If They Had Only Asked Me!

I believe in spending our money wisely, especially in these difficult economic times. Sure, it's just $329,000.00. But isn't that a small price to pay to get a picture of Air Force One flying by the Statue of Liberty? I figure that is about what I'll pay in federal taxes, so it feels great to know that the US Gov't is so much better at spending that money that I would be. Heck, I'd probably waste it in a 401K plan for my retirement...how dumb would that be? Anyway, I thought this was a great take on the expensive photo op. (http://www.nydailynews.com/tech_guide/2009/04/29/2009-04-29_createyourown_nyc_air_force_one_flyover_photo__we_did.html)
Here's my version...if only they had asked me, I'd have done the picture for free!

Oh to Be This Filled with Joy!

Our Father didn't have to give us dogs! But He did...just more evidence of His heart of love! Oh that we could rejoice in Him no matter what happens to us! Maybe we just need to take regular time out on a trampoline! BE JOYFUL ALWAYS! (I Thess. 5:16)

Make the Most of Every Opportunity....To Love Somebody

¹⁵Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, ¹⁶making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. ¹⁷Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is. ¹⁸Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. ¹⁹Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, ²⁰always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. ²¹Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Ephesians 5:15-21

The days certainly are evil in many ways, and we can choose to merely curse the darkness, OR we can trust the Spirit of the living God to shine His light through us to others. I love what Paul said in the Ephesians passage above, and also in Galatians 5:6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.

Hmmm...could it be that our trust in our Father through Christ is meant to be "expressed" to others in love? Think about it. If we truly trust our Father, we will do what He tells us, and He tells us there is nothing more important than loving Him and loving others....and loving others can take a lot of forms...like it did in the little town of Gander, Newfoundland.

Here is one of my favorite stories from the past decade about light shining in the darkness. If it can happen in Gander, it can happen where you live! Click here to see what I'm talking about!

BEING CAREFUL ABOUT JUDGING PEOPLE!

We are capable of being horrible judges...why? Because, unlike God who judges with PERFECT TRUTH and PERFECT LOVE...we often (in my opinion of course) judge with inadequate truth (what an understatement) or no truth at all, as in the case of this video, where someone is judged solely on appearance and mannerisms. And PERFECT LOVE...heck no...we judge often based on convenience (is this person getting in the way of what I want or believe?), selfishness, self-righteousness, etc. (Romans 2:1-4 makes this all excruciatingly clear! And check out 1 Cor. 4:1-5, too.)

Did you know that when you judge others as I've described, you are in grave danger of holding God's "riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience" (v. 4) in contempt. Ouch! God's kindness is slow to judge to allow time for a person to wake up and repent. Are we "kind" when we judge others?

Are we praying and hoping for that person's redemption, or are we focused only on our needs, feelings, motives, etc.? Finally, when we judge someone, we can miss seeing deeper into that person's, and may miss a treasure. Don't believe me? Ask the judges of this year's Britain's Got Talent.

They (and the audience) pre-judged Susan Boyles something fierce, but she blessed them anyway, and learned something the in process! And, yes, she reminds me of Paul Potts who wowed people with his opera on the same show several years ago.

Just click on Susan's picture to view this unexpectedly amazing performance!

Oh, and even after wowing the crowd on the 11th, Susan was back at her church celebrating the resurrection of her Lord...way to go Susan. Here is that article:

http://www.myparkmag.co.uk/articles/television/britain%27s-got-talent/susan-boyle-puts-god-first.html

Finally, here is a great quote from a British newspaper blogsite:

Even before she appeared before the judges she was written off by Ant and Dec - I thought someone was going to have to revive the Geordie duo when she said she was a singer. But everything about Susan, from her amazing performance to the fact she didn't even seem to realise she had made it through to the next stage afterwards, was captivating. And now we learn she's never had a boyfriend, or even a kiss on the cheek. Could it be more of a fairytale? If she weren't so down to earth, I'd say she's probably sized up her dress for the Royal Variety Performance already. But who would blame her, or any of the other contestants we were all too quick to judge, for getting a bit excited? While the likes of The X Factor and Pop Idol are searching for a star, a brand even, Britain's Got Talent is something different. This is a talent show where anyone can win, regardless of what their cover might look like.

For more acts on Britain's Got Talent go here:
http://www.youtube.com/user/BritainTalent09

PS...The Brit's can be a bit raucous at times, so this link in no way endorses every act, but the ones like Susan Doyle make it worth the risk of being offended!

He is Risen!

HE IS RISEN!

May this help you today and every day celebrate the true miracle of the resurrection, that our Father would love us enough to raise Christ from the dead that He might seek us when we were not seeking Him, to bring us into the Family of God, not as servants or slaves, but as dearly beloved children, and co-heirs with His Son, Our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. May all that we say and do this day, and every day, bring Him the glory He is due!
With All My Love, Andy



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.

In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
1 Peter 1:3-9

Tell Me It Ain't True

That's downright mean ain't it!!! Okay, okay...true sometimes, but still mean! For more meanness check out: www.despair.com

A Little on the Light Side

I've been fairly "heavy" today, so here is a "de-motivator" poster I found. You can find others at www.despair.com! Enjoy and don't take it to heart!!!

