Thoughts on Christ and His Word

What's better, to serve God out of fear or love? And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him , to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13 and to observe the LORD's commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good? Deuteronomy 10:12-13 It would seem both are good reasons to serve Him. But here is what the Apostle John wrote: . There is no fear in love . But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. 1 John 4:18 So I guess the answer is that it is better to serve God out of Love, rather than fear. However, fear of God is a close second best reason.

I was disgusted today as I read about how we in the great USA are loosing more of our freedoms every day. The radical homosexual crowd is bulldozing their agenda forward trampling on the rights and freedoms of the rest of us. The latest victim is eHarmony .com. I am no fan of eHarmony and do not endorse their service. But if the radical homosexual crowd can bring this private business to its knees, it's only a matter of time until they come knocking on church doors to force us (Christians) to accept their deviant lifestyle. Michelle Malkin describes the situation best. I hope you take the time to read her blog at http://www.onenewsnow.com/Perspectives/Default.aspx?id=329160

"If this is an emergency, hang up and dial 911". That's the message from your doctor's office message service. Here's God's message: "call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me" Psalms 50:15 God desires to show his power on your behalf and deliver you from your problem. But you call upon Him in prayer. By the way it helps if you are living righteously, pray passionately, and trust Him to do the best for you. REMINDER: Pray Hard, Life is Short!

Migrating birds come and go through Atlanta. They have Vision, Hope, and Strategy. According to the Georgia Dept. of Natural Resources " the Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris), weighing less than a penny, [flies] non-stop over the Gulf of Mexico, a continuous 24-hour flight of about 500 miles." Now that's Vision and Hope! I wouldn't swim 50 feet into the Gulf for fear of not getting back. In his book "Tribes" Seth Godin writes: Hope without a strategy doesn't generate leadership. Leadership comes when your hope and your optimism are matched with a concrete vision of the future and a way to get there. People won't follow you if they don't believe you can get where you say you're going. Leadership isn't just about Vision. Any complainer can voice what would be a better future. Real leaders not only have a Vision, they have a Plan and Strategy on how to get there and then inspire Hope along the way. Like the the Ruby-throated

The Jewish spies felt like " grasshoppers " when they saw the size of the people who lived in the promised land (Numbers 13:33). So they got scared, lost their faith in God and discouraged the Israelites from crossing into it. As a result, they wandered aimlessly through a desert for 40 years until that generation of hardhearted, unbelieving, and ungrateful Jews died off. Insecurity is the fruit of comparison. When we compare ourselves to others we feel inadequate and insecure which can lead to hopelessness, anger, and rebellion. This is what happened to the Israelites. They sank so deep in frustration that they were ready to pick a new leader to take them back to Egypt (into slavery again) and stone Moses for leading them out of there. Therefore, it is unwise to compare ourselves to others, especially comparing our weaknesses to others strengths. We will always find people who are better than us in some things and worse than us in others. Comparing ourselves in these ways w

Seth Godin , a marketing and leadership guru, wrote about the type of person he would hire. Among other things he wrote: "I'd prefer to hire someone who is largely self-motivated, who finds satisfaction in reaching self-imposed goals, and is willing to regularly raise the bar on those goals. You're intellectually restless. You care enough about new ideas to read plenty of blogs and books, and you're curious enough about your own ideas that you blog or publish your thoughts for others to react to." . Would you or I be hired by this guy? Are these qualities biblical? Self-motivated? Goal setting? Attitude of self improvement? Reader? Writer? . It's not a sin to be the opposite of these qualities, but it would sure be a waste of God-given time and talent if we didn't do them. Leaders do these things and God's kingdom needs more of these type of people.

Yesterday I shared with the church how prayer unleashes the Mighty Hand of God on our behalf. My hope is that we will begin to pray more with honest and passionate hearts. Prayer is a discipline that takes time and effort. Which is one reason we don't do it more - because we are LAZY! It's easier to watch TV, connect to people on Facebook , or even read the Bible. Prayer takes concentrated effort. But the benefits are incredible. I've seen God's hand unleashed on my behalf. Not always on my time or in my way. But He has always come through for me. I love this verse because it motivates me to pray: "Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh; is anything too difficult for Me?" Jeremiah 32:27

This weekend we held our parenting conference at The Rock. A verse I shared Friday night was one God gave me a couple of months ago. For I have chosen him [Abraham], so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just..." Genesis 18:19 Winning with our children entails training our children to "keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just..." If we fail to do this we will join the ranks of David, Samuel, and Eli the priest. All had children who sinned greatly against God and some died prematurely for their rebellion.

Seth Godin in his book "Tribes" wrote "In a battle between two ideas, the best one doesn't necessarily win. No, the idea that wins is the one with the most fearless heretic." This made me think of Martin Luther. He was considered a heretic by the catholic church. But his ideas won. Not only because they were true (and therefore "the best" ) , but because he was "the most fearless ". We got the best message in the world - The Gospel. It is the best idea - "Believe in Jesus and you wont end up in HELL!" The question is whether we will be fearless heretics (in the sight of the world) and proclaim it with the passion, wisdom and boldness that this idea deserves.

Years ago I heard a preacher say "God created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve". He was right. Lately, many Adams and Steves , and Julies and Jills have wanted the government to officially sanction and recognize their homosexual marriage. But I read good news from Don Wildmon , the President of the American Family Association . In his newsletter he wrote: No doubt, it was a disappointing night with overwhelmingly bad news. But there was some good news for those who support traditional marriage. In the states of Arizona, Florida and California voters said no to homosexual “marriage.” In fact, in the Sunshine State, 60% of the vote was needed to keep marriage only between a man and a woman, and our side was able to garner 62% of the vote. Finally, in California, our country’s largest and most liberal state, the citizens voted 52% to 48% to overturn the state Supreme Court’s decision to allow same-sex marriage. This is BIG news! Radical homosexual groups, Hollywood celebrities

Well, it was a bad day for pro-life, pro-traditional family values type of people. I woke up half-way depressed. I went for my prayer walk and mostly I'm over it. However, I know that in the next few years laws will come from Washington DC that will be an assault on the unborn and on Biblical values in general. It's time to pray and to act appropriately. Please read the article by Dr. Mohler , the president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. http://www.albertmohler.com/blog.php

Went to Nashville for a few days with Rosemary. We had a great time listening to country music, eating, shopping, and looking at museums. We visited the Grand Old Opry but Brad Paisley wasn't playing so we didn't see the show. We are back and ready for life in the fast lane in Canton, GA.