Welcome to the DUH Zone...

I don't get it. Except for the fact that we are living in the last days and that we live in a society trying to deny its existence is soley contingent upon God and God alone. The church has played games struggling to play it politically safe and yet be Biblically relevant at the same time. Wake up. Read 1 Corinthians 13:1-8 and you get the picture. It's about love. It's about God's love. God is love-He is the author and grand designer of love; not this world or Hallmark greeting cards-God,Adoni is the author of love. That is what Christmas is about-love, true love.God loved mankind enough to send His son manifested in human form-childbirth to save us despite how we hate Him or fight against Him. If society fails to understand what both Easter and Christmas truly entail, we are in trouble people its CHRISTMAS-DUH!!!

Get Set, GO!

Alright! Thanksgiving is over... Yeah right knucklehead. The concept of a idea that Thanksgiving ends the day after really doesn't fly. Let me explain. It's the concept of being in a constant state of gratitude and appreciation for all of the things God has done for us us. Ceremonially, the pomp and circumstance pass through with all the food we ate the day before, but remaining thankful must continue.

Here's my list:
1- My wife and kids and our families- That we were all safe and sound
2-God-His divine protection and provision in the past year-"Way to go God !! "
3-Having loved ones like Lisa back in our lives
4-Having a home to go to. Heating,Cooling. Food to eat
5- Freedom- it ain't cheap so savor it and be thankful for it
I could go on and on but the point is if we begin a routine of reflecting on what God has done in our lives it makes us appreciate Him and life more and maybe we won't be such big selfish brats that we all tend to be from time to time. Well, now it's time to go Christmas shopping. On yor marks, get set, GO!

Eyes of "Frodo"

In "The Two Towers", Sam and Frodo run into Gollum, who is after his "precious". The hideous creature, deformed and twisted by his deep and dark desire and the spell that the evil Sauron placed on him to find the ring of power leads him to the two hobbits set on the quest to destroy the ring and save Middle-Earth. Finally meeting him, Frodo concludes to Sam "you know, now that I see him, I do pity him." When Christ saw Israel as they were-a flock of sheep with no shepherd, he was moved to compassion-even to the point of weeping. Sometimes when we see people with the same compassion as Jesus did, we can draw to the same conclusion as Frodo-"now that I've seen them ,I take pity on them..." We live in a lost realm-a world without a shepherd,without a clue. We struggle with the fact that we were once lost and in despair like those around us. Instead of judging them maybe we need to take pity on them, they need Jesus and we're the only Jesus they may hear or see.

Cleanup

In the last two days at work my supervisor and I have tried to clean our department up. As you know, in my line of work involves dust. A lot of dust. So, everyone with an air nozzle blowing stuff off at the end of the day doesn't necessarily take out the dust- it moves it somewhere else. It ends up under the tables and along the walls behind material leaning up against it and accumulates- a lot. Plus,there's just junk laying around that needs to be discarded. It looks a lot better now and hopefully we can keep it that way. Our lives can be like that. We can let stuff build up in our lives that can hinder us and make one ineffective. Sin is a major and chief contributor to the mess. If we let sin accumulate in our lives and in our thought patterns, it weakens us and eventually destroys us. That's when we call on Christ for His redemption. We need to allow God's Spirit and Jesus' blood to penetrate us and to sanctify our inner being-in case you haven't realized-we're at war right now. Flesh versus Spirit. I still deal with my own inner war- Are you?

Good Music

Okay, a more pleasant topic than before. In the last two days, My music consumption has been consisting of mostly classical music.I have a Beethoven's greatest hits cd and it has been a pleasure to listening to it on the way to work and back. It takes me back to several years ago taking a Music Appreciation class at JJC. In the teachings, Classical is oftentimes referred to as "absolute music"-the purest form of music that there is. I definitely agree with that definition. Classical is timeless and solid. In the midst of the digital age we live in , Classical is still enjoyed and well listened to and makes great movie soundtracks-thanks John Williams! God's Word is just like classicsl music. It's purity derives from the fact that its God's own spoken Word-pure!Absolute! The Word never needs to be revised to fit man's standard for to say, nor does it need to be altered into some form or another. God's Word is timeless, yet maintains its relevance today more than ever. Imagine, a book written by the same author that spoke the entire universe into existence and created the world in six days-AMAZING!!!!

End of an Era

It's been awhile but I'm back. It has been five -count them five whole years that I have served on the church board. Pastor Mark asked me the other day " how's retirement going for you? " I jokingly replied-" Hmmmmm I don't know." You know it is funny to realize you have been involved in a ministry for a certain amount of years and not realize it. Deaconship has had alot of its ups and its downs. In conclusion, it is a hard ministry to be in. Your'e on the frontline with the pastor and you and your family get shot at by the enemy as well as the pastor's. All I want to say is that it's over.I hope I has somewhat of a positive impact amidst all of the frustration and discouragment and all the happy moments to.

Good Treasures

Yesterday I received a blessing from God.For awhile we've been seeking God for help in our finances. God has poured out His generous favor out on us. It's so cool and awesome to know that once again His living word proves that "He shall provide all our needs according to His riches in glory" . You know, it may not always be in a manner that we may see fitting for our agenda, but His ways are higher than ours. His thoughts are not as ours. God created the earth in six days; you think He knows what's best for us? That's a real no-brainer.

