If I’d only known, life would have been different…

David knew there was a number assigned to the length of his life even
before he was born. I like to think that without sin that number
would have been an eternal number. But initially because of what Adam
and Eve did and later because of what you and I do, that number may be
shortened. I don’t know for sure, it just seems that way.
 
When God wrote your number in His book of life, did he take into
account the time you drank so much you passed out? Did he have to draw
a line through your number and take off a day? Or remember the years
you worked excessively, did he have to deduct some days off? Or how
about the smoking or gluttony? Did he have to mark through the number
again?
 
My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
 
your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
 
Man is like a breath;
his days are like a fleeting shadow.
 
I think it is time for you and I to spend a minute and ask forgiveness
for all the lines God may have drawn through your number and the
things you will not have the opportunity to do because of the sin in
your life that takes the days away.
 
http://37stories.wordpress.com. You’ll find 37stories there and all my friends.

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Is God still in the business of speaking or has Facebook taken over?

I Facebook a bit and blog a lot. I asked myself the other day, “Self.
Why do you blog? Why not quit, get rid of the snow and watch TV? It’d
be a lot easier. Nobody reads it anyway.” Now where the heck did
that thought come from? I love to blog.
 
I am a goal oriented person. I need a goal to be happy. If I don’t
have a goal, life really stinks for me. When I find myself without a
goal, I pray and read God’s Word with the prayer on my mind and lips,
“God. What’s next? Are you done with me?”
 
If God were done with me, I’d just assume go on home. I like the idea
of spending eternity with a God that loves me. In my prayer of
questioning God what was next in my life, He gave me a very strong
thought.
 
It is tough to describe the difference between a God thought and just
my own usually thought process, but there is a uniqueness about His
communication of a thought. It is bold and clear without any
hesitation and usually preceded by my obedience in reading His Word,
prayer and focus on Him.
 
This thought I believe to be of God was very clear in direction, but
absolutely impossible to achieve in my own abilities. This is not
unusual for God. It is so ridiculous, I didn’t even hardly know what
He was talking about. So today at 1:33 AM, I ponder the thought and
begin researching the idea He has given.
 
Have you seen the hilarious movie, “What about Bob?” For him and I,
it is all about baby steps. God gives me a thought. I faithfully
respond in whatever way I can with what I have and then begin the
preparation for the next step. Today, the process is research to
understand the thought. It is that basic. I am trying to understand
what will be required to get to the next step. I’m not trying to
solve the complete puzzle. I’m just trying to faithfully get to the
next step.
 
What has God put on your heart? What is your next step?

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John Paul II and the Internet

“On November 22, 2001, Pope John Paul II made cyberhistory when he
published an official document on Internet, speeding it along to the
communities it was addressed to — on the other side of the world.”
Zenit.org
 
Please don’t take this the wrong way, but you have to wonder what he
just sent to his closest of friends…
 
Read the entire article here: http://www.michaeljournal.org/popenet.htm
 
visit archie and friends at http://37stories.wordpress.com

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There is a time coming and it is coming fast!

“Nigel Gilbert of the Royal Academy of Engineering said that by 2011
you should be able to go on Google and find out where someone is at
anytime from chips on clothing, in cars, in cellphones and inside many
people themselves,” Redmond also said.
 
But that’s not the most interesting. How about this speaking of patents…
 
“Another explains a device that can be placed in the auditory cortex
of the brain. This device allows the following process: someone speaks
into a microphone, the microphone then has the sounds coded into
microwaves which are sent to the receiver in the brain and the
receiver device will transform the microwaves back so that the
person’s mind hears the original sounds. In other words, a person with
this device in their head will hear whatever the programmers send via
microwave signals. (Phillip L. Stoklin took out patent number
4,858,612 on this.)”
 
Read the entire article: http://www.michaeljournal.org/newtechno.htm
 
visit archie and friends http://37stories.wordpress.com

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Ever had a bad day or maybe a bad life? David did.

Listen to a song David wrote. Imagine him singing it…
 
For I am poor and needy,
and my heart is wounded within me.
 
I fade away like an evening shadow;
I am shaken off like a locust.
 
My knees give way from fasting;
my body is thin and gaunt.
 
I am an object of scorn to my accusers;
when they see me, they shake their heads.
 
Help me, O LORD my God;
save me in accordance with your love.
 
Does this sound like a “man after God’s heart”? What it tells me is
that will be times in our life that really stink. I mean the time
will be dead, dark, ugly, rank and smell of death. Others will laugh
and point at the weakness of your God. But….
 
There is a BIG BUT here. The BUT of it is God is big enough to hear
your cries for help if you are big enough to seek him out
persistently. David did not get “thin and gaunt” because God flew in
flying a magic carpet. God let things work out in David’s life such
that he truly was a man seeking after God’s heart.
 
I can easily believe David’s accuser’s got what they deserved
according to David’s request and God’s sovereignty. So don’t give up
the fight. Stay faithful. Claim God’s promise that “All things work
together for those that LOVE the Lord”. It is conditional. You must
love. God already does. AWESOME!
 
http://37stories.wordpress.com
Visit archie and all my friends.

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Is it possible to be in the presence of God and not know it?

Do you think it possible to be in the presence of God and not know it?
 I’m talking about the God that created the universe and gave life to
you at birth. The same God whose Glory is described as being so
brilliant the sun seems dim in comparison. The God that parted the
Red Sea for hours, sent plagues to get mankind’s attention and healed
my dad from leukemia.
 
Is it possible to be in His presence and not know it. I ask this
because I’ve been told that after one prays the believer’s prayer,
after a period of time you might not feel the presence of God any
longer. The same person said, ‘Don’t worry about it. Just because
the feeling is gone doesn’t mean God is gone.” I believed it. The
guy was obviously smarter than me.
 
