Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses...

0 comments Posted by Gary at 10:49 PM

Moses was God's chosen deliverer for His people. Yet in Exodus God sought to kill him for not circumcising his son -- and when Moses complains about his lack of communication ability God's anger is stirred up against him. 
It is amazing that we often think that we can brazenly ignore God's commands and follow our own path without any repercussions. I am trying to understand the necessity of repentance in the life of the believer. Repentance goes beyond confession (I agree that what I did is wrong) to reorienting one's mind to not do the wrong again (or at least more infrequently).
Just throwing some thoughts at my blog...don't look for profundity in this one...just typing out loud I guess.

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Deep Church: a recommended book

0 comments Posted by Gary at 7:30 PM

I was able to download Jim Belcher’s book: Deep Church: A Third Way Beyond Emerging and Traditional free from Christianaudio.com recently. [Sorry, but the “free” part was only for November.] You can download the Introduction if you would like.
I really enjoyed listening to the book – it was read in a conversational style.
You can review the book's website here: http://www.thedeepchurch.com
I found the book to be very helpful in presenting it’s comparison and critique of both the Traditional and Emergent perspectives. I guess I’ll throw in the same disclaimer every other reviewer gives: “I did not agree with all of Jim’s conclusions” – there, that’s done. I did agree with a lot of what he presented as his “third way”.
The questions the Emergent folks are asking sound real similar to the questions my generation was asking in the 80’s. I think some churches have answered most of those questions properly without identifying themselves as non-traditional or non-emergent.
There are several reviews listed on the Deep Church site – written by those who are experienced in writing reviews. A couple I will highlight are:
Adrian Warnock
and
Kevin DeYoung


I do recommend this book to all in church leadership. It will help you think more clearly about your ministry – and may even change your mind.

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Double coverage

0 comments Posted by Gary at 10:21 AM

I posted a link on FB - Stand to Reason posts one on their blog

Brit Hume's Witness

This morning on Fox News Sunday during the 2010 predictions, Brit Hume appealed to Tiger Woods to find redemption and forgiveness in Christianity, pointing out that Buddhism doesn't offer what Woods needs to recover as a human being.  In a very brief statement, Brit presents the issue as one of objective truth versus false religion, and gets right to the heart of the matter of alienation with others and God and our need for forgiveness and reconciliation.  He doesn't present Christianity as a placebo, faith makes us feel better.  He offers what Woods needs, what we all need:  redemption.
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I appreciate Brit Hume's open affirmation of Christianity and it's message of redemption in Christ. I believe He glorified Christ in his testimony. Let us all be bold in speaking for Christ [and living it out] today.

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The Holidays are over, yet...

0 comments Posted by Gary at 9:52 PM

Most of us are back to work or back to school tomorrow. The holidays are over. However, Romans 14:5-6 tells us that we can make all days holy - set apart - to God if we choose to do so.
Therefore, we can, maybe should, look for means to set tomorrow apart to God is some special way. Any suggestions on how to accomplish this?

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We are in a decade - that was fun - that wasn't my point

0 comments Posted by Gary at 11:13 PM


There was some discussion exchanged on Facebook regarding my post yesterday (click here) - and yes, it was fun to have comments exchanged.


The bigger topic was What's one thing you could do this year to increase your enjoyment of God?


I think another thing I would like to do is work on being deliberately conscious of His presence. More than just a nod of the head or tip of a hat to Him.
It is great to learn to think theologically and to construct your belief system. However, actively focusing one’s mind away from one’s self to the awesome magnificence of God Himself is to be the ultimate sustenance of our existence. Yet, He has given us the freedom in our progress in sanctification – to ignore the One who has given us our purpose for being.


Any suggestions? Prayers will be appreciated.

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2010 - NOT a new decade - but a new opportunity

0 comments Posted by Gary at 11:31 PM

You may have heard this called the beginning of a new decade - well, it isn't. The new decade begins with 2011. No big deal. Just thought I would point it out.
It is the beginning of a new year, however, and many folks like to use this point in time to ponder life in general and the direction of their own lives in particular.
If you like pondering and want a little guidance you can check out this article Don Whitney wrote a few years back titled: Ten Questions to Ask at the Start of a New Year...

His first question is:

What's one thing you could do this year to increase your enjoyment of God?
My choice would be to be more consistently involved in reading and listening to His Word. So I am adopting a Read Through the Bible program.
If you are interested in do this - you can find some real good help HERE.
You can have the text of the bible readings sent to your email, iphone, blog reader, etc. You can even print out a hard copy to use.
Why not try it this year.

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