The Gray Matters

Ex-NFL Player/Major University Coaches Come To Inner City Dallas For Camps

2010-07-14T14:54:00.001-05:00

JR e-Newsletter

NFL and Major University Players/Coaches Set To Train Inner City Athletes in
South Dallas July 21st.

An incredible opportunity awaits inner city athletes in the Jubilee Community of Fair Park this July 21st. The event entitled “A Day of Champions” will reach 150 inner city kids from the age of 8-18. The camp, sponsored by the Greater Dallas Justice Revival and Heart of a Champion, will provide kids an opportunity to meet sixteen current college coaches and former NFL players who will teach youth sports and character development.

The “Day of Champions” is run by Josh Heupel’s 14 Foundation. Coach Heupel was the quarterback when the University of Oklahoma won the National Championship. Josh is now the quarterback coach for the University of Oklahoma.

Throughout the day, former NFL players share their personal stories of triumph in the midst of adversity and encourage the young people to strive for excellence in life.

Your help is needed to sponsor these inner city children. The cost per camper is $100 for the day event. Please consider being a part of this life changing event by making a donation today. Your gift is tax deductible.

The Greater Dallas Justice Revival sponsors events such as “Day of Champions” throughout the year as part of its FEED 3 program. The nationally known Heart of a Champion character development program is a major part of the FEED 3 program.

Please make checks payable to “Strategic Justice Initiatives” and designate the memo line to “Day of Champions.” Your gift is tax-deductible. Please send your check to: Randy Skinner Strategic Justice Initiative - 2114 Iroquois Drive Dallas, Texas 75212

Click here to see a list of coaches and players who will be training.

Blessings,

Randy Skinner
Director, Greater Dallas Justice Revival

Texas School Rankings - Education, not sports

2010-04-26T12:39:00.002-05:00

Independent rankings of Texas Schools from top to bottom (1-2399).
http://www.texastribune.org/library/data/texas-school-rankings/

Here's a description of some of the ranking methodology.
http://www.texastribune.org/stories/2010/apr/26/school-rankings/

The Good Old Times

2010-01-28T20:00:00.000-06:00

http://oldfortyfives.com/DYRT.htm

Haiti Special Request

2010-01-14T22:14:00.002-06:00

This is from a friend of mine and Tracie Gray Jernigan's former pastor/boss in Houston. He is now in Maryland. Please pass this on to anyone who might be interested.

Paul

-------- Original Message --------

Subject:	Haiti Special Request
Date:	Thu, 14 Jan 2010 21:26:18 -0500
From:	Long, Gary

Hello friends,

Thank you for being a reader of my weekly column, "Long Story, Short." Tomorrow I'll be sending you the regular edition, but tonight I'm writing with a prayerful request for you to help the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship with their relief efforts in Haiti following the horrendous earthquake this week. CBF has field personnel on the ground in Haiti. First Baptist Church Gaithersburg, the church I pastor, is being called to aid the victims of the earthquake in Haiti. Our mission partner, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, has field personnel in Haiti and is challenging us to do four things:

• First you can pray: Prayer requests will be updated regularly. CBF is updating prayer requests from Haiti at this link: http://www.thefellowship.info/Pray

• Second you can give: Your gift will go to earthquake relief. Give to CBF online at www.thefellowship.info or give to your church and ask them to send along your offering.

• Third, you can get involved: If you want to help directly with response efforts, please let us know your skills and experience. CBF is building a disaster response team and an application is available athttp://www.thefellowship.info/Disaster-Response-Application

• Fourth, you can stay connected: Read the latest news release, updates on the CBF blog, and connect through CBF's Haiti ministry network's Ning site. That link is http://fellowshipportal.ning.com/group/haitipartnersforchrist .

This is one of those times I'm very proud to be a Baptist. Members of the larger family of Baptists are joining together to do something bigger than we could ever accomplish alone. Won't you consider participating in at least one of the ways above? If you have trouble with any of the links, please respond to this email and I'll be glad to help you get where you're trying to go.

Prayerfully, Actively,
Pastor Gary

The Other Plot to Wreck America

2010-01-11T09:46:00.001-06:00

By FRANK RICH
New York Times
January 9, 2010

THERE may not be a person in America without a strong opinion about what coulda, shoulda been done to prevent the underwear bomber from boarding that Christmas flight to Detroit. In the years since 9/11, we’ve all become counterterrorists. But in the 16 months since that other calamity in downtown New York — the crash precipitated by the 9/15 failure of Lehman Brothers — most of us are still ignorant about what Warren Buffett called the “financial weapons of mass destruction” that wrecked our economy. Fluent as we are in Al Qaeda and body scanners, when it comes to synthetic C.D.O.’s and credit-default swaps, not so much.

What we don’t know will hurt us, and quite possibly on a more devastating scale than any Qaeda attack. Americans must be told the full story of how Wall Street gamed and inflated the housing bubble, made out like bandits, and then left millions of households in ruin. Without that reckoning, there will be no public clamor for serious reform of a financial system that was as cunningly breached as airline security at the Amsterdam airport. And without reform, another massive attack on our economic security is guaranteed. Now that it can count on government bailouts, Wall Street has more incentive than ever to pump up its risks — secure that it can keep the bonanzas while we get stuck with the losses.

The window for change is rapidly closing. Health care, Afghanistan and the terrorism panic may have exhausted Washington’s already limited capacity for heavy lifting, especially in an election year. The White House’s chief economic hand, Lawrence Summers, has repeatedly announced that “everybody agrees that the recession is over” — which is technically true from an economist’s perspective and certainly true on Wall Street, where bailed-out banks are reporting record profits and bonuses. The contrary voices of Americans who have lost pay, jobs, homes and savings are either patronized or drowned out entirely by a political system where the banking lobby rules in both parties and the revolving door between finance and government never stops spinning.

It’s against this backdrop that this week’s long-awaited initial public hearings of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission are so critical. This is the bipartisan panel that Congress mandated last spring to investigate the still murky story of what happened in the meltdown. Phil Angelides, the former California treasurer who is the inquiry’s chairman, told me in interviews late last year that he has been busy deploying a tough investigative staff and will not allow the proceedings to devolve into a typical blue-ribbon Beltway exercise in toothless bloviation.

He wants to examine the financial sector’s “greed, stupidity, hubris and outright corruption” — from traders on the ground to the board room. “It’s important that we deliver new information,” he said. “We can’t just rehash what we’ve known to date.” He understands that if he fails to make news or to tell the story in a way that is comprehensible and compelling enough to arouse Americans to demand action, Wall Street and Washington will both keep moving on, unchallenged and unchastened.

Angelides gets it. But he has a tough act to follow: Ferdinand Pecora, the legendary prosecutor who served as chief counsel to the Senate committee that investigated the 1929 crash as F.D.R. took office. Pecora was a master of detail and drama. He riveted America even without the aid of television. His investigation led to indictments, jail sentences and, ultimately, key New Deal reforms — the creation of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Glass-Steagall Act, designed to prevent the formation of banks too big to fail.

As it happened, a major Pecora target was the chief executive of National City Bank, the institution that would grow up to be Citigroup. Among other transgressions, National City had repackaged bad Latin American debt as new securities that it then sold to easily suckered investors during the frenzied 1920s boom. Once disaster struck, the bank’s executives helped themselves to millions of dollars in interest-free loans. Yet their own employees had to keep ponying up salary deductions for decimated National City stock purchased at a heady precrash price.

Trade bad Latin American debt for bad mortgage debt, and you have a partial portrait of Citigroup at the height of the housing bubble. The reckless Citi executives of our day may not have given themselves interest-free loans, but they often walked away with the short-term, illusionary profits while their employees were left with shredded jobs and 401(k)’s. Among those Citi executives was Robert Rubin, who, as the Clinton Treasury secretary, helped repeal the last vestiges of Glass-Steagall after years of Wall Street assault. Somewhere Pecora is turning in his grave. Rubin has never apologized, let alone been held accountable. But he’s hardly alone. Even after all the country has gone through, the titans who fueled the bubble are heedless. In last Sunday’s Times, Sandy Weill, the former chief executive who built Citigroup (and recruited Rubin to its ranks), gave a remarkable interview to Katrina Brooker blaming his own hand-picked successor, Charles Prince, for his bank’s implosion. Weill said he preferred to be remembered for his philanthropy. Good luck with that.

Among his causes is Carnegie Hall, where he is chairman of the board. To see how far American capitalism has fallen, contrast Weill with the giant who built Carnegie Hall. Not only is Andrew Carnegie remembered for far more epic and generous philanthropy than Weill’s — some 1,600 public libraries, just for starters — but also for creating a steel empire that actually helped build America’s industrial infrastructure in the late 19th century. At Citi, Weill built little more than a bloated gambling casino. As Paul Volcker, the regrettably powerless chairman of Obama’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board, said recently, there is not “one shred of neutral evidence” that any financial innovation of the past 20 years has led to economic growth. Citi, that “innovative” banking supermarket, destroyed far more wealth than Weill can or will ever give away.

Even now — despite its near-death experience, despite the departures of Weill, Prince and Rubin — Citi remains as imperious as it was before 9/15. Its current chairman, Richard Parsons, was one of three executives (along with Lloyd Blankfein of Goldman Sachs and John Mack of Morgan Stanley) who failed to show up at the mid-December White House meeting where President Obama implored bankers to increase lending. (The trio blamed fog for forcing them to participate by speakerphone, but the weather hadn’t grounded their peers or Amtrak.) Last week, ABC World News was also stiffed by Citi, which refused to answer questions about its latest round of outrageous credit card rate increases and instead e-mailed a statement blaming its customers for “not paying back their loans.” This from a bank that still owes taxpayers $25 billion of its $45 billion handout! If Citi, among the most egregious of Wall Street reprobates, feels it can get away with business as usual, it’s because it fears no retribution. And it got more good news last week. Now that Chris Dodd is vacating the Senate, his chairmanship of the Banking Committee may fall next year to Tim Johnson of South Dakota, home to Citi’s credit card operation. Johnson was the only Senate Democrat to vote against Congress’s recent bill policing credit card abuses.

Though bad history shows every sign of repeating itself on Wall Street, it will take a near-miracle for Angelides to repeat Pecora’s triumph. Our zoo of financial skullduggery is far more complex, with many more moving pieces, than that of the 1920s. The new inquiry does have subpoena power, but its entire budget, a mere $8 million, doesn’t even match the lobbying expenditures for just three banks (Citi, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America) in the first nine months of 2009. The firms under scrutiny can pay for as many lawyers as they need to stall between now and Dec. 15, deadline day for the commission’s report.

