Faith in Real Life – Page 26

In Faith in Real Life

What a fine line indeed…

April 13, 2008 No Comments

I will tell you what, this picture reminds me of what a fine line we walk in this world. Sometimes we get so close to the edge and we are about to go over and it is just amazing. This guy right here, in his little helmet, and reflective vest, (that’s so as he’s falling you can spot him… [at night that is]) is walking on top of a suspension bridge. He is walking on what appears to be like a foot and a half of walkable space. Which granted isn’t all that small, however, in the grand scheme of things, that is pretty scary.

How many of us walk so close to the line of sin that we are almost dancing on it? I’ll tell you what, it is unbelievable how sin can sneak up and snatch your life. When Jesus was being tempted in the wilderness by Satan in Luke 4, there is one verse at the end of the passage that is intriguing. It is verse 13. Luke 4:13 “When the devil had finished every temptation, he left Him until an opportune time.” An opportune time is when you are walking closest to that line! We shouldn’t be anywhere near the line. We should be careful not to be close to the line for fear that we may indeed fall into temptation from Satan the great temptor. Crazy. Stay strong, and let me encourage you to stay in the word, and know God’s word so that when temptation comes you can follow Jesus’ example and quote scripture.

“I have hidden your word in my heart,
that I might not sin against you.” Psalm 119:11

In Faith in Real Life

Oprah, The Magazine

April 10, 2008 2 Comments

Oprah is everywhere. Not only does Oprah come on TV, she also now comes in the mail! I’m not sure if you knew that or not. But even right now as we speak Oprah is flying around the world being delivered to homes all over the world. Of course I am not talking about Oprah her self, but Oprah the Magazine! I happen to be one of the few, the proud, the anxiously awaiting the next edition, the “this is classic throne room reading material” guys that actually receive Oprah in my mailbox from month to month. In print that is.

So as I was in my throne room the other day reading through the profundities that are just pouring off the pages, I happened to come across one that struck my interest. It is a story about the Freedom Riders. If you don’t know much about the Freedom Riders, check out this brief history found here. Well, anyhow, Oprah had a write up in this May’s issue. For you other Oprah readers, it is volume 9, number 5. 🙂 Anyhow, on to the good stuff.

The story goes on to reveal several of the freedom riders mug shots, and then their current picture, and what they did with their life since being apart of this very important movement. One woman literally jumped off the page at me with the comments that she made. Her name is Pauline Knight-Ofosu. This is what she is quoted saying in Oprah the magazine.

“My parents never tried to hide anything, but they were Strong Bible students, and they would rehearse to you the various things that had happened to people along the way since time began. It wasn’t a matter of being afraid- it was a matter of knowing who you were, going forward, and participating with other people, and never to hate. You cannot hate, you cannot hold this person in error. You’ve got to see them for who they are. They don’t know it maybe but they’re God’s children too.” ~Pauline Knight-Ofosu

Wow, I wonder if that strikes you as it did me. Here is a woman who has in most people’s minds every right to hate all of those people who had repressed/segregated/demeaned and in many other ways hated her and her family, and she is saying, I can’t hate them because they are a child of God! This is truly an amazing perspective. You and I have likely lived far easier lives, and yet we decide that there are certain people that we should hate. We don’t need to like them because they are less of a person, or they are this or that. However, they are a child of God, therefore loved by God, desired by God to be called heirs to the throne of God, valued human beings. I wonder sometimes we are quick to say things like God loves you so much he knows exactly how many hairs are on your head, he knows everything about you, but at the same time we then say, well he knows how many hairs are on my head, but not that guys. He’s a jerk. God would never care about him or her.

Not so.

People, we need to step up and love the way that Christ loved us. We need to be obedient to the great commandment. “You shall Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like the first, You shall Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Oprah thanks for reminding me of this very important commandment… … …

In Faith in Real Life

Extravagant Worship [like really really extravagant]

April 9, 2008 No Comments

It’s funny, most of you will not even read this post till much later because I have started blogging here at this new site before it has even been linked to the button that you just pushed. Some of you may be reading this a week from now, or who knows how long. But I have some thoughts rolling around in this big old cranium of mine(the likes of which I have unfortunately passed on to my son). So, anyway, here’s the deal, I was reading in 2 Chronicles yesterday. I kind of threw a dart at the Bible and said, I’m gonna read this. Have you ever spun a globe and closed your eyes and pressed your finger on it and where ever your finger landed on was where you were going to live? 71 percent of the time you end up with your finger someplace in the watery deep. However from time to time you land on some solid piece of land, and that is where you are going to live. Well the same sort of principal applied to my Bible reading yesterday (I’m sorry to say). I wish that I was a little more focused and purposeful, however, I cracked it open and here’s where I landed; 2 Chronicles.

