Happy Mother’s Day!

A Song

When was the last time you heard a Mother’s Day song? I can’t remember one. Well, I decided to write one this evening.

I call it… “Mother’s Day”

Since my wife won’t let me sing it in church tomorrow, I put it on here for the rest of the world to hear. Hope you get a chance to sing it for your mother. As we church people say, “I hope it’s a blessing.”

And by the way, it was recorded in my kitchen on my iPhone 4.

Click “Mother’s Day” to listen.  Please? Pretty please?

“Mother’s Day”

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Filed under Relationships and Family

What Congress Needs to Hear Before 2012

Cover of "I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be...

Cover via Amazon

I am going to do something unusual. I am going to let you read an extensive quote from I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist (Geisler and Turek). If you don’t have this book, I would highly recommend it.

The following is from chapter 14, “What Did Jesus Teach About the Bible?” The scene is a hypothetical speech made before the House and Senate by a 7th generation descendant of George Washington.

Woe to you, egotistical hypocrites! You are full of greed and self-indulgence. Everything you do is done for appearances:  You make pompous speeches and grandstand before these TV cameras. You demand the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats wherever you go. You love to be greeted in your districts and have everyone call you “Senetor” or “Congressman.” On the outside you appear to people as righteous, but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness! You say you want to clean up Washington, but as soon as you get here you become twice as much a son of Hell as the one you replaced!

Woe to you, makers of the law, you hypocites! You do not practice what you preach. You put heavy burdens on the citizens, but then opt out of your own laws!

Woe to you, federal fools! You take an oath to support and defend the Constitution, but then you nullify the Constitution by allowing judges to make up their own laws.

Woe to you, blind hypocrites! You say that if you had lived in the days of the Founding Fathers, you never would have taken part with them in slavery. You say you never would have agreed that slaves were the property of their masters but would have insisted that they were human beings with unalienable rights. But you testify against yourselves because today you say that unborn children are the property of their mothers and have no rights at all! Upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed in this country. You snakes! You brood of vipers! You have left this great chamber desolate! How will you escape being condemned to hell!

Jesus Wouldn’t Say Such Things!

Oh, really? Just consider what he said to the rulers of His day…which, incidentally, were even more ruthless than our government allows.

Matthew 23:13, 23-33 RSV – [13] “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because you shut the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither enter yourselves, nor allow those who would enter to go in. …

[23] “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law, justice and mercy and faith; these you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.

[24] You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!

[25] “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you cleanse the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside they are full of extortion and rapacity. [26] You blind Pharisee! first cleanse the inside of the cup and of the plate, that the outside also may be clean. [27] “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. [28] So you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but within you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.

[29] “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, [30] saying, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ [31] Thus you witness against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. [32] Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers. [33] You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell?

More Like Jesus

Let this be an example to those who serve America. Many of you say you are Christians, but talk like Jesus you do not. If more men of integrity would stand up before the nation’s leaders and call them to stand account, can you imagine what kind of country this could be?

You say it over and over, “No more politics as ususal,” but you lie…it’s always the same. Do something really different for a change: speak the truth and take a stand for right, not career or party.

Be the men and women who deserve to be in Washington.

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Filed under America, Christian Living, Culture Wars, Preaching

Softball, Food, and Wisdom

Is it Better?

In my last post I made reference to being at a ball park. For a parent of athletic children, that is the place to be on a summer day, morning, afternoon, mid-afternoon, late afternoon, evening, late evening, nighttime, and too-stinking-late-to be-up-on-a-weekend night, especially when this pastor has to preach Sunday morning. Softball tournaments are nothing but a racket. They keep you all day at a ball park so you can buy unhealthy, gut-murdering food…

But it’s goooood..