More daunting still is the inquiry’s duty to reach into high places in the public sector as well as the private. The mystery of exactly what happened as TARP fell into place in the fateful fall of 2008 thickens by the day — especially the behind-closed-door machinations surrounding the government rescue of A.I.G. and its counterparties. Last week, a Republican congressman, Darrell Issa of California, released e-mail showing that officials at the New York Fed, then led by Timothy Geithner, pressured A.I.G. to delay disclosing to the S.E.C. and the public the details on the billions of bailout dollars it was funneling to its trading partners. In this backdoor rescue, taxpayers unknowingly awarded banks like Goldman 100 cents on the dollar for their bets on mortgage-backed securities.

Why was our money used to make these high-flying gamblers whole while ordinary Americans received no such beneficence? Nothing less than complete transparency will connect the dots. Among the big-name witnesses that the Angelides commission has called for next week is Goldman’s Blankfein. Geithner, Henry Paulson and Ben Bernanke should be next.

If they all skate away yet again by deflecting blame or mouthing pro forma mea culpas, it will be a sign that this inquiry, like so many other promises of reform since 9/15, is likely to leave Wall Street’s status quo largely intact. That’s the ticking-bomb scenario that truly imperils us all.

What Makes a Great Teacher?

2010-01-11T09:37:00.002-06:00

Great article.

http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/201001/good-teaching

Letter from Jesus...

2009-12-02T16:53:00.001-06:00

Amen.

Letter from Jesus about Christmas --

It has come to my attention that many of you are upset that folks are taking My name out of the season.

How I personally feel about this celebration can probably be most easily understood by those of you who have been blessed with children of your own. I don't care what you call the day. If you want to celebrate My birth, just GET ALONG AND LOVE ONE ANOTHER.

Now, having said that let Me go on. If it bothers you that the town in which you live doesn't allow a scene depicting My birth, then just get rid of a couple of Santas and snowmen and put in a small Nativity scene on your own front lawn If all My followers did that there wouldn't be any need for such a scene on the town square because there would be many of them all around town.

Stop worrying about the fact that people are calling the tree a holiday tree, instead of a Christmas tree. It was I who made all trees. You can remember Me anytime you see any tree. Decorate a grape vine if you wish: I actually spoke of that one in a teaching, explaining who I am in relation to you and what each of our tasks were. If you have forgotten that one, look up John 15: 1 - 8.

If you want to give Me a present in remembrance of My birth here is my wish list. Choose something from it:

1. Instead of writing protest letters objecting to the way My birthday is being celebrated, write letters of love and hope to soldiers away from home. They are terribly afraid and lonely this time of year. I know, they tell Me all the time.

2. Visit someone in a nursing home. You don't have to know them personally. They just need to know that someone cares about them.

3. Instead of writing the President complaining about the wording on the cards his staff sent out this year, why don't you write and tell him that you'll be praying for him and his family this year. Then follow up... It will be nice hearing from you again.

4. Instead of giving your children a lot of gifts you can't afford and they don't need, spend time with them. Tell them the story of My birth, and why I came to live with you down here. Hold them in your arms and remind them that I love them.

5 Pick someone that has hurt you in the past and forgive him or her.

6. Did you know that someone in your town will attempt to take their own life this season because they feel so alone and hopeless? Since you don't know who that person is, try giving everyone you meet a warm smile; it could make the difference.

7. Instead of nit picking about what the retailer in your town calls the holiday, be patient with the people who work there. Give them a warm smile and a kind word. Even if they aren't allowed to wish you a "Merry Christmas" that doesn't keep you from wishing them one. Then stop shopping there on Sunday. If the store didn't make so much money on that day they'd close and let their employees spend the day at home with their families

8. If you really want to make a difference, support a missionary-- especially one who takes My love and Good News to those who have never heard My name.

9. There are individuals and whole families in your town who not only will have no "Christmas" tree, but neither will they have any presents to give or receive. If you don't know them, buy some food and a few gifts and give them to the Salvation Army or some other charity which believes in Me and they will make the delivery for you. (In Plano we have our Christmas Cops boxes everywhere)

10. Finally, if you want to make a statement about your belief in and loyalty to Me, then behave like a Christian. Don't do things in secret that you wouldn't do in My presence. Let people know by your actions that you are one of mine.

Don't forget; I am God and can take care of Myself. Just love Me and do what I have told you to do. I'll take care of all the rest. Check out the list above and get to work; time is short. I'll help you, but the ball is now in your court. And do have a most blessed Christmas with all those whom you love and remember:

I LOVE YOU,

JESUS

Preserving Planet Earth, an Interview with Jane Goodall

2009-12-02T16:19:00.001-06:00

What is our responsibility?

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/11272009/watch.html

God Issues: Caesar and the Secret Service

2009-11-30T16:56:00.001-06:00

By Dr. James C. Denison
President, Center for Informed Faith, Dallas, Texas

November 30, 2009

Topic: intimacy with God

Caesar and the Secret Service

What did Julius Caesar really look like? The image you remember from high school history class comes from statues made long after the conqueror was assassinated in 44 B.C. Historians have never been quite sure of the man's true appearance, since Romans tended to idealize their leaders after their death.

Today's New York Times shows us what is likely the earliest known bust of Caesar, made during his lifetime and excavated two years ago in France: "The Roman appears with little hair, a wrinkled forehead, a prominent Adam's apple." Not exactly the stuff of legend. Apparently his portrait was sculpted on a Monday morning after Thanksgiving.

Are you having a hard time getting motivated today? Eating turkey until you never want to see another drumstick? Shaking off the dopamine in turkey meat and 29 football games? Cheer up: At least you don't work for the Secret Service.

Washington continues to be preoccupied with the Virginia couple who sneaked into a White House state dinner last Tuesday evening. Today's Times tells us that Michaele and Tareq Salahi are apparently trying to be selected for a new reality show, "The Real Housewives of D.C." They met the president and other dignitaries, but no one is quite sure how. Or what to do to prevent a similar security lapse as the busy holiday party season approaches.

We may never know personally the Caesars of our day, but take heart: the real King of the universe wants to know us. Romans 5:8 contains the good news of Christmas in a single sentence: "God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

The One who came at Christmas wants a personal, intimate, continual relationship with you and me. He wants to be more than the subject of a Sunday morning worship service and occasional prayer or Bible study. He wants to be the center of our lives, the Object of our thoughts and affections, the King of our choices. He wants to lead us into "life to the full" (John 10:10), but we must open his gift.

This morning's reading in Oswald Chambers' My Utmost For His Highest is my favorite essay in this classic devotional guide: "There is only one relationship that matters, and that is your personal relationship to a personal Redeemer and Lord. Let everything else go, but maintain that at all costs, and God will fulfill His purpose through your life. One individual life may be of priceless value to God's purposes, and yours may be that life."

How will you maintain your relationship with Jesus "at all costs" today?

_____________________________

_____________________________

Join Our Community:

Copyright © 2009, Center for Informed Faith. All rights reserved.

Read previous essays

Forward GodIssues to a Friend

Center for Informed Faith | 333 N Washington Ave | Dallas | TX | 75246

Ku Klux Klan - Blonde Version

2009-11-12T23:34:00.002-06:00

A Blonde in a Baptist Church

An Alabama preacher said to his congregation,
'Someone in this congregation has spread a
rumor that I belong to the Ku Klux Klan. It is a
horrible lie and one which a Christian community
cannot tolerate. I am embarrassed and do not
intend to accept this. Now, I want the party who
did this to stand and ask forgiveness from God
and this Christian Family.'

No one moved.

The preacher continued, 'Do you have the nerve
to face me and admit this is a falsehood?
Remember, you will be forgiven and in your heart
you will feel glory Now stand and confess your
transgression.'

Again all was quiet.

Then slowly, a drop-dead gorgeous blonde with
a body that would stop traffic rose from the third
pew. Her head was bowed and her voice quivered
as she spoke, 'Reverend there has been a terrible
misunderstanding. I never said you were a member
of the Ku Klux Klan. I simply told a couple of my
friends that you were a wizard under the sheets.'

The preacher fell to his knees, his wife fainted,
and the congregation roared!

God Issues: 156 billion years of grace

2009-11-11T23:42:00.001-06:00

InformedFaith.com

By Dr. James C. Denison
President, Center for Informed Faith, Dallas, Texas

November 11, 2009

Topic: unconditional grace

156 billion years of grace

World War I formally ended on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, when Germany signed the Armistice. As a result, Veterans Day is observed each year on November 11, a holiday honoring all military veterans.

In a tragic reminder of the price our military pays to defend us, the Associated Press is reporting this morning that divers have found the body of one of two American soldiers missing since last week in Afghanistan. They were attempting to retrieve airdropped supplies that fell into a river when they were swept away by the current. The second soldier has not been found.

If God is all-loving and all-powerful, why is our world so broken?

This week we have considered the shortest verse in Scripture: "Jesus wept." He proved his compassion by his Christmas incarnation. He was the only baby who chose his parents and place of birth, and he chose peasants in a cave. If he would be born there, he would be born again in your heart and mine.

This is not a God the world knows. Muslims have a God of legalistic enforcement but not a weeping heart. Buddhists and Hindus have no category for a personal, suffering God. Most Americans think that God helps those who help themselves. Honestly, do you picture the Lord of the universe with tears in his eyes?

And tears in his heart? God's word says, "We do not have a High Priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are-yet was without sin" (Hebrews 4:15).

I know it seems nonsensical to say that Jesus faced every temptation we do. The first century didn't have marijuana, or sexually explicit movies or web sites. But sins in principle have not changed, just their expression. Substance abuse, sexual temptation, integrity issues and moral failures were just as real then as today.

Jesus faced them all, and more than we do. The longer you withstand a temptation, the harder and more subtle it becomes. If you won't embezzle funds at work, perhaps you'll shade an expense report or tax deduction. Because he never sinned, Jesus faced sin and temptation we know nothing about.

And so he knows your temptations, your pain, your suffering, your disappointments, your problems and questions and dilemmas. He knows them better than you do. He sees them with the infinite insight only possessed by God himself. He knows your hurting heart. And he weeps.

Why do you need a God of such empathy today? What temptations or trials are you battling this morning? Name them, and give them intentionally to Jesus. Tell him that you are placing your problem in his hands. Know that "nothing is impossible with God" (Luke 1:37). Claim the biblical fact: "greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world" (1 John 4:4). Rejoice in the truth that you can "do all things through Christ who gives you strength" (Philippians 4:13).

Some scientists believe that it takes light 156 billion years to cross the universe. Scripture says that God measures all of that in the palm of his hand (Isaiah 40:12). Now, what's your problem?

