All posts tagged: Religion and Spirituality

Taming the Tongue

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The case for Taming the Tongue A man working in the produce department was asked by a lady if she could buy half a head of lettuce. He replied, “Half a head? Are you serious? God grows these in whole heads and that’s how we sell them!” “You mean,” she persisted, “that after all the years I’ve shopped here, you won’t sell me half-a-head of lettuce?” “Look,” he said, “If you like I’ll ask the manager.” She indicated that would be appreciated, so the young man marched to the front of the store. “You won’t believe this, but there’s a lame-braided idiot of a lady back there who wants to know if she can buy half-a-head of lettuce.” He noticed the manager gesturing, and turned around to see the lady standing behind him, obviously having followed him to the front of the store. “And this nice lady was wondering if she could buy the other half” he concluded. Later in the day the manager cornered the young man and said, “That was the finest example …

I still haven’t found what I’m looking for! In Jesus?

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I grew up listening, singing and jamming to music from groups like U2, UB40 and Boyz II Men etc… My musical taste was quite interesting. I listened to everything. When I turned 18 I got saved and I fell in love with Jesus. In my corner of Christendom listening to what they called ‘worldly music’ wasn’t a sin but it was something you just didn’t do as a believer. I quickly embrace that tradition and stop listening to ‘worldly music’. I still don’t listen to worldly music and this post is not an argument about whether you should or should not. But, as I was responding to comments made on a post from yesterday. I heard a melody in my head and I realized that it was a U2 song. So I said myself, this is a good one to put a spin on. You know, a quick easy post that talks about a U2 song – “I still haven’t found what I am looking for” – with a simple question – what are you looking for? Than the answer – “look to Jesus.” So I went to YouTube and there it was …

The secret of the Scarecrow

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The Secret of the Scarecrow! I don’t know about you, but when I hear the word harvest it makes me happy. I don’t know much about farming but I am crazy about harvest – am crazy about the outcome of seed sowing. Don’t bore me to death about fertilizers, and watering and pruning and keeping out the weeds; just tell me when it’s time to pluck that peach, slice that mango or roast the corn. Just tell me about the harvest. In the bible I am aware though, that one has to work hard or invest time and energy to reap a harvest. The bible say that there is time for everything – a time to plant and a time to harvest (Ecclesiastes 3:2). That God makes everything beautiful in His time (Ecclesiastes 3:11). In other words it is in God’s plan to make you productive in every sphere of your life. For the pastor he wants effectiveness in his personal, spiritual, vocational life. For the business man/woman He has planned success and productivity. For the student He wants you …

What is the Gospel?

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One of ten from the past There is a list of ten books I wanted to read last year but failed to. Besides the ones I have my eyes on this year, I decided to knock those ten books from last year out-of-the-way before tackling the ones I’ve set aside for this year. Beginning at number ten, I present to you, Greg Gilbert’ “What is the Gospel? Well, I finished reading the book two weeks ago and have started the second. The name I will reveal in another post. But for now I would like to share with you some very powerful quotes from the book “What is the Gospel?” Take Five quotes from the book 1. The gospel is the proclamation of Jesus, in two senses. It is the proclamation announced by Jesus. But also the proclamation about Jesus – that in dying and rising Jesus has made the kingdom he proclaimed available to us. 2. An emaciated gospel leads to emaciated worship. It lowers our eyes from God to self and cheapens what God has accomplished …

Divert daily, withdraw weekly, abandon annually…

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It is good to work. But! Work is a great thing! I thank God for the opportunity to work. For He himself worked (Gen. 1:1). And He said that if we don’t work we won’t eat 2 Thess. 3:10). But the thing with work is that it can turn one into a workaholic. Therefore, we need to recognize that though God has ordained work for us, we must emulate his example – “he rested on the 7th day” (Gen. 2:2). Somebody once said, “work and no play makes jack a dull boy.” Actually it is a proverb –  and it means that without time off from work, a person becomes both bored and boring. So I took a little vacation this week – a week of complete rest and I am so thankful to the Lord for the opportunity to do this. I feel refreshed and energize for the weeks ahead. During my time away, I read a few articles and magazines – here is an excerpt of somethings I learned about recognizing and handling burnout: Preventing burnout” Having determined …

It’s a Lie!

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We hear it all the time The check is in the mail. I’ll start my diet tomorrow. We service what we sell. Give me your number and the doctor will call you right back. Money cheerfully refunded. One size fits all. This offer limited to the first 100 people who call in. Your luggage isn’t lost, it’s only misplaced. Leave your résumé and we’ll keep it on file. This hurts me more than it hurts you. I just need five minutes of your time. Your table will be ready in a few minutes. Open wide, it won’t hurt a bit. Let’s have lunch sometime. It’s not the money, it’s the principle. But it all a lie. Cute little phrases people use to disguise their lie. Today I would like to introduce an outline of 10 lies about God, faith and life. Ten lies cunningly twisted and crafted to cause you to doubt and question you faith, God and yourself. I am very sure that there are many more lies out there, but I want to share a …

Too good to be true!

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The Romanticized ideals of Perfection Successful pastors and church organizations almost always seem cooler from a distance. But the closer you get to the pastor or the church organization, the easier it is to see all their flaws, blemishes, and failures. I am not talking about immoral or sinful behaviors. If you find yourself under such leadership it is more than okay to flee. I’m talking about things like leadership styles and flaws, relationship hiccups, poor conflict management skills, bad choices in the little things of life, etc… Usually people begin to flip out big time when their expectations of a pastor or a church organization doesn’t measure up with their romanticized ideals. They begin to become negative, slanderous, disrespectful, arrogant, rude and sometimes rebellious. A Personal Illustration For me, it happened when I was young and on a church staff. I didn’t know better, and I soon started flipping out when I began to see some things that I kind of disagree with. Every time we had a staff meeting somebody in the group will say …

He Answers Me When I Call

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Psalm 4:1-8 Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have given me relief when I was in distress. So I am confident you will hear me again. Be gracious to me and hear my prayer! O men, how long shall my honor be turned into shame? How long will you love vain words and seek after lies? Selah But know that the Lord has set apart the godly for himself (wow! I belong to him. I’m known by Him. What a feeling); the Lord hears when I call to him. Be angry, and do not sin (it’s okay to be a little frustrated with the Lord when things don’t add up); But be careful, don’t go too far – ponder in your own hearts on your beds, be silent and know that He is God. Selah Offer right sacrifices and put your trust in the Lord. There are many who say, “Who will show us some good? That is a sacrifice of fools. Don’t be caught tripping, wallowing in your pity party. Instead, burst into songs like Paul and …