This is my question…why is it that hot dogs and nachos are better when bought and eaten at a ball park? Surely I am not the only one who feels this way. No cheap hot dog made at home really compares with the ones you spend too much money on and come cradled in cardboard. Nachos with chili and jalapeños can never taste the same made in a clean, sanitary home kitchen. These foods need volunteer workers, weekend kitchens, dust from a field, and sweat in the air to be gourmet.

Nothing Spiritual?

Is there a spiritual lesson here? There has to be one! I am The Recovering Legalist…there has to be a point to this story, right? Maybe there is.

Matthew 15:11, 20 KJV – [11] Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man. … [20] These are [the things] which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.

James 3:6 KJV – [6] And the tongue [is] a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.

Just after I took the above picture, some coaches and parents on the other team got angry with a call that the umpire made. Shortly after that, another call was made that made one coach curse the umpire. With justifiable indignation, the umpire ordered the coach to either leave the ball park in 30 seconds, or forfeit the game for their team. He left.

It just made me think about the food I was eating and the environment in which it was made. My health could recover from the food, but a poor testimony could take a lifetime to heal.

Oh, and one less person at the park means one less person eating all the hot dogs…

Anybody got some hand sanitizer? Preferably without sparkles?

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Filed under Chili, Food, General Observations, Relationships and Family

What’s Your Preference?

I’m American

Just sitting here at a ball game, watching my little girl hit a run-scoring double, and thinking, “It’s great to be an American.” Of course, some may disagree, especially those in other countries who don’t let girls play softball, or even show their faces (no offense, Bin Laden…no, wait, you don’t care anymore, do you?). Nevertheless, I feel a great appreciation for the blessing of being born in the United States (I even have a real birth certificate).

I’m Southern

I also have a love for the Old South.  And because I am a true Son of the South, I maintain a particular preference for a drink rarely served in other parts of the world…iced sweet tea.

It’s only a preference, mind you. I can enjoy my tea hot. I quite often, if not regularly, enjoy unsweet tea. I can even drink it out of dainty cups or plastic jugs (must be my moonshine heritage). However, two things have to be present in order to make my tea consumption a magical, patriotic, caramel-colored celebration of leaf-juice perfection…

  1. Ice
  2. A Mason jar.

There is no wrong or wronger way to drink tea. The English have their fancy ways, as do the Chinese. But what makes drinking tea right, at least from a Southern perspective, is not just the temperature: it’s the addition of frozen cubes of water walled ’round by a jar meant to preserve food for future generations. That’s pure Southern cuisine.

Preference Identifies

Again, this is all about preference. If I were not a blood relative of someone who died while wearing gray, it would not be strange for me to prefer tea with cream and cookies. On the other hand, my preference identifies me. My preference hints at where I come from. My preference links me with others who love iced tea. My preference helps  confirm my birthright.

Should it be any different for a Christian? 

How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea sweater than honey to my mouth! – Psalm 119:103

Dear believer, can you be identified by YOUR preferences?

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Filed under America, Christian Living, Food, salvation, Southern Baptist, Uncategorized

Tornado Parking Lot

Tornado Alley?

I don’t know who coined the term “tornado alley,” but they need to come up with a new one…

“Tornado Parking Lot”

…or something like that. Tornadoes used to be something that was common only in mid-western, grassland states, right? Didn’t Dorothy and Toto live in Kansas? Well, it seems that tornadoes aren’t just for Kansas, anymore. They have come to like the South.

April 27-28, 2011 will be remembered as the most destructive time in the South since the Civil War. Never in my lifetime have I seen such destruction over such a wide area. Whenever we use to hear of a tornado hitting a city, there would be pictures of one stretch wiped out or damaged. This time, it is whole states involved, not just one city or trailer park, and hundreds of tornadoes.

Pray

It can’t be overstated that we in the South need your prayers. There is so much to do and so many who need help. The destruction is so wide-spread that many are overwhelmed with the logistics of providing assistance. All many could do in the first day was put every chainsaw into use clearing trees from roads, drive ways, and off houses. Now, it is the job of the professionals to try to get power lines back up. But with so many displaced, and with electricity scarce, taking care of basic needs for so many will be a monumental task.