_____________________________

The Center for Informed Faith is sponsoring a Bible study tour of Israel February 21-March 2, 2010. The "In His Steps" tour brings Scripture alive as it traces the steps of Jesus and his early followers through the Holy Land. Sites include Nazareth, Bethlehem, the Sea of Galilee, Capernaum, the Jordan River, Jerusalem, Caesarea, and other sacred places. This walk through biblical history and culture will deepen your faith and understanding of Scripture as Dr. Denison explores the historical and spiritual background of each site and Dr. Mike Fanning discusses its archaeological significance. A $300 per- person deposit is due by November 20, 2009 to insure a spot on the tour. Inquiries after that date will be filled on a space-available basis only. All monies paid before the December 20 final payment date are fully refundable except for a $100 cancellation fee per person. For more information, please visit www.InformedFaith.com.

Copyright © 2009, Center for Informed Faith. All rights reserved.

Read previous essays

Nubs the Miracle Dog

2009-11-09T22:23:00.001-06:00

Great story!

http://www.pawnation.com/2009/11/03/nubs-the-true-story-of-a-mutt-a-marine-and-a-miracle/?icid=main|main|dl3|link3|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pawnation.com%2F2009%2F11%2F03%2Fnubs-the-true-story-of-a-mutt-a-marine-and-a-miracle%2F

Dallas Justice Revival with Jim Wallis starts tomorrow!

2009-11-09T10:48:00.001-06:00

Dear Paul,

The Justice Revival begins tomorrow at 7 p.m. at Dallas Market Hall. If you haven’t already registered, we hope you’ll do so and come out to hear from Jim Wallis, Rev. Sam Rodriguez, Mayor Leppert, and Dr. Zan Holmes. You also won’t want to miss passionate worship each night led by Jaci Velasquez, Salvador, Israel & New Breed, and Fred Hammond.

Register now for this free event.

Come November 10, 11, and 12 when doors open at 6 p.m., or come at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday when the Ignite Greater Works Exhibition Hall will be open in the North Hall. You will have the opportunity to see the work of many local nonprofits and community organizations doing the work of justice. (Note: There will be no exhibition Thursday night).

If you're planning to bring anyone with you who hasn't already registered, have them do so at http://justicerevival.eventbrite.com to expedite the registration process. However, pre-registration is not required for entry.

For more information, click here to visit the Justice Revival site.

Dallas Market Hall is located next to the tall Renaissance Hotel off I-35 E. The address is 2200 N. Stemmons Fwy., Dallas, 75207. There is plenty of free parking around the building.

Please join us in praying for the success of this revival — that we might grow together in faith and in our commitment to pursue justice.

Blessings,

The Justice Revival Team

P.S. On-site registration will be available, so make sure to bring a friend to the Justice Revival!

________

God Issues: Tragedy at Fort Hood

2009-11-06T08:44:00.001-06:00

InformedFaith.com

By Dr. James C. Denison
President, The Center for Informed Faith, Dallas, Texas

November 6, 2009

Topic: hope in grief

Tragedy at Fort Hood

The war has come home. Fort Hood is home to 52,000 Army personnel. Located halfway between Austin and Waco, Texas, it has lost more troops in Iraq than any other base. Now it has lost 12 more. As you know, an Army psychiatrist about to be deployed to overseas combat killed 12 soldiers yesterday afternoon and wounded 31 others. Initial reports said that he was killed by police; later we learned that he has survived and is in stable condition.

Major Nidal Malik Hasan was born in Virginia to Jordanian parents. Today's New York Times reports that he is single, and that he has listed no religious preference. He was apparently distraught about his upcoming deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan.

Yesterday afternoon, he took two handguns to a deployment center where soldiers receive last-minute medical attention and instructions before they are shipped out overseas. A few moments later, as President Obama said last night, the "horrific outburst of violence" unfolded.

We have learned again that no place on our fallen planet is safe. The Pentagon and Twin Towers became killing fields eight years ago; now an Army base intended to shelter our soldiers will be marked forever by this tragedy. If a military installation cannot protect its own, who of us is secure this morning?

This is a day to grieve with suffering families traumatized beyond words. It is a day to pray for them and for those who are walking with them through this valley of heartache. And it is a day to remember that life is fragile and brief, but eternity is secure.

Paul's testimony is our model: "We do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal" (2 Corinthians 4:16-18).

This time yesterday, none of us knew that Fort Hood would lead this morning's news. Today is the dot before the line, the moment before eternity begins. The best way to begin this Friday is to surrender it to the God who redeems all we entrust to him.

Last night, Janet and I were discussing the Fort Hood tragedy and she showed me a statement which she included in an upcoming Bible study. Esteemed biblical scholar William Barclay: "The only way to get our values right is to see, not the beginning, but the end of the way, to see things, not in the light of time, but in the light of eternity."

How do you see things this morning?

_____________________________

The Center for Informed Faith is sponsoring a Bible study tour of Israel February 21-March 2, 2010. The "In His Steps" tour brings Scripture alive as it traces the steps of Jesus and his early followers through the Holy Land. Sites include Nazareth, Bethlehem, the Sea of Galilee, Capernaum, the Jordan River, Jerusalem, Caesarea, and other sacred places. This walk through biblical history and culture will deepen your faith and understanding of Scripture as Dr. Denison explores the historical and spiritual background of each site and Dr. Mike Fanning discusses its archaeological significance. A $300 per- person deposit is due by November 20, 2009 to insure a spot on the tour. Inquiries after that date will be filled on a space-available basis only. All monies paid before the December 20 final payment date are fully refundable except for a $100 cancellation fee per person. For more information, please visit www.InformedFaith.com.

Copyright © 2009, Center for Informed Faith. All rights reserved.

Read previous essays

God Issues: Will you get the swine flu?

2009-11-03T18:11:00.001-06:00

InformedFaith.com

By Dr. James C. Denison
President, Center for Informed Faith, Dallas, Texas

November 3, 2009

Topic: divine leadership

Will you get the swine flu?

According to today's Wall Street Journal, nearly everyone is exposed to influenza viruses in a normal flu season. However, no more than 20 percent of the population contracts the illness. Will you be the one in five this year?

Scientists at Duke University are working on a way to tell. They have discovered the handful of genes which are activated by viruses in people who eventually become sick. They are trying to develop a device about the size of a BlackBerry which can quickly determine if you are on the way to being sick.

If you're going on vacation, you could adjust your plans. Schools could anticipate the spread of flu infections. Soldiers could be tested before they are deployed for various missions. People are contagious for a day before they show symptoms, so such a test could slow the spread of disease.

Unfortunately, current methods to detect gene changes usually take days or weeks-by that time you're already sick and hopefully well. Researchers are working on a test which can detect gene changes quickly enough to be useful.

The Chinese have a saying: to predict is difficult, especially with regard to the future. Thomas Edison said of his invention in 1880, "The phonograph is not of any commercial value." Grover Cleveland announced in 1905, "Sensible and responsible women do not want to vote." Thomas J. Watson, chairman of IBM, said in 1943, "I think there is a world market for about five computers."

Ken Olson, president of Digital Equipment Corporation, predicted in 1977, "There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in their home." Baseball player Tris Speaker claimed in 1921, "Ruth made a big mistake when he gave up pitching."

The good news is that the Great Physician already knows whether you'll get the swine flu this week or catch a cold today. As we learned in yesterday's essay, "even the very hairs of your head are all numbered" (Matthew 10:30). You and I are trapped in the space-time continuum, bound to this moment, experiencing life as a series of chronological events. God stands outside all of that, as a writer stands outside the characters whose lives he records.

As a result, the only safe way to step into this day is to follow the lead of our omniscient Father. Speaking to his suffering people, the Lord promised, "Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, 'This is the way; walk in it'" (Isaiah 30:21). Have you made time to listen for that voice yet today?

_____________________________

The Center for Informed Faith is sponsoring a Bible study tour of Israel February 21-March 2, 2010. The "In His Steps" tour brings Scripture alive as it traces the steps of Jesus and his early followers through the Holy Land. Sites include Nazareth, Bethlehem, the Sea of Galilee, Capernaum, the Jordan River, Jerusalem, Caesarea, and other sacred places. This walk through biblical history and culture will deepen your faith and understanding of Scripture as Dr. Denison explores the historical and spiritual background of each site and Dr. Mike Fanning discusses its archaeological significance. A $300 per- person deposit is due by November 20, 2009 to insure a spot on the tour. Inquiries after that date will be filled on a space-available basis only. All monies paid before the December 20 final payment date are fully refundable except for a $100 cancellation fee per person. For more information, please visit www.InformedFaith.com.

Copyright © 2009, Center for Informed Faith. All rights reserved.

Seminar Series featuring Dr. Jim Denison

2009-10-30T08:14:00.001-05:00

FBC Plano

in cooperation with

FBC Richardson and The Heights

presents

Seminar Dates

November 1

November 8

November 15

Quick Links

FBC Plano website

God Issues

(Dr. Denison's website)

CURRENT EVENTS

from a BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVE

by Dr. Jim Denison

Dear Paul,

Bring your unchurched or seeking friends with you to share an important time with Dr. Jim Denison, President of the Center for Informed Faith, speaking on current issues from a biblical perspective.

November 1, 2009

"Questions about Evil and Suffering"

6:30 p.m.

FBC Plano Sanctuary

(view map)

November 8, 2009

"What about the End Times and Israel?"

6:30 p.m.

FBC Richardson Sanctuary

(view map)

November 15, 2009

"Why 9/11? Questions about Radical Islam"

6:30 p.m.

The Heights Sanctuary

(view map)

There is no charge to attend these events.
FBC Plano ~ 1300 East 15th Street ~ Plano, TX 75074 ~ 972-424-8551 ~ fbc@fbcplano.org

We Want Your Opinion

Do you like receiving promotions of special events happening at FBC Plano? Would you be interested in emails that focus on things happening in the immediate future? Use this link to send us an email telling us what you think.

Forward email

Email Marketing by

First Baptist Church of Plano | 1300 East 15th St | Plano | TX | 75074

Blue Roses

2009-10-11T15:52:00.001-05:00

Why do I always have to be the one that starts to do laundry and there's no detergent? Well, I guess it was time for me to do my store run, which included light bulbs, paper towels, trash bags and Clorox. So off I go.

I scurried around the store, gathered up my goodies, and headed for the checkout counter only to be blocked in the narrow aisle by a young man that appeared to be about sixteen-years-old. I wasn't in a hurry, so I patiently waited for the boy to realize that I was there. This was when he waved his hands excitedly in the air and declared in a loud voice, "Mommy, I'm over here."