Christmas

Oh no Art! No you're not going to-oh yes I am. If any of you know me well enough, I love Christmas. And Christmas is coming!!! YEEEEEEHAAAAA!!! If it wasn't for Jesus there wouldn't be Christmas-Theology 101. We wouldn't have insanely cool or corny decoration and don't forget the lights. On SpongeBob Squarepants, SpongeBob first learns about Chrrrriiissssstmasss (Go watch the episode) and begins the process of being prepared for Christmas and Santa. He gets all of Bikini Bottom caught up in his childlike banter. Well, the point I'm making is that the last few years I've not had the silly, sappy spirit that I usually have. This year I think that is going to change. Leah and I have wondered how are we going to afford Christmas this year with things pretty tight. Well, can we afford not to have Christmas ? As parents we want to be able to buy the best and the coolest stuff for our kids. Or, investing vast amounts of money and electricity on lighting up your neighborhood (don't misread me that stuff is cool). I think the concept of Christmas transcends far beyond what we see-It's sacrifice. Yeah, we think of that at Easter. Christmas? of course. It's God coming down as a man to end up being nailed to a cross and three days later rising from the dead so that we all could have a fellowship with Real, Living God that loves Christmas as much as we do. Christ is Christmas. WOOOHOOO!!!!!! You know what, we're going to have a Christmas no matter what. It's all good.

The Unshakable Kingdom

Kieth Green said on one of his live recordings"If it took our Lord Jesus only six days to create heaven and earth and over two thousand years since He left to go and prepare a place for us... Man, this place is a garbage can compared to heaven... ". Wow! What a concept. But you know sometimes we get so accustomed to our wonderful " junkyard " we live in . We get so attatched to this old world and all the things entailing it, we forgot that there is a Kingdom that awaits us. An unshakable Kingdom. One that is alive and well. A Kingdom beyond our fathomization. Sometimes I get so frustrated with work, with church that I miss the whole concept of being " in this world and not of it ". If my citizenship is in this wonderful kingdom, Then the work before me was already accomplished by our King. This Kingdom is advancing, moving forward and has already been established. It has conquered and destroyed the kingdom of hell yet always waging war over souls. As His majesty's servant , I need to be more aware of the Kingdom I am part of look to Him for hope and guidance and strength.

BAM!!!

It's so cool when I'm trying to figure something out on my guitar. After awhile playing the lick repetitively, KAPOWWW!!! I nail it down. The famous chef Emeril adds a clove of " gaaaahhlic " to his famous dish and BAM!!! That came from constant research and discovery. Times of failed experiments and frustration. Persistence. It's the key to success. It is knowing that the product in front of you isn't finished yet. My life is a ongoing continuing project. I haven't arrived yet.God is still working on me. Every day He reveals a little more of the grand design He has laid out for my life. In realizing that, I need to get less frustrated when I fall flat on my face.God isn't finished with me yet. In His Word it says... "Let He who began a good work in you perfect it until the day of Jesus Christ..." . This product is not done I am still under construction. Hey! It took Thomas Edison 700 filaments (experiments) until he got the right one for the first electric light bulb.

The Gospel According to Star Wars...

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far, away ...
Yeah! I love Star Wars. One of the reasons why I love Star Wars is that you can relate alot of the themes such as good versus evil or the light side of the force or the dark side. The lightsaber, just like the Word of God to the Christian, is the jedi's primary weapon. There are alot of analogies to Star Wars that I see that relates to my faith. I've seen myself like Anakin struggling in the ways of the force like I struggle in my faith in my journey with Christ. Good and evil.Good always triumphs. It's awesome to know that God is the real " force " behind everything. He surrounds us, binds us, and He holds the galaxy together. It is an encouragment to know that regardless of what is happening in our lives, God is in control. He is on the throne and is the Ruler of all the Universe! May His "force " be with us all!

Amazing Grace...with a doubleshot of espresso.

A while back, I had heard a message about the grace of God at work in our lives. So many times we all take His grace for granted-so do I. So on my way to work, I was pondering about it. I tried to describe what His grace is likened to-(try this sometime) something precious and dear to you. Coffee is a beverage I prefer to use. I love coffee(and no it isn't just the caffeine principal) I prayed "God Your grace is like the aroma of fresh ground coffee"- you know what I'm talking about as you pass by a coffee shop or frequent one. It's AWESOME! It's pleasant, it relaxes the spirits after a rough day in the world. It's available for our taking. Grace is there for us. To save us, bring life to our weary bones. To protect us. That is why His grace is so amazing. This is the season where we reflect on the past year and its accomplishments. We also need to reflect and be even more thankful for His wonderful grace. Yeah, His grace is even more amazing than a Venti Vanilla latte with a triple shot of espresso a little light on the froth heavy on the vanilla syrup and topped with whipped cream. God's Grace...Enjoy!

Mission Control,do you copy?

So, where do I begin? How about,the beginning? Well, here I am. You know life can be extremely crazy. Once you think you have got it all figured out, reality comes and just messes everything up. It's like working on a puzzle. You just about got the thing put together-500 pieces; and then WHAM!! You discover you're missing the last piece or the last piece you anxiously hold in your hand, the sweat pouring from your brow in anticipation-doesn't fit. Your house is then filled with a blood curdling cry of NNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! Right now, I am looking at some puzzles that are quite messed up. I could really get bent out of shape about it and be bitter. No. It doesn't do any good. It will not change the situation. I know it's hard because we all tend to want to have CONTROL over our situations. But God wants to have control over our lives. He wants us to trust Him like a little kid. When we surrender to His will, the puzzles in life begin to make more sense.