Pray for the families of those that are missing. In one town (Ringgold, GA) not far from where I live, at least 26 people were reported missing after a tornado struck a doomed food store. There is no telling where they went. So many others were killed, as well as injured in the destruction.

http://www.wrcbtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=14521722

Pull Together

One thing that never fails to amaze is the tendency of people to come together in a time of need. Being a good neighbor means more than lending forever a cup of sugar or hand tool. Good neighbors help pull a tree off of your roof; help locate your pet; comfort your little kids while you search for survivors; bring a hot meal to workers; donate blood; or, share a home with the homeless. Pulling together is the “neighborly” thing to do.

Let no one seek his own good, but that of his neighbor. – 1Cr 10:24 NASB
For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.” – Gal 5:14 NASB

Protect

But before you come to the South, at least the rural parts, make sure you’re a good neighbor. Down here, in times like this, “a friend in need is a friend indeed,” even if he’s a total stranger. On the other hand, you’d better be careful if you’re not on the up-and-up.  A few blocks away from my house here in Chattanooga, a local policeman’s house was damaged, along with his car. That night, some looters came around trying to find stuff. The warning I photographed says it all. This ain’t no alley, this is a neighborhood, and we look out for each other.

I'd take this guy seriously!

Praise

It could have been far worse. As I drove around yesterday, I can’t tell you how many large trees fell just feet away from family homes. Even though many places suffered damage, many, many more were spared. One could be critical and skeptical about it all, but I choose to praise God. Many more lives could have been lost. Many more could have been injured. I shall stand among the living in the “parking lot” and give Him praise, for in Him do we have hope for tomorrow, and in the tomorrow to come.

For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time [are] not worthy [to be compared] with the glory which shall be revealed in us. – Rom 8:18 KJV

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You Call THAT a Church?

Does Size Matter?

I suppose the debates and arguments over the pros and cons of congregation size will continue even after the church has been raptured (yeah, I believe in that). But if you want to know; I have a few comments about size.

I like big churches – to a degree.

I like small churches – to a degree.

I think the perfect size church is one in which…

  • the congregation still has some access to the pastor without having to make appointments months in advance, or have to be cavity-searched before getting withing 50 feet of his office.
  • the choir is capable of glorifying God and leading the congregation in worship, but not so big or independent that it has it’s own group health plan, publicist, or copyright on robe color.
  • the annual Christmas play can include all the children who want to participate, as long as there is a spot or role to play, without having to spend more than the gross national product of Denmark during production.
  • there is a sense of community and fellowship that is possible without having to marry one of the other members.
  • the congregation is capable of meeting needs within their community, but not by rezoning a community out of existence.
Churches come in all shapes and sizes, for sure. Most have fewer than 200 members.  A few do great works through global outreach. Whatever the size, God can use a congregation that depends on Him and remembers its “first Love.” We should never think negatively about a church because of their size; but we do.

Comparison Legalism

One way in which legalism is expressed within the church is through the judging of congregation size. Now, you may think this does not go on, but stop and do a reality check. What is the first thing most people associate with a growing church? Simple – numbers.

The next time you drive down the road and see a large church with staff directing traffic into overflow lots; the next time you hear of a church with multiple services; the next time you see an additional annex or satellite campus, stop and ask yourself, “Is this church more right with God than the little church out in the county with 20 members?” If your thoughts are even close to “yes,” then you are being legalistic.

Now, what about that huge church with 20 pastors and a choir of 200, or the one with a praise band that has won four Grammy’s? Look at all that fancy furniture and sound equipment – do realize for what all that cost 10 families could have been fed for a year? Surely God does not get glory from all the money and effort put into that mega-monstocity! Is that how you think? You’re being legalistic.