It was obvious now, he was mentally challenged, and also startled as he turned and saw me standing so close to him, waiting to squeeze by. His eyes widened and surprise exploded on his face as I said, "Hey Buddy, what's your name?"

"My name is Denny and I'm shopping with my mother," he responded proudly. "Wow," I said, "that's a cool name; I wish my name was Denny, but my name is Hal."

"Hal, like Halloween?" he asked.

"Yes," I answered. "How old are you Denny?"

"How old am I now, Mommy?" he asked his mother as she slowly came over from the next aisle. "You're fifteen-years-old Denny; now be a good boy and let the man pass by."

I acknowledged her and continued to talk to Denny for several more minutes about summer, bicycles and school. I watched his brown eyes dance with excitement because he was the center of someone's attention. He then abruptly turned and headed toward the toy section.

Denny's mom had a puzzled look on her face and thanked me for taking the time to talk with her son. She told me that most people wouldn't even look at him, much less talk to him. I told her that it was my pleasure and then I said something I have no idea where it came from, other than by the prompting of the Holy Spirit.

I told her that there are plenty of red, yellow and pink roses in God's garden, however, "Blue Roses" are very rare and should be appreciated for their beauty and distinctiveness. You see, Denny is a Blue Rose and if someone doesn't stop and smell that rose with their heart and touch that rose with their kindness, then they've missed a blessing from God.

She was silent for a second, then with a tear in her eye she asked, "Who are you?"

Without thinking I said, "Oh, I'm probably just a dandelion but I sure love living in God's garden."

Please the next time you see a BLUE ROSE don't turn your head and walk off, take the time to smile and say Hello. Because by the grace of GOD this mother could be you. This could be your child, grandchild, niece, nephew. What a difference a moment can mean to that person or their family.

From an old dandelion.

Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly.
Leave the rest to God.

Justice Revival Comes to Dallas

2009-10-10T08:36:00.001-05:00

Q&A with Jim Wallis
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/opinion/points/stories/DN-pointperson_11edi.State.Edition1.2d45735.html

Justice Revival's Dallas Effort Could Affect Many
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/opinion/points/stories/DN-pointperson_11edi.State.Edition1.2d45735.html

Calvin & Hobbes, Week of Oct 05th

2009-10-05T11:50:00.001-05:00

http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2009/10/05/

To view strips before/after Monday, use the forward and backward buttons.

Calvin & Hobbes, Week of Sep 28th

2009-10-01T09:22:00.000-05:00

http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2009/09/28/

To view strips before/after Monday, use the forward and backward buttons.

AARP Humor

2009-10-01T09:16:00.001-05:00

Q: Where can men over the age of 60 find younger, sexy women who are interested in them?
A: Try a bookstore under fiction.

Q: What can a man do while his wife is going through menopause?
A: Keep busy. If you're handy with tools, you can finish the
basement. When you are done you will have a place to live.

Q: Someone has told me that menopause is mentioned in the Bible. Is that true? Where can it be found ?
A: Yes.. Matthew 14:92: 'And Mary rode Joseph's ass all the way to Egypt.'

Q: How can you increase the heart rate of your 60+ year old husband?
A: Tell him you're pregnant.

Q: How can you avoid that terrible curse of the elderly wrinkles?
A: Take off your glasses.

Q: Seriously! What can I do for these crow's feet and all those wrinkles on my face?
A: Go braless. It will usually pull them out.

Q: Why should 60+ year old people use valet parking?
A: Valets don't forget where they park your car.

Q: Is it common for 60+ year olds to have problems with short term memory storage?
A: Storing memory is not a problem, retrieving it is a problem.

Q: As people age, do they sleep more soundly?
A: Yes, but usually in the afternoon.

Q: Where should 60+ year olds look for eye glasses?
A: On their foreheads.

Q: What is the most common remark made by 60+ year olds when they enter antique stores?
A: 'Gosh, I remember these.

Smile, At least you've still got your sense of humor, right?

Johnny Carson on YouTube

2009-09-27T16:06:00.000-05:00

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=johnny+carson&search_type=&aq=0&oq=johnny+carso

Mal Hasty

2009-09-26T11:33:00.003-05:00

Ken Blumberg wrote:

Just found this article on facebook while looking for his son Tedd. Proudly I officiated football with Mal for 25 years and worked with him at Pier for 20. There is not a more Christian person that I have ever know. Hope you enjoy.

http://baker-oandp.com/patients.asp#malvern

God Issues: The Revenge Industry

2009-09-22T08:17:00.001-05:00

InformedFaith.com

By Dr. James C. Denison
President, The Center for Informed Faith, Dallas, Texas

September 22, 2009

Topic: how to forgive

The Revenge Industry

The Wall Street Journal once carried a front-page article describing the so-called "Revenge Industry." This is a new kind of business which caters to those who have been wronged and are unwilling to forgive.

"Revenge Unlimited" is one example-through its website it sells dead flowers, black roses, boxes of fish heads, melted chocolates, and stones with curses on them. Drop Dead Florist offers "revenge with a touch of class." The Voodoo Boutique will sell you a variety of magic-spell kits and voodoo dolls for the person you hate.

Only in America, you say? No, the Revenge Industry is as old as Cain, the brother of Abel, and as appealing to us as it was to him.

Yesterday we learned that biblical forgiveness is pardon, choosing not to punish. Now let's consider what forgiveness is not. Biblical forgiveness is not forgetting the pain. You do not have the human ability to do this. God can "remember our sins no more" (Jeremiah 31:34), but we cannot.

Biblical forgiveness is not excusing the person, pretending the pain did not happen. Ignoring the conflict will not make it go away. You can leave a splinter in your thumb, learning not to use the appendage; you can wear gloves to hide the wound; you can take pain-killers when it throbs. But the splinter is still there, and the injury and infection it causes will only get worse as time goes on.

Biblical forgiveness is not toleration. It is not merely accepting that this is the way your enemy is. Then nothing is solved or resolved.

Biblical forgiveness is pardon, choosing not to punish even though you could. When the governor pardons a criminal, he or she does not forget the crime, or excuse the criminal, or ignore the situation, or tolerate the problem. The governor chooses not to punish the criminal, even though such an action would be warranted by the law. The criminal deserves what the governor chooses not to do.

You may be thinking that you cannot do this-the pain is too great, the hurt too deep, their spirit too unrepentant. Such pardon may be beyond you, but it's not beyond the God in you.

Think of all Jacob did to his brother Esau, stealing his birthright and family position. But there came a time, years later, when "Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him; he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him. And they wept" (Genesis 33.4).

Think of all Joseph's brothers did to him-selling him into slavery, stealing years from his life, separating him from his father and family for multiplied years of imprisonment and suffering. But at the end of it all, Genesis 45:15 says "And [Joseph] kissed all his brothers and wept over them."

Stephen was the first Christian martyr. As the religious authorities were stoning him to death, "Stephen prayed, 'Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.' Then he fell on his knees and cried out, 'Lord do not hold this sin against them.' When he had said this, he fell asleep" (Acts 7:59-60).

If they could pardon, so can we, with God's help. Let's learn how, tomorrow.

Copyright © 2009, Center for Informed Faith. All rights reserved.

Read previous essays

Forward email

Calvin & Hobbes, Week of Sep 21st

2009-09-21T10:04:00.000-05:00

http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2009/09/21/

To view strips before/after Monday, use the forward and backward buttons.

Living for Zachary

2009-09-16T09:48:00.001-05:00

How the death of a Plano East football player inspired change.

http://www.hsgametime.com/dfw/sharedcontent/dws/content/topstories/stories/091609dnmetzachary2.1813eef84.html

Calvin & Hobbes, Week of Sep 14th

2009-09-14T15:38:00.001-05:00

http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2009/09/14/

To view strips before/after Monday, use the forward and backward buttoms.

DART rolls in new era with Green Line opening

2009-09-14T15:35:00.000-05:00

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/091409dnmetdartgreen.43d0b4e.html

Hunger in America is Increasing

2009-09-08T14:38:00.000-05:00

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/07032009/watch2.html

Faith and Social Justice

2009-09-08T11:21:00.001-05:00

What do we believe and how do we behave? Highly recommended.

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/07032009/watch.html

Calvin & Hobbes, Week of Sep 07th

2009-09-08T11:20:00.000-05:00

http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2009/09/07/

To view strips before/after Monday, use the forward and backward buttoms.

How American Health Care Killed My Father

2009-08-31T11:47:00.002-05:00

PLEASE READ THIS! A real path for health reform.

http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200909/health-care

Calvin & Hobbes, Week of Aug 31st

2009-08-31T11:46:00.000-05:00

http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2009/08/31/

To view strips before/after Monday, use the forward and backward buttoms.

Calvin & Hobbes, Week of Aug 24th

2009-08-28T00:32:00.001-05:00

http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2009/08/24/

To view strips before/after Monday, use the forward and backward buttoms.

Calvin & Hobbes, Weeks of Aug 10th & 17th

2009-08-18T09:23:00.002-05:00

http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2009/08/10/

http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2009/08/17/

To view strips before/after Monday, use the forward and backward buttoms.

Did You Know?

2009-08-04T17:12:00.001-05:00

Intriguing information about our world. Video shown to Sony executives earlier this year.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cL9Wu2kWwSY

Calvin & Hobbes, Week of Aug 03th

2009-08-04T07:12:00.000-05:00

http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2009/08/03/

To view strips after Monday, change the date in the URL.

Dave Bliss coaches others on lessons he's learned

2009-07-21T23:43:00.000-05:00

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/stories/072209dnspobliss.31ca8d8.html

Today's Kate Pictures

2009-07-19T19:47:00.001-05:00

The last 10 are pictures of Kate, Great Grandpa Bruce, and others at Linda's birthday party today.

http://picasaweb.google.com/paulw.gray/KateEarly#

Calvin & Hobbes, Week of Jul 13th

2009-07-13T16:03:00.002-05:00

http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2009/07/13/

To view strips after Monday, change the date in the URL.

God Issues: Sonia Sotomayor and your soul

2009-07-13T10:49:00.001-05:00

InformedFaith.com | Subscribe or change your address here

By Dr. James C. Denison
President, Center for Informed Faith, Dallas, Texas
July 13, 2009
Topic: judgment and grace
Sonia Sotomayor and your soul

What are your plans for the week? If you're in Texas, you're searching for air conditioning anywhere you can find it. If you're a baseball fan, you'll probably watch tonight's home run competition and tomorrow's All Star game. If you're Sonia Sotomayor, you're beginning the longest week of your life.