David speaks of the dark times of his soul. Those times in his life
when he didn’t know the presence of God. I can buy that thought,
because God can do what He wants such that we have the opportunity to
grow in His favor. But that’s not what I’m talking about. But if
ever it happened, I’d be fearful.
 
What I question is the lack of feeling His presence as a way of life.
You don’t know if He is there or not and quite frankly don’t care.
Have you been there? I’ve been there, but it has never been at a time
when I was seeking after God. It was always at a time when I was
forgetful of God’s place in my life. I was not openly rebellious
toward God. He just wasn’t important. I didn’t feel His presence.
 
So to the guy that says, “Don’t worry about not feeling the presence
of God”. I say, “Hum bug” and if you don’t feel God’s presence as a
way of life, find someone that does. Discover his secret before it is
too late.
 
http://37stories.wordpress.com . You’ll find archie and his friends.

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How much sin is too much?

I recently read an article by a PHD type discussing homosexuality and
the church. It made me ask the question, “How much sin is too much?”
What I mean by this is at what point in your christian walk does your
sin make you undesirable for the church? Let me put it this way as an
example.
 
Suppose I am a shoplifter and my best friend invites me to church. I
have no intention of stopping shoplifting, but I am thoughtful about
attending church with my friend. I am not against God. I am just not
for God. Am I welcome at church?
 
Now suppose I am a wife beater. No one knows I beat my wife. She is
faithful and keeps her mouth shut. I can get drunk and beat my wife.
Now my golfing buddy keeps asking me to go to church with him. He
says my wife and I will fit in great with his life group. Am I
welcome at church?
 
Well, suppose I am homosexual. Very few people know. Some likely
suspect, but most don’t know for sure. My collegue at work invites me
to church. Am I welcome or do I need to quit my homosexual lifestyle
before I come? You know it is an abomination before the eyes of
Christ and all.
 
So if I need to quit my queer lifestyle, does the drunken wife beater
or shoplifter have to quit their lifestyle before they come to church?
 I just want to know how good you have to be before you can come to
church. There is such an emphasis these days on “being the church”, I
just wonder if we know whether we are willing to accept the tax
collector across our welcome mat?
 
http://www.1stchurch.org. You’ll find 37stories there and all my friends.

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Kansas City or Bust!

Grace Point Church is sending a mission team out to be a part of the
church in Kansas City, MO. It should be an awesome time of fun,
family and fellowship for the team and their soon to be friends in
Kansas City.
 
As a career I traveled a lot. I was always heading out to do the next
deal. I thought it was important and I suppose it was a way to
provide for my family. But looking back, I missed a lot of the life
of my wife and son. I wish I had those memories now.
 
Tomorrow, the table turns. My wife will be heading out and leaving me
behind. It is an odd feeling. I don’t really like it, but I am
excited that God is using her in this way. She will telling children
about Jesus and sharing the discipline of Holy Yoga with others. It
will be a great time for all.
 
When you read this, I’d appreciate your prayers for Cora and her
traveling friends. God bless!
 
http://www.1stchurch.org. You’ll find 37stories there and all my friends.

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Michael Jackson and the value of life…

White as a sheet, emaciated, collapsed veins was the news description
of Michael Jackson. Makes you wonder how he got to that place in
life. Did he wake up one day and decide to become this hideous person
with a discarded shell of a body? I mean really. How in the world
did this happen?
 
I think likely, Michael Jackson was a lot like you and I growing up.
He had a mother and father who likely cared for him. He probably had
a bicycle and girl friends. He went to school and had dreams. But
somewhere along the way, he discovered it is impossible to live life
alone. In his search for freedom, he found bondage.
 
I figure Michael Jackson slipped into his grave one step at a time.
Likely if he were alive today, he could tell you when he was
introduced to pornography, when he first began using illegal drugs,
when he began abusing people, when he rejected God and when he
realized he had gone too far…
 
It seems even earning one half of a billion dollars in your lifetime,
is still not enough for happiness. Have you found yourself on a
similar path? Where will you turn?
 
http://www.1stchurch.org. You’ll find 37stories there and all my friends.

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Isn’t Sarcasm Grand or Not…

I love the internet. I’ve had the opportunity to meet the most
interesting of people. Today I posted “Happy is the man that finds
wisdom”. I received the following comment…
 
Godless American said July 9, 2009 at 1:03 am
I thought it was “ignorance is bliss.” Aren’t you blissful?
 
When I first started blogging, a comment like this would have hurt my
feelings. Really! I would have thought something like, “Oh no! I
have offended someone. I should not have said that.” But after a
year of so, I find all responses interesting. Mostly, I am only hurt
when I perceive my God is likely greaved.
 
My thoughts on wisdom continue. I picked up an iced coffee at Micky
D’s and read my Bible while Cora was leading Holy Yoga. I found
myself in Proverbs. Over and over the Word talks of Wisdom. I have
been feeling kinda down recently and I stumbled across the idea that
when a man finds wisdom he is happy.
 
I haven’t been real happy. So, applying logic would conclude I must
not have found wisdom. That could be true, but I think not. Cora has
been praying for wisdom for me for 30 or 40 years. I figure, surely
God has heard and answered by now. At least a little bit may have
been gifted me.
 
These seemingly disjunct thoughts really do relate. Typical of the
aethist friends I find reading “37stories” I find they use logic to
back up their arguments. Fortunately in God’s world, logic is a
limitation of mankind and can not be imposed upon the Creator of all
things….
 
Now faith! That’s another thing…
 
http://www.1stchurch.org. You’ll find 37stories there and all my friends.

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