I read the first several chapters because it captivated my attention. I was drawn into what was going on here at this point in time of history. It was amazing! Here we find King Solomon {who was the son of King David, the great shepherd King} ruling over all of Israel. He heads off to go and worship God. He brings his entourage with him, and they head to a place called Gibeon where they are going to worship God. So check this out, Solomon gets there and he starts a huge worshp service. He goes and the Bible says that he sacrifices 1000 burnt offerings. When I read that verse I was thinking, wow, that is really extravagant, and incredible. This guy(solomon) up and sacrificed 1000 burnt offerings to the Lord. I was also thinking, I wonder how much all of that would cost! So, I tried to do some research to see how much on the average sale price of a cow. Let me tell you, that is no easy task. However, I did find an auction site that provided me with the exact data that I needed. This site documents that they on average sell their cows for $576. They sell their bulls for $1750 on average. Now, when people would make burnt offerings and sacrifices to the Lord in this time period they would never sacrifice whatever was cheap, or mutated, or old and usless anyhow. The rule was that the sacrifice had to be pure and unblemished. So, it is safe to assume that the 1000 animals that were sacrificed were probably worth more than the industry average. If we take these average numbers and we were to say that the offering is split 50/50, that is, half cows, half bulls, we are talking about a worship service with an offering worth 1 million 163 thousand dollars. (In todays values)

IMAGINE THAT! Can you imagine coming to a worship service ready to give God over a million dollars? I know that there are some super wealthy people out there who have the ability to do such things, but come on! I mean seriously that is some extravagant worhsip. This begs the question, “How extravagant is your worship?” I mean I know Solomon was a king, yet at the same time, I’m sure this was even extravagant for him. The idea is that God is worth our worship! He is worth all that we have and all that we are!

How good of a job are you doing right now in worshiping God? It is my desire to worship God with extravagance, with generosity and with joy in my heart like Solomon did here. How incredible would our worship services be if more and more of us worshipped God with all that we had and all that we are! Incredible!!! Think on it.

In Faith in Real Life

Bargain of the century!!! Deal of the millenium…

April 8, 2008 No Comments

So, here we are at the close of the first quarter of the year 2008, and I am proud to tell you that we have an amazing offer for you! This is the news of the century! Wake Up Sleeper in an effort to help us eliminate the building debt at First Baptist Church of Doylestown has graciously given us Wake Up Sleeper Cd’s! We are able to sell these cd’s for $5 a piece and make %100 profit! This will be awesome! We can help bring down $680,000. We can be apart of the solution!

Wake Up Sleeper, with front man James Chester, was our worship band this year at both our Junior High and Senior High winter retreats. If you liked Wake Up Sleeper, and would love to hear them more often, this is a deal for you. Wake Up Sleeper also came and led our Vespers service this past Easter week. The album for sale is called “Increase the Decrease”. A great solid worship album. They will be available for purchase both at youth group, in the snack shop, and through email. Email me at peter@fbcdoyle.org. YOU WILL NOT BE DISSAPOINTED! Many thank you’s to Wake Up Sleeper, and James and Kristi Chester.

$Increase the Decrease CD\'s$

In Faith in Real Life

A Fresh Face

April 8, 2008 No Comments

So, here we are, and obviously this is much different then the last time you were here on my blog. Two main differences that you’ll notice; a new format, and a new name. Here’s my rationale. First off for the name, I have recently been teaching in our student ministry that God calls us the salt of the earth. We have unpacked that idea, and have determined that part of why we are here on earth is to raise the saltiness here on earth. Mainly, the saltiness being how we represent God to others. My desire in my blog is to write about current events, things going on in my life, what God is teaching me, and many other things. Above all, I want my blog to be about raising the saltiness in this world. A 50 lb salt lick attracts wildlife for miles around to come over and taste the flavor of the salt. It is my desire that as Christians we would attract people from miles around simply to experience God because they notice something flavorful about us. So, the Salt lick seemed to make sense to me.

Now, in terms of the platform, why did I make the change? Well, here’s the deal, I am a mac guy, through and through, and the last blog I was creating was one which I made in iweb. It was good and all, however, it was tied specifically to one computer. I was realizing that I wasn’t posting as much as I wanted, simply because I wasn’t near my computer, and I guess when I was near my computer I had tons of other things that needed doing. So, it is my hope that using a web based blog I will be able to keep a little more up to date with you all. So, check back often, subscribe even if you like. But anyhow, So, welcome to the salt lick. I hope that it is amusing, interesting, thought provoking, and insightful. At least I can promise you that it will be my honest thoughts!