As you probably know, Sotomayor's Senate confirmation hearings begin today. This morning's USA Today reminds us that Sotomayor, if confirmed, would be the first Hispanic and the third woman on the U.S. Supreme Court. Her hearings will be nationally televised, and every word she says will be scrutinized. The sermon I need to finish today kind of pales by comparison.

But the fact is that I am in precisely the same position as Ms. Sotomayor. Hebrews 9:27 is clear: "Man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment." Paul testified that "each of us will give an account of himself to God" (Romans 14:12). He told the Corinthians, "We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad" (2 Corinthians 5:10).

What "things"? Solomon warned us that "God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil" (Ecclesiastes 12:14). Jesus concurred: "There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs" (Luke 12:2-3). Even our private words will be judged by God: "I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken" (Matthew 12:36-37).

In other words, God wants to be the King of every part and moment of our lives. Jesus began his ministry by announcing that "the kingdom of God is at hand" (Matthew 4:17, ESV). His kingdom comes wherever his will is done, on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10). If God is your King, you're sitting in his chair this morning, reading this essay on his computer, typing with his fingers, breathing his air. As the King of the realm, he will require an accounting of the way we use his possessions and serve his purposes.

This is a sobering topic for a Monday morning. But there's good news on two fronts. First, serving God as your King is the wisest way to live this day. He loves you passionately, and wants only your best. His will is always for his glory and your good. Second, if Jesus is your Lord, your Judge is also your Father. He is anxious to forgive every sin you'll confess and restore you to an intimate, personal relationship with himself. If Sonia Sotomayor's parents were the only people allowed to vote on her confirmation, she'd be in your position today.

So begin your week by asking your King what you can do for him this morning. Then rejoice that he's asking you the same question. This is the grace and the promise of God.

Copyright © 2009, Center for Informed Faith. All rights reserved.

Read previous essays.

Calvin & Hobbes, Weeks of Jun 29th & Jul 06th

2009-07-08T20:45:00.000-05:00

http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2009/06/29/

http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2009/07/06/

To view strips after Monday, use 'Next day.'

Crabby Old Man

2009-07-04T08:02:00.003-05:00

When an old man died in the geriatric ward of a nursing home in North Platte, Nebraska , it was believed that he had nothing left of any value.

Later, when the nurses were going through his meager possessions, They found this poem. Its quality and content so impressed the staff that copies were made and distributed to every nurse in the hospital.

One nurse took her copy to Missouri. The old man's sole bequest to posterity has since appeared in the Christmas edition of the News Magazine of the St. Louis Association for Mental Health. A slide presentation has also been made based on his simple, but eloquent, poem.

And this little old man, with nothing left to give to the world, is now the author of this 'anonymous' poem winging across the Internet.

Crabby Old Man

What do you see nurses? ..What do you see?
What are you thinking . .when you're looking at me?
A crabby old man, .. . not very wise,
Uncertain of habit .. with faraway eyes?

Who dribbles his food . . and makes no reply.
When you say in a loud voice . 'I do wish you'd try!'
Who seems not to notice . .the things that you do.
And forever is losing .. .A sock or shoe?

Who, resisting or not . . lets you do as you will,
With bathing and feeding .. .The long day to fill?
Is that what you're thinking? . Is that what you see?
Then open your eyes, nurse . . you're not looking at me.

I'll tell you who I am .. . As I sit here so still,
As I do at your bidding, . as I eat at your will..
I'm a small child of Ten . . with a father and mother,
Brothers and sisters . . who love one another

A young boy of Sixteen . .with wings on his feet
Dreaming that soon now . .. a lover he'll meet.
A groom soon at Twenty . my heart gives a leap.
Remembering, the vows . .that I promised to keep.

At Twenty-Five, now .. I have young of my own.
Who need me to guide .. . And a secure happy home.
A man of Thirty .. . My young now grown fast,
Bound to each other .. . With ties that should last.

At Forty, my young sons .. have grown and are gone,
But my woman's beside me . . to see I don't mourn.
At Fi fty, once more, .. Babies play ' round my knee,
Again, we know children .. . My loved one and me.

Dark days are upon me . . My wife is now dead.
I look at the future ...I shudder with dread.
For my young are all rearing . ..young of their own.
And I think of the years . . And the love that I've known.

I'm now an old man . . .and nature is cruel.
Tis jest to make old age . look like a fool.
The body, it crumbles . . grace and vigor, depart.
There is now a stone . . where I once had a heart.

But inside this old carcass .. A young guy still dwells,
And now and again . . my battered heart swells
I remember the joys . . I remember the pain.
And I'm loving and living . . life over again.

I think of the years . all too few . . gone too fast.
And accept the stark fact . . that nothing can last.
So open your eyes, people . . open and see.
Not a crabby old man . Look closer . .. . . see . . . . . . . . ME!!

Remember this poem when you next meet an older person who you might brush aside without looking at the young soul within .. . . . . we will all, one day, be there, too!

PLEASE SHARE THIS POEM

The best and most beautiful things of this world can't be seen or touched . They must be felt by the heart .

Bob Wills and the Three Stooges

2009-06-30T19:14:00.001-05:00

Music AND comedy. Thanks, Mike.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGKvobvlnMU&feature=related

Today

2009-06-29T21:42:00.001-05:00

http://www.bellsouthpwp.net/c/o/couchmt/cardofweek/today.html

Techie Humor Video - Lotusphere 2009

2009-06-27T23:58:00.000-05:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruB1W8mQEpw

Calvin & Hobbes, Week of Jun 22nd

2009-06-26T09:06:00.000-05:00

http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2009/06/22/

To view strips after Monday, use 'Next day.'

God Issues: Satan is a great economist

2009-06-25T07:01:00.002-05:00

InformedFaith.com | Subscribe or change your address here By Dr. James C. Denison
President, The Center for Informed Faith, Dallas, Texas
June 25, 2009
Topic: sexual morality
Satan is a great economist

It's the stuff of soap operas and late-night monologues. As you have probably seen in the news, South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford went missing from the capitol for six days. Two days ago, his office claimed that the governor was hiking the Appalachian Trail. Today's Wall Street Journal tells us what really happened: Mr. Sanford went to Argentina to visit a woman with whom he was having an extramarital affair. Now his political future is uncertain at best.

Here’s a prediction: sexual sin will be in the news again tomorrow. And next week. And the week after. According to a recent anonymous survey, 53% of Americans say they would have an affair if given the chance. 92% of sexually active people say they have had ten or more partners in their lives.

What does God think of our sexual ethics? Colossians 3:5: "Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed, which is idolatry." 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 adds: "Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor male prostitutes, nor homosexual offenders, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor slanderers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God." In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus articulated the purest standard to be found in all of literature: "I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart" (Matthew 5:28).

Why is sexual immorality wrong? First, it destroys the family. Dr. Frank Pittman, an internationally renowned expert on sexuality and marriage, reported in The New York Times that in 37 years of practice as a therapist, he has encountered only two cases of first marriages ending in divorce where adultery was not involved. Of those who break up their marriages to marry someone else, 80% are sorry later. Only 10% actually marry the person with whom they had an affair, and 70% of those who do later get another divorce.

Second, sexual impurity destroys our witness. The only credibility for a Christian is his or her character. If that is ruined, our witness and ministry are ruined. And Satan knows this, for he is a great economist. If he can persuade us to sin sexually, even one time, he knows that our witness and ministry will be ruined, perhaps forever. Do you suppose it's a coincidence that the great failures among prominent ministers in recent years have been sexual in nature?

What do we do to affair-proof our marriages and souls? Let's continue our conversation tomorrow.

Copyright © 2009, Center for Informed Faith. All rights reserved.

Read previous essays.

Today's Quotes

2009-06-23T07:05:00.002-05:00

"Shared joy is a double joy; shared sorrow is half sorrow."
Swedish proverb

"Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are stiffened." Billy Graham

"Let go of your attachment to being right, and suddenly your mind is more open. You're able to benefit from the unique viewpoints of others, without being crippled by your own judgment." Ralph Marston

Internet for All Americans

2009-06-15T12:24:00.002-05:00

Support the infrastructure funding for rural and inter-city Internet.

http://InternetforEveryone.org

Daily Devotional by Max Lucado, June 15th

2009-06-15T07:12:00.001-05:00

Daily Devotional by Max Lucado

“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”

June 15

Who Is the Servant?

The Son of Man came to find lost people and save them.

Luke 19:10 (NCV)

Martha is worried about something good. She's having Jesus over for dinner. She's literally serving God. Her aim was to please Jesus. But she made a common, yet dangerous mistake. As she began to work for him, her work became more important than her Lord. What began as a way to serve Jesus, slowly and subtly became a way to serve self....She has forgotten that the meal is to honor Jesus, not Martha....

It's easy to forget who is the servant and who is to be served.

From: He Still Moves Stones

Copyright (Word Publishing. , 1993)
Max Lucado

Calvin & Hobbes, Week of Jun 15th

2009-06-15T06:38:00.000-05:00

http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2009/06/15/

To view strips after Monday, use 'Next day.'

More Kate Pictures

2009-06-14T06:50:00.001-05:00

New pictures and commentary added several times a week - below at fobart.net. This week - swimming, rocking chair, and check-up.

--  Kate: http://www.fobart.net/fobartfam/       http://picasaweb.google.com/paulw.gray/KateEarly

Today's Quote

2009-06-14T06:34:00.001-05:00

"We have always known that heedless self-interest was bad morals; we know now that it is bad economics. Out of the collapse of a prosperity whose builders boasted their practicality has come the conviction that in the long run, economic morality pays." Franklin Roosevelt, in his second inaugural address, 1937

What Makes Us Happy?

2009-06-13T08:22:00.004-05:00

1 "It is social aptitude, not intellectual brilliance or social class, that leads to successful aging." 2 "Relationships matter more than anything else." (1-George Valliant, 2-Joshua Wolf Shenk)

"Some surprises: cholesterol levels at age 50 have nothing to do with health in old aga; regular physical exercise in college predicted late-life mental health." Joshua Wolf Shenk

From "The Atlantic," June 2009.

