corinthians 6:1

Fatigue

Sometimes a picture's worth more than a thousand words.

Boliche!

Tuesday evening blog lite -

It took almost 4 hours, but I made my first Boliche this afternoon.

Drop by and try some ... there's lots left over.

Travel Plans & Connecting Flights

Last night a woman told me about her vacation plans to see a theater show in New Orleans with her husband ... which included months of extensive planning, deliberation, shuffling of work schedules (and saving) to realize their goal.

Her husband, she explained, had been meticulously frugal in his planning and spent hours of research and investigation online over the course of several weeks ... squeezing the price, of everything from hotel accommodations to airline and theater tickets, down to the last penny to make the trip possible ... to the extent that to save on cab fare, they had to walk (carrying their luggage the whole way) about three miles from Canton to catch the train into Washington DC, where they spent the night in the airport.

Their flight to New Orleans wasn't scheduled to leave until later that night and so, to kill time, they left the airport on foot and spent the day sight-seeing in the nation's capital. Still carrying their luggage.

Around 9pm, exhausted after spending the day on their feet (and carrying their luggage), they finally returned to the airport to check in for their flight to New Orleans. Whereupon they discovered that the airline had no record of their reservations. None. Not any where. Surely the online ticketing service had made a mistake? Couldn't any of the airlines' computers find their names anywhere in its records?

Nope, sorry. Turns out that the husband, up to his earlobes in planning and minute details, had overlooked a critical detail: he forgot to buy airplane tickets to New Orleans ... which at last minute walk-up price came to a staggering $1400.

So, almost broke and penniless, and as the airport clock ticked toward 11pm, they had no choice but to catch the train back to Baltimore and then walk the three miles home from the train station (no cash left over for cab fare), still carrying their luggage and after spending a night in the DC airport ... to spend their one week vacation alone on their boat with each other.

Oh, my. I wonder how many bad words were exchanged over the next 168 hours?

Making plans can be a tricky thing ... especially when you omit the one and only means of arriving at your destination.

--

Naturally, the couple was unable to recover even a penny of the money they'd spent on the hotel, meals and theater tickets they'd purchased at a package discount.

You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.

- Revelation 3:1

Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry." '

"But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?'

- Luke 12:18-20

Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.

- Acts 4:12

"Just look how righteous I are!"

I don't think Christ had any problem with speaking clearly: when he said "Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you" that seems abundantly clear.

Yet churches today are filled with folks who consider themselves not only righteous but also God's best friend and hatchet man (or woman) ... the "religious" people who never miss a service, who always show up dressed to look their best and to impress, who're always ready to yank their pastor's chain for causing them to feel personal distress or discomfort, who're always eager to let other people know just how religious, upright and moral they are in every way ... and who can't wait for the next opportunity to condescend to others for their flaws and point out their shortcomings.

They're the folks ... let's call them Deacon Dudes ... who'll eagerly announce that they've never touched alcohol, smoked cigarettes, experimented with drugs, had extramarital affairs, cursed (outside of work or football games) or even watched an R-rated movie ... and woe to the poor sinners, even in their congregation, who've fallen short and have no hope of living up to their exemplary example of "religious living."

Like the Pharisees in Christ's times, they are the same folks who're more concerned with themselves, and with their role inside their church, than they are with Christ and his role in their lives and within his church.

---

I can think of a handful of friends whose examples as Christ followers make me humbled in comparison. Yet not one of them has ever pointed out to me how much they tithe, or how often they've attended services without missing, what they've done to "help the church" or how many Bible verses they can quote from memory.

They don't have to announce any of those things in order for me not only to see, but to know, that Christ lives inside their hearts and is in control of their lives.

---

Just one more thing about Deacon Dudes and Pharisees: the most religious Pharisee to ever walk the face of the earth may never have touched alcohol or smoked or cheated on his spouse or said a single swear word (or even had cable TV in his house) ... but he still sinned, some how or in some way ... and fell abominably short of Christ's example.

In other words, they're all pitiful and unworthy compared to Christ.

And that means the strictest Pharisee and the most religious Deacon Dude, with all their rules, traditions, scolding, name-calling, strictness, steeples, organ preludes and stained glass windows could have been crucified and died in my place ... and still not saved me from spending eternity in hell.

Only Christ can. Only Christ did ... and that's why his example is the only one worth following.

For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.

- Matthew 5:20

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men's faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.

- Matthew 23:12

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are.

- Matthew 23:15

The hardest job in the world ...

... isn't trucking heavy loads over ice roads in Alaska and it's not crab fishing in the Bering Sea.

The hardest job in the world doesn't have anyting to do with being a spouse, a parent or even with being President of the United States: there's one job that's much harder ... and carries more responsibility and accountability ... than all those other jobs combined.

The hardest job in the world has got to be preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ to the "religious" and "churched" people who already know what church is all about and who feel certain that God must feel lucky to have them on his team.

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If you missed today's mesage on the Newspring web campus, check for the podcast on Tuesday.

If you're already feeling huffy or self-righteous about "the way church and religion ought to be," be sure to read Galatians 5:1-12 in the meantime.

Guarantees & Reluctant Relationships

The word "Guaranteed" is almost magical in our culture. Everybody wants one for almost every aspect of their lives.

Folks want automobile and appliance guarantees, warranty guarantees, job guarantees, health care guarantees, retirement guarantees, investment guarantees, cost of living adjustment guarantees and even relationship guarantees ... in other words, they're looking for rock-solid assurance and a promise of performance.

But for a guarantee to work as described, some one else must stand behind that guarantee and make good on it ... no matter what the cost or expense to make things right.

---

Ever listened to a friend complain about their marriage or relationship?

He just doesn't take my feelings into account. She thinks the whole world revolves around her. I always have to adjust my schedule around his. She just doesn't know what I go through at work. The list of grievances is almost unlimited ... and each one feels entirely personal and unique.

It's funny, hearing folks of both sexes whine and complain about their relationships, how seldom they'll voluntarily admit and include even a hint of the areas where they have, in their partner's estimation, fallen short and proven themselves to be inadequate and equally disappointing: the focus is always on Me Me Me.

When folks are angry in their relationships, the frustration and indignation feels justified because their needs and expectations aren't being met or fulfilled.

Which often seems reasonable enough reason to start looking for a new relationship ... hopefully one that'll "make and keep me happy."

Guaranteed.

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I was thinking this morning about "all the times God has let me down" in my life and guess what? I couldn't name a single one. Truly.

The times when it seemed like he'd turned his back on me turned out to be the very times I'd decided to do a little "fine tuning" ... and elected to pursue my own choices and direction instead of his.

I had to face that I've let God down a lifetime number of times more than he's ever let me down ... and he's never complained or ridiculed me ... which made me realize God loves me and has been far more willing to make our relationship work than I've been.

God keeps his word. Guaranteed.