There used to be a day when I literally dreamed of having more than 100 followers. I even came up with Monday Monkey in order to encourage people to subscribe. Now, believe it or not, I get several new subscribers/followers every day. Some, however, look a little suspicious, if you know what I mean.
Nevertheless, welcome! If you have subscribed to this blog only to get me to look at your advertisements or crazy ideas, good luck. If, on the other hand, you are following this blog for legitimate reasons, then I hope you find encouragement, hope, humor, and something to think about.
Details
So, out of curiosity, could you tell me how you came to first view The Recovering Legalist? Could you tell me why you subscribed?
If possible, could you tell me a little about where you are located (what country, state, etc.). It always amazes me how one blog can reach the world.
If you don’t go to church anywhere, you could listen to an edited message of mine that will air on local radio this evening (Sundays at 5 pm on WFLI, AM 1070).
I recently was impressed by a post that Chris Jordan did for Proverbial Thought (one of my other blogs); it really convicted me of my need to be stronger in the face of adversity. Chris commented on Proverbs 24:10, which says: “If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small.”
The next day, however, when I followed Chris’ post by commenting on Proverbs 24:11-12, I found a nugget of gold that was not lying on the surface; it had to be dug out of the mine. That little nugget became the basis for this sermon.
If you have a few minutes, take a listen. What you hear might just encourage you.
Believe it or not, as of yesterday I have been blogging as The Recovering Legalist for 4 years! So that means I am no in my fifth year of blogging, I guess. Actually, I did start blogging with Blogger before I came to WordPress, but that didn’t go so well. It was a blog for my church, so writing posts about personal issues and Monday Monkeys wasn’t appropriate. And anyway, I didn’t like Blogger.
Friends and Enemies
Over the last four years I have had the opportunity to meet a lot of wonderful people. Most of my followers are people I have never met in person, but know only through the internet. Some of those followers I consider close friends, even if we have never even met (I don’t recommend looking for dating relationships that way, though). On the other hand, I have also made a few enemies, or should I say, established non-friendly relationships. A few of my posts have attracted the ire of some hateful, angry, arrogant souls who diametrically oppose everything I believe. Too bad for them, I say.
Wonderful Opportunities
The last four years have given me the opportunity to impact the lives of people around the globe. How amazing is that! I think the last time I counted it was over 140 countries in which this blog has been viewed. Who knows what impact it has made? All I do know for sure is that there have been a few people who have come forward and told me that what I have written in the past has helped change their lives – literally. Some have actually been set free from legalistic churches and the bonds of legalism. Many have found encouragement through posts I have written during my own times of pain.
Only God knows the full ramifications of this blog and others like it.
Thank You!
I know that there are some of you who follow this blog just to get noticed. Some of you have read this blog by accident, only to realize you didn’t like what you saw. But to those of you who regularly read my feeble attempts at writing, I thank you. All of you Christian bloggers out there, keep up the good work. As long as this form of medium is available, let’s use it for the glory of God. We may never know on this earth who we are reaching, but one day we will know as we are known.
A while back I did a series of posts entitled Life Lessons from the School Bus. Below is the first one I did in the series (Feb. 2011). I hope the moral of the post is an encouragement to someone.
Frankly, I would love to see some more snow.
“Stormy Weather”
What one person calls terrible weather capable of ending life as we know it, may be just another work day to another. This truth is never more obvious than to bus drivers.
Recently, we have had more snow in Tennessee than at any time I can personally remember. We have even used up all of our available “snow days.” Yet, while we were closing schools for snow down here, schools up north were quite literally trucking along.
Looking out the windshield of my bus onto the lawn, you can see an inch or so of white stuff. Due to the lack of equipment and funds to regularly take care of the frozen precipitation (it’s not the norm down here, you know), just an inch, if it sticks to the roads, will shut down schools in a heartbeat. The mountainous and rural back roads off the main highways, where most kids live, usually are not salted or plowed. Typically, people around here just wait a day or so for the arctic terror to melt. Until then, driving is dangerous, so buses stay parked and empty.
On the other hand, my wife was in Chicago during the last blizzard. She sent me this picture of a school bus transporting children in weather that would have given a Tennessee school administrator heart failure. What was the difference? They are used to it up there, and far more prepared. To people in Chicago, our worst weather is just another work day. But I wonder how they would deal with our heat, humidity, and lung-clogging pollen come August?
The Life Lesson
Problems will come in life that may seem small to some, but huge to others. The key is to never view another person’s problem as insignificant. What you may think is no big deal could be earth-shattering to someone else.
Learn to show grace and mercy to those who aren’t handling things as well as you. You may be the strength and encouragement they need to get through a tough time.
Who knows, a time may come when an unexpected storm will snow you in.
Have you ever had a song that you couldn’t get out of your head? Sometimes they’re so bad you’d think Myley Cyrus had written them just to give you bad dreams.
Then there are songs that are so bad they’re CRAZY GOOD, like THIS one!
If you keep repeating it in your head, over and over, it will drown out the Miley Cyrus nightmares.
It’s been a while since I first posted this video, but I think it’s time for a repeat.
A lot of you are new to this blog. You may not be aware that I periodically post videos on Mondays with a puppet monkey, just for fun. This video, however, is one of my favorites, and for good reason: it’s about the story I love to tell.
Benny Berry sang at our church one Sunday. That afternoon I asked if he felt like he could sing for a monkey. He raised an eyebrow, but agreed. The result was genuinely beautiful.
Not long ago Lady GaGa (Gaga? Ga Ga? Gag?) released a video unlike her normal, crazy, sick, “art.” I won’t post a link to it, though, because it is, well, sick!