Just Texas

2009-06-13T06:44:00.002-05:00

This is a must read for all Texans, used-to-be Texans, adopted Texans or wanna-be Texans,

JUST TEXAS

Pep , Texas 79353
Smiley , Texas 78159
Paradise , Texas 76073
Rainbow , Texas 76077
Sweet Home , Texas 77987
Comfort , Texas 78013
Friendship, Texas 76530

Love the Sun?
Sun City , Texas 78628
Sunrise , Texas 76661
Sunset, Texas 76270
Sundown, Texas 79372
Sunray , Texas 79086
Sunny Side , Texas 77423

Want something to eat?
Bacon , Texas 76301
Noodle , Texas 79536
Oatmeal , Texas 78605
Turkey , Texas 79261
Trout , Texas 75789
Sugar Land , Texas 77479
Salty, Texas 76567
Rice , Texas 75155
Pearland , Texas 77581
Orange , Texas 77630
And top it off with:
Sweetwater , Texas 79556

Why travel to other cities? Texas has them all!
Detroit , Texas 75436
Cleveland , Texas 75436
Colorado City , Texas 79512
Denver City , Texas 79323
Klondike , Texas 75448
Nevada , Texas 75173
Memphis , Texas 79245
Miami , Texas 79059
Boston , Texas 75570
Santa Fe , Texas 77517
Tennessee Colony , Texas 75861
Reno , Texas 75462
Pasadena , Texas 77506
Columbus , Texas 78934

Feel like traveling outside the country?
Athens , Texas 75751
Canadian, Texas 79014
China , Texas 77613
Egypt , Texas 77436
Ireland , Texas 76538
Italy , Texas 76538
Turkey , Texas 79261
London , Texas 76854
New London , Texas 75682
Paris , Texas 75460
Palestine , Texas 75801

No need to travel to Washington D.C.
Whitehouse , Texas 75791

We even have a city named after our planet!
Earth , Texas 79031

We have a city named after our state
Texas City , Texas 77590

Exhausted?
Energy , Texas 76452

Cold?
Blanket , Texas 76432
Winters, Texas

Like to read about History?
Santa Anna , Texas
Goliad , Texas
Alamo , Texas
Gun Barrel City , Texas
Robert Lee , Texas

Need Office Supplies?
Staples, Texas 78670

Want to go into outer space?
Venus , Texas 76084
Mars , Texas 79062

You guessed it. It's on the state line.
Texline , Texas 79087

For the kids...
Kermit , Texas 79745
Elmo , Texas 75118
Nemo , Texas 76070
Tarzan , Texas 79783
Winnie , Texas 77665
Sylvester , Texas 79560

Other city names in Texas , to make you smile......
Frognot , Texas 75424
Bigfoot , Texas 78005
Hogeye , Texas 75423
Cactus , Texas 79013
Notrees , Texas 79759
Best, Texas 76932
Veribest , Texas 76886
Kickapoo , Texas 75763
Dime Box , Texas 77853
Old Dime Box , Texas 77853
Telephone , Texas 75488
Telegraph , Texas 76883
Whiteface , Texas 79379
Twitty, Texas 79079

And last but not least, the Anti-Al Gore City
Kilgore , Texas 75662

And our favorites...
Cut n Shoot, Texas
Gun Barrell City , Texas
Hoop And Holler, Texas
Ding Dong, Texas and, of course,
Muleshoe , Texas

Here is what Jeff Foxworthy has to say about folks from Texas ...

If someone in a Lowe's store offers you assistance and they don't work there, you may live in Texas ;

If you've worn shorts and a parka at the same time, you may live in Texas ;

If you've had a lengthy telephone conversation with someone who dialed a wrong number, you may live in Texas ;

If 'Vacation' means going anywhere south of Dallas for the weekend, you may live in Texas ;

If you measure distance in hours, you may live in Texas ;

If you know several people who have hit a deer more than once, you may live in Texas ;

If you install security lights on your house and garage, but leave both unlocked, you may live in Texas ;

If you carry jumper cables in your car and your wife knows how to use them, you may live in Texas

If the speed limit on the highway is 55 mph --you're going 80 and everybody's passing you, you may live in Texas ;

If you find 60 degrees 'a little chilly,' you may live in Texas ;

If you actually understand these jokes, and share them with all your Texas friends, you definitely live in Texas ..

Here are some little known, very interesting facts about Texas .
1. Beaumont to El Paso : 742 miles
2.. Beaumont to Chicago : 770 miles
3... El Paso is closer to California than to Dallas
4. World's first rodeo was in Pecos , July 4, 1883.
5. The Flagship Hotel in Galveston is the only hotel in North America built over water. (Now destroyed by Hurricane Ike)
6. The Heisman Trophy was named after John William Heisman who was the first full-time coach at Rice University in Houston .
7. Brazoria County has more species of birds than any other area in North America
8. Aransas Wildlife Refuge is the winter home of North America 's only remaining flock of whooping cranes.
9. Jalapeno jelly originated in Lake Jackson in 1978.
10. The worst natural disaster in U.S. history was in 1900, caused by a hurricane, in which over 8,000 lives were lost on Galveston Island .
11. The first word spoken from the moon, July 20,1969, was " Houston ," but the space center was actually in Clear Lake City at the time.
12. King Ranch in South Texas is larger than Rhode Island ..
13. Tropical Storm Claudette brought a U.S. rainfall record of 43' in 24 hours in and around Alvin in July of 1979...
14. Texas is the only state to enter the U.S. by TREATY, (known as the Constitution of 1845 by the Republic of Texas to enter the Union ) instead of by annexation. This allows the Texas Flag to fly at the same height as the U.S. Flag, and may divide into 5 states.
15. A Live Oak tree near Fulton is estimated to be 1500 years old.
16. Caddo Lake is the only natural lake in the state.
17. Dr Pepper was invented in Waco in 1885. There is no period in Dr Pepper..
18. Texas has had six capital cities:
Washington -on- the Brazos, Harrisburg , Galveston ,Velasco, West Columbia and Austin ..
19. The Capitol Dome in Austin is the only dome in the U.S. which is taller than the Capitol Building in Washington DC (by 7 feet).
20. The San Jacinto Monument is the tallest free standing monument in the world and it is taller than the Washington monument.
21. The name ' Texas ' comes from the Hasini Indian word 'tejas' meaning friends. Tejas is not Spanish for Texas ..
22. The State Mascot is the Armadillo (an interesting bit of trivia about the armadillo is they always have four babies. They have one egg, which splits into four, and they either have four males or four females.).
23. The first domed stadium in the U.S. was the Astrodome in Houston .

Cowboy's Ten Commandments posted on the wall at Cross Trails Church in Fairlie , Texas :
(1) Just one God.
(2) Honor yer Ma & Pa.
(3) No telling tales or gossipin'.
(4) Git yourself to Sunday meeting.
(5) Put nothin' before God.
(6) No foolin' around with another fellow's gal.
(7) No killin'.
(8) Watch yer mouth.
(9) Don't take what ain't yers.
(10) Don't be hankerin' for yer buddy's stuff.

Y'all git all that?

Calvin & Hobbes - Weeks of June 01st & 08th

2009-06-08T07:27:00.001-05:00

http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2009/06/01/

http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2009/06/08/

To view strips after Monday, use 'Next day.'

Bikini Body in 2 Weeks

2009-06-03T08:32:00.001-05:00

Here's a helpful article to help you get in shape.

http://health.yahoo.com/experts/gabbyguide/11596/bikini-body-in-2-weeks/

Stupid Quotes

2009-06-03T05:04:00.003-05:00

I found these interesting quotes searching for sources on the Quotation Page website.
http://www.quotationspage.com/

"The will to be stupid is a very powerful force, but there are always alternatives."
Lois McMaster Bujold, "Brothers in Arms"

"Stupid is forever, ignorance can be fixed."
Don Wood

"Stupid is a boundless concept."
Anonymous

Congress needs reform as much as credit card practices do

2009-06-02T23:43:00.000-05:00

http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2009/06/congress-needs-reform-as-much-as-credit-card-practices-do.html

Pains

2009-05-30T06:55:00.001-05:00

"When we become aware that we do not have to escape our pains ... those very pains are transformed from expressions of despair into signs of hope." Henri Nouwen

Long Story, Short - May 29, 2009

2009-05-29T18:10:00.001-05:00

Firefly Faith

There’s hardly anything in nature more magical than a firefly. “Lightnin’ bugs” are a spectacular finishing feature to sweet summer days. Maybe you haven’t noticed, but fireflies are less common than they used to be.

Museum of Science, Boston is teaming up with researchers from Tufts University and Fitchburg State College to figure out why. One of the theories is that ambient light from suburban sprawl is bedeviling these bright bugs by inhibiting their mating patterns. Those flashes of light you see are actually mating dances the males do in the dark.

So you do the logic: No dark, no dance, no baby fireflies.

Maybe there’s something the church can learn here. Is the “light” of our lives being overcome by the ambient light from the glare of culture? Or is the “light” of our lives dimmed by weariness? Complacency? Because of distance from God?

On Pentecost the followers of Jesus got a supercharged dose of light. Those flaming tongues moved them to excitement about Jesus, enabling them to become fireflies of faith. I wonder if celebrating Pentecost would do the same for you? You’ll only know if you show up for worship this week!

Come on Spirit light my fire,

Pastor Gary

Long Story, Short is a column I write on Friday to get you thinking about church on Sunday. You can read more of my writing at my blog Life to the Lees.

Here are two ideas you can use to talk to your kids about your faith and help them to see God at work all around them:

1.       Teach your kids how to catch fireflies in a Mason Jar and light their bedroom as they get active over the coming summer months. Be sure to tell your kids you’re going to release them as soon as they go to sleep.

2.       You can volunteer to help with firefly research by going to www.mos.org/fireflywatch.

Acts 2:1-21

The Coming of the Holy Spirit

2When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. ²And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. ³Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. ⁴All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.

5 Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. ⁶And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. ⁷Amazed and astonished, they asked, ‘Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? ⁸And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? ⁹Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, ¹⁰Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, ¹¹Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.’ ¹²All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, ‘What does this mean?’ ¹³But others sneered and said, ‘They are filled with new wine.’

Peter Addresses the Crowd

14 But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them: ‘Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. ¹⁵Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. ¹⁶No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:
¹⁷“In the last days it will be, God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,
   and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions,
   and your old men shall dream dreams.
¹⁸Even upon my slaves, both men and women,
   in those days I will pour out my Spirit;
     and they shall prophesy.
¹⁹And I will show portents in the heaven above
   and signs on the earth below,
     blood, and fire, and smoky mist.
²⁰The sun shall be turned to darkness
   and the moon to blood,
     before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day.
²¹Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

God Issues: Baseball and the Supreme Court

2009-05-28T07:48:00.001-05:00

odIssues.org | To Subscribe or change your address Click Here

today's news in spiritual perspective

By Dr. James C. Denison
President, The Center for Informed Faith, Dallas, Texas

May 27, 2009

Topic: our awesome Creator

Baseball and the Supreme Court

As you know, President Obama nominated Sonia Sotomayor yesterday for the Supreme Court. Critics are beginning to attack her record; supporters are preparing their defense. Whatever we think of her qualifications, today's Los Angeles Times reminds us that she issued the injunction in 1995 which saved the baseball season. The bad news is that she grew up cheering for the Yankees. I was present for their slaughter of our beloved Texas Rangers two days ago, and am trying to forgive the judge her baseball bias. Yankees fans illustrate the fact that God made us with the freedom to misuse our freedom.