Don’t be so quick to judge what God may be using for His purposes, even though we can’t see how He’s doing it. Focus on your own field of ministry. Are you doing all God has called you to do? Are you bringing Him glory? Are you seeking the lost and reaching out to the needy and hurting? If you are, then size doesn’t matter.

On the other hand, do you have a “form of godliness,” but are “denying the power thereof?” No amount of members could change the fact that God is not pleased. Criticizing another congregation only exposes the legalism within and further offends the very Power you deny.

Remember – Legalism isn’t limited to lists of do’s and don’ts.

And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all [things] he might have the preeminence. – Col 1:18 KJV

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Filed under Christian Unity, Do not judge, legalism, Uncategorized

I Just Want to Know Him

Feeling Down

For a little while I have been feeling down, a little discouraged. I can’t exactly explain why. It could be the change of seasons, or all the rain our area has been having. Maybe, it was all the comments I was making on other people’s blogs.

Comment sections will make one ill.

I learned a long time ago to totally avoid the comment sections on places like YouTube and our local news paper (online version).

YouTube comments are usually vulgar, vile, pornographic in nature, and full of hatred, ignorance, and vitriol. The comments in the local newspaper are also vulgar, vile, pornographic in nature, and full of hatred, ignorance, and vitriol. The difference is that the newspaper comments are written by people in my own town – my neighbors! If I avoid reading them, it is much more likely that I continue singing the Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood theme song. Otherwise, I may throw my “sneakers” through the wall and choke somebody with an argyle sweater.

On the other hand…

I enjoy reading the comments on other blogs I follow. Because they are monitored, the language is acceptable and weirdos are usually weeded out. But on occasion, there comes along a blogger (hint, hint) who wants to pose questions that are meant to stir up the pot. The ensuing comment bombardments can stir up long-lasting debris from text-verse explosions, the result of which can choke the joy right out of a Care Bear (that’s an 80’s toy). A week of battling through these things has evidently taken its toll…I need a hug.

You see, the problem with legalism (over-simplified: a life of rules and regulations) is that it can give one a false sense of knowledge and understanding about God. Lists of regulations are fine, to a degree, but they are limited. Obeying lists does not make one any closer to the List Maker, or any more like Him. As a matter of fact, following the lists too stringently may cause one to risk missing something written between the lines, or even miss the reason the list was given.

I have come to a simple conclusion about God:  I don’t need to argue anymore about lists – I just want to know Him.

A list in our hearts

The Bible talked about the time when the Law would be written on the hearts of men (Jeremiah 33:31). What does that mean? Well, it’s easy to understand if you think of it in terms of relationship.

If you are in a close relationship with someone, it doesn’t take a list for you to know what makes that person happy or sad…you know in your heart. God essentially told Jeremiah that a day would come when men would no longer need a list to live by, but they would act according to relationship. In a close relationship, a grocery list can help you prepare for a special night. However, without a relationship, a grocery list from a total stranger might be easy to check off, but it doesn’t mean you’re invited to dinner.

Grocery List

Keeping with the “grocery list” analogy, have you ever been given a list for things to pick up at the store? If the list was from an employer, your boss at work, and he wrote down ten items he needed for the office kitchen, the safest bet would be to buy exactly what he requested, no exceptions. You would not want to question his authority or wisdom, and you would especially not want to seem insubordinate – you could get fired. You would be wise to not think for yourself – just follow the list. That’s like LEGALISM.

What if the list was from your husband or wife? Would you feel stressed walking into the store? Would you be afraid to go home if something on the list was not available, leaving you with no option but to find a substitute? If you were in a healthy marriage, you would know to make the best choices for the sake of your family. No list would have to tell you that. The key is that you would not be chained to the list, but you would be free to make the best choice for the sake of your family. You would be trusted. And if you messed up, you’d still have a home to go to. That’s like GRACE.

My Prayer

I pray that I come to a point where everything I do gives evidence of the fact that I have an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. I want to know Him more. I want my heart to beat in rhythm with His. I want to be able to distinguish between things that bring Him glory, and things that break His heart.