Coal Is Useless Without Fire or Pressure

Okay, so I went Titanic crazy today, but as I looked at this picture of a piece of coal from the Titanic wreck (it was a gift), I was reminded of the necessity of the power of the Spirit of God in our lives to experience all the Christ died to give us, not just in Heaven later, but now! Coal is fuel, but it must be ignited by fire to release its stored energy to power an old ocean liner like the Titanic, to produce electricity, or to be used in manufacturing.

Of course, there is another use for coal...it becomes a diamond after years and years of extreme pressure. This reminds me that God gives us the "flame" of His Spirit and allows us to experience the pressures of life to mold us into the image of Christ.

We neglect this reality to our peril. So often Christian get duped into believing the Christian experience is one only of compliance to a set of rules (like every other religion)...it's not...at its heart is a relationship. So take Paul's wisdom to Timothy...PAY ATTENTION TO GOD'S FLAME WITHIN YOU, and don't try to escape all the pressure around you....first ask your Father to grant you wisdom and power to respond to your circumstances to His glory and for the good of others, after all, God is working to create in you an amazingly powerful and beautiful representation of His grace and glory to a world so greatly in need of it!

Oh, here's what Paul said to Timothy and to us: ⁵I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. ⁶For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. ⁷For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:5-7

Ninety - Seven Years Ago Today!

This photograph was taken ninety-seven years ago today on April 11, 1912. It is possibly the last photograph of the Titanic taken before she sank early on Monday morning, April 15, 1912. I got interested in the Titanic in middle school. Now I probably have one of the few (hmmm....only) Titanic dining room in the state....weird, huh?

I think part of the reason for the fascination is my continuing pursuit of finding God's truth reflected in human events. My collection reminds me to keep focused on things that matter. If I ramble, you won't read this...heck, you may have already skipped it. At any rate, the thing that grabs me today is how the Titanic reminds me of the world....people are confident in their safety and in their indifference to reality.

The "reality" of that Thursday, 97 years ago, was that the passengers had complete confidence in the ship, its designers, and its crew. So much so, they didn't notice or care that: there were lifeboats enough only for half of them, that the lookouts the night of the collision did not have binoculars, that the captain and crew ignored six iceberg warnings the day of the collision.

They were having a good time, eating great food, on a brand new ship...no need to worry about the future, and certainly not to worry about their death.

The reality was, however, the ship was not on a safe journey, but on one that would end in tragedy. Sort of like life now. As I read some posts on Facebook, sometimes I get the sense that we are...forgive me..."twittering away" our lives (NO, I am not saying we have to be profound every day, or in every post!). How much of what we're doing or saying on a given day matters? Really matters?

I hope everyone takes time regularly to encourage each other, to help each others, to speak words of truth and love to each other. So many in our society seem not to take time to focus on the realities of the journey of life....especially the reality of a living God Who is God and Who is offering a view of reality that IS reality...so that our journey will not end in tragedy, but in arriving at THE destination for which we were created.....our eternal home with Him.

We will all collide with death (if Christ doesn't return in our lifetime) some time in the future, including everyone you know, so I hope we all can remember to live each day following the only One Who is qualified to guide us home....our Savior and Lord.

One parting dose of reality from James, who didn't seem to have a problem communicating the nature of reality: ¹³Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." ¹⁴Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. ¹⁵Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that." ¹⁶As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil. ¹⁷Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins. James 4:13-17

Application of Phil. 4:8 - My Father

Today marks the third anniversary of my father's passing from this life to the next. My family and I miss him still, but that's pretty much where all of our grief is focused. Even on that Tuesday evening when my brother and I were called back to the hospital, by my mom in the midst of the great sadness there was an even greater gratitude. In the previous post, I talked about "thinking" about the good stuff in life, and with regards to the loss of my father, I know first hand that God's commands work. What a surprise, huh?

Though the death of my father was very painful, there were many things to think about that were "good." I've been around a lot of death in my ministry, and a lot of families. I knew that in our situation, we had many, many things to be thankful for, even in that valley of the shadow of death, especially the fact that the Savior my father trusted as a young man made good on His promise to take care of him...in this life, and in the next!

He had done it many times before, through World War II (he was award a Purple Heart with a bar for two separate wounds, including shrapnel from a shell that killed almost 40 members of his battalion), and through his numerous medical battles mainly with diabetes and his heart. Still, his last day was filled with well-wishers, both family and friends, and then, as I prepared to leave, I prayed with him and my mom, thanking God for both of them, and, then, like he had done so many times before, he said, "Be careful." I said, "I love you both." And he responded, "Love you, too."

In an hour, he had one last heart attack and was gone. Who gets to have that kind of last moment with a parent?

So I thank God for giving me my earthly father, for his bravery in serving his country, for his love for my mom (and for giving them 54 years of marriage) my brother and me, for his impact on everyone who knew and loved him, and for so many other things. Mostly I'm thankful he is okay, and is home, happy and whole. Pray for my mom as today will have its own special dose of sadness, and I am, too, but I praise God that's not all I have today!

I have the memory of my father, the hope of seeing him again, and I thank God I was allowed to deliver the message as we laid Pa's body to rest on Good Friday, the same day we remember God's burying His Son...I'll never forget that amazing privilege of celebrating my father's life, and proclaiming the hope we have in Christ that death is no longer to be feared, for He has conquered it, not just for Himself, but for us, too!

So if you are grieving the loss of someone you love, may the message of Resurrection Sunday carry a special reminder of the living hope we have in the One Who became our Way through death to life everlasting.

Oh, and one more shot at "thinking" effectively. Paul to the church at Colossi: Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. (3:1-3)