Yesterday we took a moment to contemplate the uniqueness of our God-given design. Now consider the matter and energy out of which God made our universe. Imagine a wall with hundreds of dials. Each must be at exactly the right setting for carbon-based life to emerge in a suburb of the Milky Way. If the cosmic expansion of the universe had been a fraction less, it would have imploded billions of years ago; a fraction more intense and galaxies could not have formed. The odds of our universe's existence and design occurring by random chance would not be accepted by any gambler, anywhere on earth.

Picture a comet. Its vapor trail can be more than 10,000 miles long. But capture and bottle that "tail," and you discover that the amount of vapor actually present in your bottle is less than one cubic inch of space. Imagine traveling across the sky at the speed of light. You would fly for 4.5 billion years to reach the edges of the universe we can see through telescopes today. Yet the Bible says that God measures all of that with the palm of his hand (Isaiah 40:12). The creation reveals a remarkable Creator.

President Theodore Roosevelt and his good friend, the naturalist William Beebe, would sometimes stay at Roosevelt's family home. They would go out on its lawn at night. They would search the skies until they found the faint spot of light behind the lower left-hand corner of the Great Square of Pegasus. Then they would remember together:

            That is the Spiral Galaxy in Andromeda.

            It is as large as our Milky Way.

            It is one of a hundred million galaxies.

            It consists of one hundred billion suns,

            Each larger than our sun.

Then President Roosevelt would grin at Mr. Beebe and say, "Now I think we are small enough. Let's go to bed." Are you small enough to go to God this morning?

Copyright © 2009. GodIssues.org. All rights reserved.

Read previous God Issues.

Law of the Garbage Truck

2009-05-28T07:45:00.001-05:00

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Law of the Garbage Truck

One day I hopped in a taxi and we took off for the airport. We were driving in the right lane when suddenly a car pulled out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded, and missed the other car by just inches! The driver of the other car whipped his head around and started yelling at us.

My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean, he was really ok with what had happened. So I asked him, 'Why did you do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!'

This is when my taxi driver taught me what I now call the ‘Law of the Garbage Truck.'

He explained that many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to get rid of it and sometimes they will dump it on you. You, on the other hand, should never take it personally! Instead ... just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. This is your way of dusting it off and not spreading it to people you come in contact with at work, at home, or wherever.

The bottom line is that joy-filled people do not let garbage trucks take over their day. Life is too short to wake up in the morning with regrets, so love the people who treat you right. Forgive and also love the ones who don't.

Life is both what you make it and how you take it!

Have a garbage-free day!

Kate Baby Pictures

2009-05-28T07:20:00.001-05:00

Here's the official site for Kate Elaine Fobart pictures.

http://www.fobart.net/fobartfam/

Words from God

2009-05-28T06:32:00.003-05:00

This is an excerpt from "The Beloved" by Henri Nouwen.

"I have called you by name from the very beginning. You are mine and I am yours. You are my beloved, on you my favor rests. I have molded you in the depths of the earth and knitted you together in your mother's womb. I have carved you in the palm of my hand and hidden you in the shadow of my embrace. I look at you with infinite tenderness and care for you with a care more intimate than that of a mother for her child. I have counted every hair on your head and guided you at every step. Wherever you go, I go with you, and wherever you rest, I keep watch. I will give you food that will satisfy all your hunger and drink that will quench all your thirst. I will not hide my face from you. You are my beloved in whom I am well pleased.

Calvin & Hobbes - Week of May 25th

2009-05-26T21:51:00.000-05:00

http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2009/05/25/

To view strips after Monday, use 'Next day.'

Daily Devotional by Max Lucado, May 25th

2009-05-25T19:21:00.001-05:00

Daily Devotional by Max Lucado

“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”

May 25

Boldness Before the Throne

Let us, then, feel very sure that we can come before God's throne where there is grace.

Hebrews 4:16 (NCV)

Jesus tells us...,"When you pray, pray like this. 'Our Father who is in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come.'"

When you say, "Thy kingdom come," you are inviting the Messiah himself to walk into your world. "Come, my King! Take your throne in our land. Be present in my heart. Be present in my office. Come into my marriage. Be Lord of my family, my fears, and my doubts." This is no feeble request; it's a bold appeal for God to occupy every corner of your life.

[And] who are you to ask such a thing? Who are you to ask God to take control of your world? You are his child, for heavens sake! And so you ask boldly.

From: The Great House of God

Copyright (Word Publishing, 1997)
Max Lucado

Respect the Seniors

2009-05-25T07:22:00.002-05:00

Thanks, Roy.

No Earthly Good

2009-05-24T23:08:00.002-05:00

I’ve heard this phrase used about church people – “They’re so heavenly bound that they’re no earthly good.” The sentiment, of course, is that Christians get so focused on their eternal reward that the here and now doesn’t matter. The trouble is that bills still have to be paid, children have to be fed, the boss’s email has to be answered, and the customer has to be served. In this world, heaven will just have to wait.

Some followers of Jesus were present with him after his resurrection. He was asked, “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?”

His answer was, “That’s on a need to know basis, and you don’t need to know.” At least that’s the Gary paraphrased version. Then he ascended to heaven, and we can infer that the disciples were standing there gawking and looking toward heaven. Two angels appeared and said, “Why do you stand looking toward heaven?”

It was just like when your mother said, “Why are you just standing there looking at that mess?” What she really means is, “Get to work!” What the angels essentially said was, “Get to business doing what Jesus told you.”

Or, don’t be so heavenly focused that you’re no earthly good.

Jesus left the church to do the work of God, and if we waste our time watching the horizon for his return, we’re going to miss the bigger picture. We – the church – are truly the body of Christ and are to be busy being Jesus to others. Let’s consider how we Christians can shirk our reputation of being “no earthly good.”

Eyes to earth, and heart to heaven,

Pastor Gary Long, Gaithersburg, MD

Long Story, Short is a column I write on Friday to get you thinking about church on Sunday. You can read more of my writing at my blog Life to the Lees.

Acts 1:1-11

1:1 In the first book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning

1:2 until the day when he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen.

1:3 After his suffering he presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.

1:4 While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father. "This," he said, "is what you have heard from me;

1:5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now."

1:6 So when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?"

1:7 He replied, "It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority.

1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

1:9 When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.

1:10 While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them.

1:11 They said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven."

Father's Love Letter

2009-05-22T21:36:00.002-05:00

From YouTube poster UncleDadEddie:

"Warning! Watching this video may change your life. When I first heard Father's Love Letter I was inspired to put video to the song. I received the song from a friend who did not know the author. After research I found that it was narrated by Roy Lamont and written by Barry Adams.+

Visit author's site fathersloveletter.com and God Bless!

The Prairie Home Companion Homepage

2009-05-22T10:23:00.002-05:00

http://prairiehome.publicradio.org/

The audiocast is on NPR stations; Sundays 10 am -12 pm CST, 90.1 FM in the Dallas market.

Marine Tribute - Return to Makin Island

2009-05-22T06:15:00.001-05:00

Emotional Good-bye for Afghan-bound Marines

2009-05-21T14:48:00.000-05:00

Below is the first in a series that NPR is doing on this Marine unit who deployed to Afghanistan last week. You can follow on the web or listen on NPR (90.1 FM in Dallas-Fort Worth).

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=104267469

Pilot Point Revisited

2009-05-21T07:08:00.000-05:00

Current pictures of places in my home town, Pilot Point, Texas.

http://picasaweb.google.com/paulw.gray/PilotPointRevisited#

Calvin & Hobbes - Week of May 18th

2009-05-18T08:50:00.000-05:00

http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2009/05/18/

To view strips after Monday, use 'Next day.'

Calvin & Hobbes - Weeks of May 04th & 11th

2009-05-12T10:48:00.001-05:00

http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2009/05/04/

http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2009/05/11/

To view strips after Monday, use 'Next day.'

Daily Devotional by Max Lucado, May 8th

2009-05-08T11:38:00.001-05:00

Daily Devotional by Max Lucado

“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”

May 8

God Knows What He’s Doing

Surely I spoke of things I did not understand; I talked of things too wonderful for me to know.
Job 42:3 (NCV)

It's easy to thank God when he does what we want. But God doesn't always do what we want. Ask Job.

His empire collapsed, his children were killed, and what was a healthy body became a rage of boils. From whence came this torrent? From whence will come any help?

Job goes straight to God and pleads his case. His head hurts. His body hurts. His heart hurts. And God answers. Not with answers but with questions. An ocean of questions. . . . After several dozen questions ... Job has gotten the point. What is it?

The point is this: God owes no one anything. No reasons. No explanations. Nothing. If he gave them, we couldn't understand them.

God is God. He knows what he is doing. When you can't trace his hand, trust his heart.

From: The Inspirational Study Bible

Copyright (W Publishing Group, 1995)
Max Lucado

Faith

2009-05-06T14:52:00.000-05:00

Outstanding and inspiring read. Thanks, Mike and Ron.

http://www.gainesvilleregister.com/local/local_story_019144933.html

Calvin & Hobbes - Week of Apr 27th

2009-04-30T19:14:00.001-05:00

http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2009/04/27/

To view strips after Monday, use 'Next day.'

Calvin & Hobbes - Week of Apr 20th

2009-04-20T12:06:00.001-05:00

http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2009/04/20/

To view strips after Monday, use 'Next day.'

Calvin & Hobbes - Week of Apr 13th

2009-04-17T11:25:00.000-05:00

http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2009/04/13/

To view strips after Monday, use 'Next day.'

Daily Devotional by Max Lucado, Apr 17th

2009-04-17T11:24:00.001-05:00

Daily Devotional by Max Lucado

“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”

April 17

Got It All Figured Out

I look at your heavens, which you made with your fingers .... But why are people important to you?
Psalm 8:3-4 (NCV)

We understand how storms are created. We map solar systems and transplant hearts. We measure the depths of the oceans and send signals to distant planets. We... have studied the system and are learning how it works.

And, for some, the loss of mystery has led to the loss of majesty. The more we know, the less we believe. Strange, don't you think? Knowledge of the workings shouldn't negate wonder. Knowledge should stir wonder. Who has more reason to worship than the astronomer who has seen the stars?...