Jer 31:33  – But this [shall be] the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Jer 31:34  – And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.

Psa 19:14 – Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.


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Life Lessons from the School Bus #8 (Stop)

Stop Signs

If there is one thing that makes me angry enough to spit nails, pound a steering wheel, clinch my teeth, and silently whisper vulgarities under my breath, it is this:

People who run school bus stop signs!

Honestly, I would like to know what goes through the minds of these idiots. What causes them to act so carelessly? Are they just careless, or are they blind? Should they even be behind the wheel of a vehicle?

I can’t tell you how many times it has happened to me while driving. One time, believe it or not, a motorist (older white male) came around from behind me on the side of the service door! Let me make that clear, the driver came from behind and passed me on the side the kids get out! He came within a few feet of hitting three middle-schoolers!

What do you do in a situation like that? Well, what wanted to do was chase him with the bus and pin him to a guardrail with 30,000 pounds of yellow furry!

What did I actually do? I called him an unflattering name that referred back to him possibly not coming from a woman who was married at the time of his unfortunate birth. That was all I could do. He got away before I could get his plate number.

If you are one of those slimy pieces of human debris that think it’s OK to run a school bus stop sign, especially if you have an important date, or just can’t stand the thought of being held up another minute – God is watching. Yep, that’s what I said, scumbag. Every time you think you are so special that you can skirt the law, run the stop sign, and go your merry way, God is watching you. When I can’t get your license plate number, God has got YOUR number, bub.

And whosoever shall offend one of [these] little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea. – Mark 9:42 KJV

Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven. … Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish. – Matthew 18:10, 14 KJV

You should stop and think a moment. Every time you flagrantly drive through a bus stop, you put children ask risk. You make your priorities more important than the lives of little children. Do you think that for one moment Heaven is on your side of the argument? Do you think that risking running over one of “these little ones” is any different than “despising” them? Do you believe in God? Keep running those stop signs and you will learn the lesson of the day…

Life Lesson

You will eventually reap what you sow (what goes around, comes around).

Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. – Galatians 6:7 KJV

Sometimes children are told to “sow their wild oats while they’re young.” I can’t think of a more stupid piece of advice to give anyone! That is like saying, “Do everything wrong while you can, but don’t worry, it will never come back to bite you in the rear end.” God says, “Don’t be decieved by these idiots, because you will reap a harvest from the seeds you plant.”

The same can be said about those who run bus stop signs. Just keep it up, but one day you are going to get what is coming to you, especially if you hit one of those children.

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There IS Purpose

To Begin With…

The world is in a state of turmoil. Pain and suffering are everywhere. Worry and fear are some of the more common emotions among men and women these days. In the midst of all this unforgiving stress, the hurting need comfort; yet, where are they to find it?  I believe that comfort can be found in the belief that this world is not the result of an accident, but design. I believe that there is more to life than what we can see. I believe in a Creator. I believe in God. This belief gives me comfort in the midst of pain and suffering.

But…

Many (but not all) scientists, however, do not believe in a Creator, so they pursue meaning and purpose through the discovery of new things, improving mankind’s situation, and better anticipating the future of the universe. Even though great scientists of the past viewed science as a means to further understand God’s creation, leading them to give God praise for His magnificent design, many modern scientists see the universe through a naturalistic worldview. They tend to comfort themselves in the supposed fact that this universe, made of matter, is all that there is – nothing more. They reason that since life is just a natural process and that matter is all that there is, what does it matter (pun intended) if there is no purpose to life? To the naturalist (the typical scientist), it is all about the here-and-now, occasionally sprinkled with purposeless wonder and meaningless awe.

Science?