Instead, I’m letting Mr. Monkey do his own version. Here he is showing his meditation techniques and saying the letter “A” for an extended period of time.
Incidentally, a big deal was made on one internet news channel that she held that “A” note for an “impressive 30 seconds.” Woopdidoo…so did Mr. Monkey. Hmph!
I have never been considered an activist, but I may become one.
In recent months I have become more aware of the dire predicament of Nigerian Christians. They have called on my country, America, for help, but our government has practically done nothing.
Now, crossing a line that used to mean something, Boko Haram (the Muslim terrorist group in control of most of northern Nigeria) has threatened the United States, France, and others. They want to become the al-Qaeda of the region and branch out internationally. What is our government going to do, stand by and let them grow in strength as they blatantly slaughter Christians and Muslims alike?
Boko Haram means “Western education is sinful.” Therefore, true to their name, this group has burned hundreds of churches and schools, killing children as indiscriminately as men and women. Southern Nigerian Christians have taken about all they can stand. Their ability to openly worship has been severely hampered by threats of murder. Many in the south are not even going to church any more out of fear. In many cases, pastors are leaving their families at home while they risk their lives to sit in empty churches on Sunday.
I am asking for not only my country, the United States, to do something, but for the whole Western world to hear the cry of Nigeria.
Please, make calls, send letters, do something! Don’t allow our brothers and sisters to suffer in silence.
I don’t know how to go about doing it, but I am considering putting together a charity, a fund, or something to raise funds for the hurting church in Nigeria. If nothing else, I wish it was possible to take team of Christians representing the Body of Christ, much like what Paul did in the New Testament, and minister to those who are under persecution. I would love, as a Caucasian American pastor, to put my arms around the neck of my Nigerian brothers and let them know they are not alone, that their cries have been heard.
Galatians 6:10 – As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all [men], especially unto them who are of the household of faith.
Hebrews 6:10 – For God [is] not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.
Acts 11:29-30 – Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judaea: Which also they did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul.
Please read the following articles and pray for God to show you what you can do.
America’s ‘stunning betrayal’
Nigerian terrorists target the U.S.
“The Christians Association of Nigeria (CAN) has issued a “final call” to the Federal Government to neutralize the violence against Christians” – (from the Nigerian Website)
I had never heard of Mobbed, but then my daughters showed me the video I am going to share with you. They said, “This is the best video EVER!”
I sat down with my dinner in front of my computer and started watching. It wasn’t long before I was crying. My daughters and wife were snickering and pointing at me (which is typical), but they had no idea why I was really crying.
Please, watch this video. It is truly a wonderful thing to behold, and you may tear up, too. But after you watch it, please read what I have written below.
Reasons for Tears
As I was watching this video with my wife and girls standing behind me, my initial thought was, “My gosh! I wonder how much that cost?…Oh great! What am I going to do for our 20th anniversary in just 10 months?!”
Then, as the bride-to-be was walking down the make-shift isle, the groom-to-be said (10:00), “This is all for you.”
I literally wept. Oh wow!
My memory immediately recalled Hosea 11:4, “I drew them with the cords of a man, with bands of love…” Then I remembered the message of other passages…
“Hereby perceive we the love [of God], because he laid down his life for us…” 1 John 3:16a
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16
“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” – Romans 5:8
Stop and think about it!
We are the Bride, and God has done it all. He has paid the highest price; surrounded us with a “cloud of witnesses;” guided us when we didn’t know where to go; and surrounded us with beauty and surprises at ever turn. All of it was planned long before we knew what was going on, and He did it all…all for a “yes.”
One of my daughters said, “Wouldn’t it have been horrible if she had said ‘no’?”
Yes, it would have been. But just think of how many do it every day? How horrible! How sad for Him!
If nothing else, this video made me love Jesus even more.
Did you hear about the new law in California? Governor Jerry Brown signed AB1266 into law and made California the first state (?) in the country to allow children to decide which restroom, locker room, or shower room they want to use – regardless of gender.
Yes, if little Billy feels like he wants to be a little Sally, he can decide to use the girls’ showers after he plays on the Lady Lion’s volley ball team. If little Suzie wants to be a little Bobby, she can squat at a urinal along side the other “guys.” It’s all up to how the child in question views his or her (or whatever fits the mood) self.
Things NOT Changing
My girls have always been taught to watch out for perverts and predators. In any other situation, if a boy were to enter a place where girls were indecent he would get arrested. My girls would never scream at a man on the street, even if he was dressed as a woman. However, if that man were to walk into the bathroom, they’d scream their heads off. Unfortunately, in today’s climate that would be considered discrimination. As a matter of fact, San Fransisco Assemblyman Tony Ammiano’s office issued a statement that read, “Discomfort is not an excuse for discrimination.”
Go ahead, boys, walk into her bathroom and you’ll learn what “extreme prejudice” really means.
Well, even though the laws might be changing, what I teach my daughters won’t: boys are boys and girls are girls. If a boy walks into a locker room or shower when my girls are there, they have the right, if not obligation, to save the boy the expense of a sex-change operation.
And here is something else, boys of all ages and shades of makeup. If…IF you decide to enter my daughters’ locker room while they are exposed, and IF they don’t permanently deprive you of the ability to reproduce, I WILL! I don’t care if you think you are a girl, or not. I WILL discriminate, and I WILL make you VERY uncomfortable.
NOTE: Save the hate mail. I’m not even going to allow it. It’s my blog, my daughters, and I’m not going to stand for this ungodly lunacy.
There used to be a day when I literally dreamed of having more than 100 followers. I even came up with Monday Monkey in order to encourage people to subscribe. Now, believe it or not, I get several new subscribers/followers every day. Some, however, look a little suspicious, if you know what I mean.
The Recovering Legalist 