Ironically, the more we know, the less we worship. We are more impressed with our discovery of the light switch than with the one who invented electricity.. . .Rather than worship the Creator, we worship the creation (see Rom. 1:25).

No wonder there is no wonder. We've figured it all out.

From: In the Grip of Grace

Copyright (Word Publishing, 1996)
Max Lucado

Happy Easter - From the Bunny!

2009-04-11T22:15:00.000-05:00

http://www.dougpatton.com/custom/flash/rapeasterbunny.swf

Blondes Know How to Drive in Winter

2009-04-11T07:47:00.000-05:00

It was snowing heavily and blowing to the point that visibility was almost zero when the little blonde got off work. She made her way to her car and wondered how she was going to make it home. She sat in her car while it warmed up and thought about her situation.

She finally remembered her daddy's advice that if she got caught in a blizzard she should wait for a snow plow to come by and follow it. That way she would not get stuck in a snow drift. This made her feel much better and sure enough in a little while a snow plow went by and she started to follow it.

As she followed the snow plow she was feeling very smug as they continued and she was not having any problem with the blizzard conditions.

After an hour had passed, she was somewhat surprised when the snowplow stopped and the driver got out and came back to her car and signaled for her to roll down her window.
The snow plow driver wanted to know if she was all right as she had been following him for a long time.

She said that she was fine and told him of her daddy's advice to follow a snow plow when caught in a blizzard.

The driver replied that it was ok with him and she could continue if she wanted, but he was done with the Wal-Mart parking lot and was going over to Sears next.

Two Sources for Combating Racism

2009-04-10T11:22:00.001-05:00

Moderate Baptist source:
http://www.ethicsdaily.com/news.php?viewStory=13608
Arkansas Baptists used this film to begin a dialogue about racial reconciliation.

Lou Gossett Jr's Foundation to Combat Racism
http://www.eracismfoundation.org/

A Telescope for the Soul

2009-04-10T10:19:00.001-05:00

http://www.godissues.org/articles/articles/1532/1/A-telescope-for-the-soul/Page1.html

Daily Devotional by Max Lucado, Apr 10th

2009-04-10T09:29:00.002-05:00

Daily Devotional by Max Lucado

“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”

April 10

Call It Grace

Being made right with God by his grace, we could have the hope of receiving the life that never ends.
Titus 3:7 (NCV)

You may be decent. You may pay taxes and kiss your kids and sleep with a clean conscience. But apart from Christ you aren't holy. So how can you go to heaven?

Only believe. Accept the work already done, the work of Jesus on the cross.

Accept the goodness of Jesus Christ. Abandon your own works and accept his. Abandon your own decency and accept his. Stand before God in his name, not yours.

It's that easy? There was nothing easy about it at all. The cross was heavy, the blood was real, and the price was extravagant. It would have bankrupted you or me, so he paid it for us. Call it simple. Call it a gift. But don't call it easy.

Call it what it is. Call it grace.

From: A Gentle Thunder

"God Issues - an honest search for the ultimate truth"

2009-04-09T13:01:00.001-05:00

A good website for Christians and those who seek Christ.

http://www.godissues.org/

Calvin & Hobbes - Week of Apr 06th

2009-04-07T09:00:00.000-05:00

http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2009/04/06/

To view strips after Monday, use 'Next day.'

Kate is Born!

2009-04-04T09:04:00.002-05:00

Pictures of my new granddaughter, Kate Elaine Fobart, born Friday, April 3rd. She was 7 pounds, 14 ounces, and 20 inches long. A beautiful baby!

http://picasaweb.google.com/paulw.gray/KateIsBorn?authkey=Gv1sRgCOeA1fTNl9-Jeg#

Fight Fan Video

2009-04-01T22:24:00.002-05:00

Great!

Malachi 3:3

2009-04-01T07:22:00.000-05:00

Malachi 3:3 says: 'He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.'

This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God.

One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study.

That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver.

As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities.

The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says: 'He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver.' She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined.

The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.

The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, 'How do you know when the silver is fully refined?'

He smiled at her and answered, 'Oh, that's easy -- when I see my image in it.'

If today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that God has his eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His image in you.

This email was cleaned by emailStripper, available for free from http://www.papercut.biz/emailStripper.htm

God's Super Glue

2009-04-01T07:03:00.003-05:00

Written by a doctor....

A couple of days ago I was running (I use that term very loosely) on my treadmill, watching a DVD sermon by Louie Giglio.... and I was BLOWN AWAY! I want to share what I learned, but I fear not being able to convey it as well as I want. I will share anyway.

He (Louie) was talking about how inconceivably BIG our God is, how He spoke the universe into being, how He breathes stars out of His mouth that are huge raging balls of fire, etc. etc. Then He went on to speak of how this star-breathing, universe creating God ALSO knitted our human bodies together with amazing detail and wonder.

At this point I am LOVING it (fascinating from a medical standpoint, you know) and I was remembering how I was constantly amazed during medical school as I learned more and more about God's handiwork. I remember so many times thinking. How can ANYONE deny that a Creator did all of this???

Louie went on to talk about how we can trust that the God who created all this, also has the power to hold it all together when things seem to be falling apart...how our loving Creator is also our Sustainer.

And then I lost my breath. And it wasn't because I was running my treadmill, either!!!

It was because he started talking about laminins. I knew about laminins. Here is how Wikipedia describes them: 'Laminins are a family of proteins that are an integral part of the structural scaffolding of basement membranes in almost every animal tissue.' You see, laminins are what hold us together.... LITERALLY. They are cell adhesion molecules. They are what holds one cell of our bodies to the next cell. Without them, we would literally fall apart. And I knew all this already. But what I didn't know is what they LOOKED LIKE.

But now I do. And I have thought about it a thousand times since....

Here is what the structure of laminin looks like... AND THIS IS NOT a 'Christian portrayal' of it. If you look up laminin in any scientific/medical piece of literature, this is what you will see...

Now tell me that our God is not the coolest!!! Amazing.
The glue that holds us together.... ALL of us.... is in the shape of the cross. Immediately Colossians 1:15-17 comes to mind.

'He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created; things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things HOLD TOGETHER.' Colossians 1:15-17

Call me crazy. I just think that is very, very, very cool. Thousands of years before the world knew anything about laminin, Paul penned those words. And now we see that from a very LITERAL standpoint, we are held together... one cell to another... by the cross.

You would never in a quadrillion years convince me that is anything other than the mark of a Creator who knew EXACTLY what laminin 'glue' would look like long before Adam breathed his first breath!!

Calvin & Hobbes - Week of Mar 30th

2009-03-31T22:42:00.000-05:00

http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2009/03/30/

To view strips after Monday, use 'Next day.'

Join the Presidential Prayer Team

2009-03-27T16:50:00.001-05:00

http://www.presidentialprayerteam.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ppt_homepage

Calvin & Hobbes - Week of Mar 23rd

2009-03-23T10:15:00.001-05:00

http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2009/03/23/

To view strips after Monday, use 'Next day.'

Krugman Cuts to the Chase

2009-03-22T17:34:00.000-05:00

http://www.openleft.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=12401

No More Dough Till We Know Where It Goes

2009-03-16T10:49:00.000-05:00

http://action.firedoglake.com/page/s/Transparency

Calvin & Hobbes - Week of Mar 16th

2009-03-16T08:48:00.000-05:00

http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2009/03/16/

To view strips after Monday, use 'Next day.'

odIssues.org \| To Subscribe or change your address Click Here
	today's news in spiritual perspective

The Gray Matters

Ex-NFL Player/Major University Coaches Come To Inner City Dallas For Camps

NFL and Major University Players/Coaches Set To Train Inner City Athletes in South Dallas July 21st.

Texas School Rankings - Education, not sports

The Good Old Times

Haiti Special Request

The Other Plot to Wreck America

What Makes a Great Teacher?

Letter from Jesus...

Preserving Planet Earth, an Interview with Jane Goodall

God Issues: Caesar and the Secret Service

Ku Klux Klan - Blonde Version

God Issues: 156 billion years of grace

Nubs the Miracle Dog

Dallas Justice Revival with Jim Wallis starts tomorrow!

God Issues: Tragedy at Fort Hood

God Issues: Will you get the swine flu?

Seminar Series featuring Dr. Jim Denison

Blue Roses

Justice Revival Comes to Dallas

Calvin & Hobbes, Week of Oct 05th

Calvin & Hobbes, Week of Sep 28th

AARP Humor

Johnny Carson on YouTube

Mal Hasty

God Issues: The Revenge Industry

Calvin & Hobbes, Week of Sep 21st

Living for Zachary

Calvin & Hobbes, Week of Sep 14th

DART rolls in new era with Green Line opening

Hunger in America is Increasing

Faith and Social Justice

Calvin & Hobbes, Week of Sep 07th

How American Health Care Killed My Father

Calvin & Hobbes, Week of Aug 31st

Calvin & Hobbes, Week of Aug 24th

Calvin & Hobbes, Weeks of Aug 10th & 17th

Did You Know?

Calvin & Hobbes, Week of Aug 03th

Dave Bliss coaches others on lessons he's learned

Today's Kate Pictures

Calvin & Hobbes, Week of Jul 13th

God Issues: Sonia Sotomayor and your soul

Calvin & Hobbes, Weeks of Jun 29th & Jul 06th

Crabby Old Man

Bob Wills and the Three Stooges

Today

Techie Humor Video - Lotusphere 2009

Calvin & Hobbes, Week of Jun 22nd

God Issues: Satan is a great economist

Today's Quotes

Internet for All Americans

Daily Devotional by Max Lucado, June 15th

Calvin & Hobbes, Week of Jun 15th

More Kate Pictures

Today's Quote

What Makes Us Happy?

Just Texas

Calvin & Hobbes - Weeks of June 01st & 08th

Bikini Body in 2 Weeks

Stupid Quotes

Congress needs reform as much as credit card practices do

Pains

Long Story, Short - May 29, 2009

God Issues: Baseball and the Supreme Court

Law of the Garbage Truck

Kate Baby Pictures

Words from God

Calvin & Hobbes - Week of May 25th

Daily Devotional by Max Lucado, May 25th

Respect the Seniors

No Earthly Good

Father's Love Letter

The Prairie Home Companion Homepage

Marine Tribute - Return to Makin Island

Emotional Good-bye for Afghan-bound Marines

Pilot Point Revisited

Calvin & Hobbes - Week of May 18th

Calvin & Hobbes - Weeks of May 04th & 11th

Daily Devotional by Max Lucado, May 8th

NFL and Major University Players/Coaches Set To Train Inner City Athletes in
South Dallas July 21st.