A recent “scientific” study was conducted that shed some interesting light on the reasons why people choose to believe that there is a Designer of the universe, rather than purposeless existence after death. Just consider the title of the study: “Death and Science: The Existential Underpinnings of Belief in Intelligent Design and Discomfort with Evolution.” (Tracy, Hart, Martens) This study showed that when faced with the ultimate reality of death, most choose to find comfort in the belief that there is a design to everything, which would suggest purpose, rather than hold to Darwin’s theory of evolution. When faced with what was called “mortality salience,” even the unreligious tended to be “uncomfortable” with the theory of evolution. The conductors of the experiment were amazed (I found it perfectly logical), even indignant at times (which I thought was funny). Sadly, the researchers who conducted the study were obviously predisposed to atheism and the idea that the universe is un-designed. Surely they included themselves in the category of “certain individuals who are more deeply invested in the scientific worldview (e.g., scientists),” and, like Carl Sagan, viewed “naturalism as providing human life with meaning and purpose.” (Tracy, Hart and Martens 10)

Only a fool could look at a working machine that had every feature capable of performing a particular task and call that machine a random collection of atoms without purpose or meaning. Even the Psalmist said, “the fool hath said in his heart, [there is] no God.” On the other hand, the logical person would conclude, at some point, that the universe machine must have been designed by a Designer. To illustrate this, William Paley (1743-1805) used a pocket watch as an analogy to describe what one should conclude when he looks at the universe. Like a lone watch found on a beach, the universe should be to the observer an intricate work of art made for a purpose. People that are logical also see themselves as instruments of purpose, because they can recognize things that bear the marks of design. Why should it be a surprise to anyone, that when faced with death, the need for meaning would be important to the same, thoughtful, logical observer? “When we see evidence of intelligent design…we naturally assume that an intelligent designer was responsible for constructing the object.” (Phillips, Brown and Stonestreet 78)

Ten Words

The Christian can find his whole sense of purpose in the ten words that make up Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” The Christian scientist can also read these words and find confirmation to his observations. It is the naturalistic scientist that looks at William Paley’s watch analogy (teleological argument) and comes to the illogical conclusion that “chance plus time” created a beautifully intricate machine out of nothing.

If the universe is Godless, and it was not designed for a purpose, then meaning is irrelevant. The thing that is designed for a purpose, even if only to amuse, has a purpose, which gives meaning to every aspect of its being. Something that was not designed, created, or brought about either in reality or in the abstract, exists, at best, by accident. There is no purpose inherent within an accident (accidents are by definition unplanned), unless, of course, the accident was caused. If an accident is caused, even if it was not purposeful, then it was at least caused, was it not? So, either way, it could be argued that whether the universe was designed or came about by accident, there was a Something that brought it about, for both are objects of a Creator, else neither would have existed.

Waxing Philosophical

In conclusion, I would now argue that if the universe was either designed or the result of an accident, and if both design and accident have to have a cause; and, since accidents usually don’t result in the promotion of life-sustaining details, but rather carnage; and, since the universe mirrors best an intricate machine full of life; therefore, it must be designed, not an accident. If, then, the universe was the product of a Designer, then there must be a purpose inherent in the design. In other words, there is a reason for everything we see. It may be hidden somewhere in the workings of this great machine. Or, it could be found in the revelation of the Designer – the Bible.

There is, according to Scripture, a purpose for everything. Even amidst all the turmoil of the Vietnam War era a song came out by a group call The Byrds entitled, “Turn, Turn, Turn.” The lyrics included a line from Ecclesiastes 3:1 which said, “a time to every PURPOSE (emphasis mine) under heaven.” To everything there is a purpose, even though it may not be plain to the observer. For example, unless they are meant to be a prank, buttons and levers on a machine usually have a purpose. Even if they don’t do anything, they had the purpose to illicit a response of some kind from the observer. That being understood, if there seems to be any design to the universe, wouldn’t it make the most sense to assume there was a Designer? If there was a Designer, then there was a purpose for the design. And the Bible says that the purpose, if for no other reason, was to cause “…all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him [the LORD]. For he spake, and it was [done]; he commanded, and it stood fast.” – Psa 33: 8-9 KJV

God made everything for a reason. You have a purpose. There IS hope in Jesus Christ.

Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the LORD. – Psalm 31:24 KJV

Works Cited

Tracy, J. L., J. Hart and J. P. Martens. 2011. Death and Science: The Existential Underpinnings of Belief in Intelligent Design and Discomfort with Evolution. PLoS ONE. 6 (3): e17349.

Phillips, W. Gary, William E. Brown and John Stonestreet. Making Sense of Your World, A Biblical Worldview. Salem, Wisconsin: Sheffield Publishing Company, 2008.

Here is a link to the Institute for Creation Research article addressing the study mentioned above: http://www.icr.org/article/6039/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+icrscienceupdate+%28Science+Update+from+ICR%29&utm_content=FaceBook


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It’s “Friday”

OK, so it is Friday morning, 1 am, and one of the worst songs ever written is stuck in my head.

“Friday, Friday…”

What would be the chance that we could convince the calender people to change the names of the days? Could we change Friday to something like Frickabrack? How about Flurble? We have to do something, or every time the weekend comes around I’m gonna be singing that song. DANG IT!!

If you have been fortunate enough to have never heard this song, then that is about to change. You are going to submit to the temptation and click the link below. You have to share in the pain. You HAVE to!

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Why Me, Lord?

Just because a song is popular, doesn’t make it good. An example would be “Why Me Lord” by Kris Kristofferson. I HATED that song. However, a song I hate more is “One Day at a Time.” Kris co-wrote that, you know. The part that I hated the most was the second verse…

Do you remember (Are you kidding? Ever heard of Omniscience)
When you walked among men
Well Jesus, you know, if you’re looking below(If? What’s He doin’, cleaning harps?)
It’s worse now than then(like when the Romans were feeding lions)
Pushin’ and shovin’ crowding my mind(Mental breakdowns are worse than martyrdom)
Lord for my sake(It’s all about me, isn’t it?)
Teach me to take
One day at a time (Just go take a nap, and you’ll feel better)

Well, “Friday” is a popular song, that’s for sure. What started off as an 8th-grader’s dream project has turned into a multi-million dollar success.  Once it was posted on YouTube, it went viral. Now, as of this article, it received over 88 million hits (views). I just want to know why I had to be one of the unlucky ones to hear it.

It’s Cute

It could be worse, you know. Rebecca Black could be singing a song about teen sex in the back of a convertible, or drug use while worshiping Satan in the bathroom of a public school. So, from a content perspective, it’s not that bad. The tune is annoying, but catchy, and the lyrics are clean.  In short, it’s a cute song. But who on earth thought it was a poetic stroke of genius to end a line in a song with “afterwer-erds?”

The Worst Example for Teens is in the Video

If I really wanted to point out the negatives, it would have to be in the video. Here you have a song about a girl who goes to the bus stop, but instead hops a ride in the back seat of a convertible driven by a 10-year-old. Did her parents say it was OK to ride to school with her underage “friends?” Were any of them wearing seat belts?

The second verse presented some disturbing images. The last time I checked, it was not only illegal for 8th graders to drive alone, much less without an adult, but shouldn’t they sit IN the car, not ON the car? She said “on the highway” while waving at her friends from the trunk of a convertible. Can you say “Girls die in tragic accident after falling out of car – News at Eleven!?”

But there’s another thing – who is this gangsta’ rapper that knows so much about little Rebecca Black and her partying? What’s the deal? If it was my little girl, dude better watch where he parks that ride. I don’t think ANY grown man with gold teeth and “bling” needs to be concerned with my middle school girl, her parties, OR her fun fun fun. Got it?!

Wishing Rebecca Well

I wish her the best. I hope this is the start of something big for her. God bless her, really! She seems like a sweet kid with a monotone voice that grates through my soul like a recurring chalkboard nightmare. All I ask is that she leave all the other days of the week alone – and for Heaven’s sake, find another writer.

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