I would like to wish everybody a Merry Christmas! Allow the Grace of the Season to wash over you over these next twelve days, and resist the stress. May this be a blessed time for you and your family!
Happy Birthday
Three years ago, I became a father to a little boy, therefore I want to wish him a very happy birthday! As I woke up this morning I listened to him singing, “Happy Birthday”, and I was overjoyed, as I joined in. I asked him about his birthday, and what he was going to do, and he responded with “party” and “presents”.
Today there is a party, as today we celebrate and mark the passage of a year, and we remember that we all have been blessed by his life. We celebrate also by giving gifts, where we further are blessed by watching the exuberant joy that he exudes by the prospect of all of the fun he is going to have with his new toys.
I am blessed, and on this day as we mark another year, and we give presents, I am reminded that the one, triune God, gives us greater gifts. My son is a wonderful blessing that reminds me on a daily basis that God loved me enough to give me life, and he loved me enough to grant me the responsibility of being a parent. Thank you, I will try and worship you through this day, seeking to glorify You by being the best dad I can through the power of the Holy Spirit!
Is he still talking about sports?
I realize that much of the time, when I look for a sermon illustration, my default is usually in the world of sports. This is probably because most of my free time is spent following or watching some form of athletic endeavor. This isn’t understood by everyone, nor is it even remotely a universal experience. In fact I remember many times when I was younger my grandmother would ask me why I was always sitting watching basketball or football or SportsCenter, and I could only respond, “I like sports!”
However, there is a lot more to life than sports, and especially in a group of diverse interests, going to the sports well again and again is ill advised. In order to reach the largest number of people, a more accessible illustration is probably the better option. It’s not that I will never use “the sports”, but I know I will work hard to find an alternative connection point. I think that is what God requires of me. Teach the Word, and teach it in the most accessible manner possible!
No Electricity
It is hard to imagine what it would be like with no electricity. Shortly after I woke up this morning, the power company shut off the power to make upgrades, replace hardware, something…
I never realized how much in my morning routine is dependent on electricity. If only I could ensure that I was as reliant upon God in the morning, I am sure that I would be better off each day. We take so many things for granted that can be taken away, but God doesn’t leave us or forsake us.
Maybe I should have plugged into the Almighty rather than find a Starbucks for its wifi so I can send this blog.
Guy Fawkes Day
Guy Fawkes Day
The anniversary of the famous Gunpowder Plot
Remember remember the fifth of November
Gunpowder, treason and plot.
I see no reason why gunpowder, treason
Should ever be forgot…
November 5th marks the anniversary of the Gunpowder Plot, a conspiracy to blow up the English Parliament and King James I in 1605, the day set for the king to open Parliament. The anniversary was named after Guy Fawkes, the most famous of the conspirators.
 The unfortunate conspirator Fawkes appears before his intended victim. |
Uprising of English Catholics
It was intended to be the beginning of a great uprising of English Catholics, who were distressed by the increased severity of penal laws against the practice of their religion. The conspirators, who began plotting early in 1604, expanded their number to a point where secrecy was impossible.
The group included Robert Catesby, John Wright, and Thomas Winter, the originators, Christopher Wright, Robert Winter, Robert Keyes, Guy Fawkes, a soldier who had been serving in Flanders, Thomas Percy, John Grant, Sir Everard Digby, Francis Tresham, Ambrose Rookwood, and Thomas Bates.
Brought to Light by Anonymous Letter
Percy hired a cellar under the House of Lords, in which 36 barrels of gunpowder, overlaid with iron bars and firewood, were secretly stored. The conspiracy was brought to light through a mysterious letter received by Lord Monteagle, a brother-in-law of Tresham, on October 26, urging him not to attend Parliament on the opening day.
The 1st earl of Salisbury and others, to whom the plot was made known, took steps leading to the discovery of the materials and the arrest of Fawkes as he entered the cellar. Other conspirators, overtaken in flight or seized afterward, were killed outright, imprisoned, or executed.
Fireworks, Bonfires in England
Among those executed was Henry Garnett, the superior of the English Jesuits, who had known of the conspiracy. While the plot was the work of a small number of men, it provoked hostility against all English Catholics and led to an increase in the harshness of laws against them. Guy Fawkes Day, November 5, is still celebrated in England with fireworks and bonfires, on which effigies of the conspirator are burned.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2005, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
Read more: Guy Fawkes Day — Infoplease.com http://www.infoplease.com/spot/guyfawkes.html#ixzz14SFXNE2k
World Series Champions?
This blogging thing has worked out well for my favorite professional teams. Yesterday night, the San Francisco Giants actually won the World Series. This group of young core players with colorful nicknames like “The Freak” and “Black Beard”, surrounded by a group of veteran castoffs from other teams, was able to make it past the Braves, beat the supposedly unbeatable Roy Halladay and the Phillies, and knock around the Playoff Pitching Ace Cliff Lee to beat the Rangers to take the World Series in 5 games. Humm Baby! Go Giants!
To be honest, I had almost lost hope that this was even possible, especially not this year. However, it goes to show that sometimes anything is possible. This year I got to put away all the disappointment that has come at the hands of the Dodgers and in 2002 at the hands of the Angels. This year living in LA is a little more bearable. All kidding aside, it is nice to see that the Giants finally have something to hold against Dodger fans when they start taunting me.
However, the Giants showed me that the past doesn’t have to define the future. Neither does our past define our future, greatness can be attained no matter how much failure we have encountered. God has a beautiful future for us, dive in, and don’t let your past define who you are. YOU could be a champion! Dive in.
A Team with Two Personalities
As a Cal fan, this football season is hard to stomach.
This season has been full of ups and downs, one week we score 50, and the next week we struggle to score at all. One week the defense gives up 0 offensive touchdowns, and the next week we give up 5 to 7. (Yes I am using “we” to describe the team.) This is hard to understand. How can a team play similar competition week in and week out, and have such a radical disparity with the level of play. The list of excuses ranges from the fact that all the games they have dominated have been at home, and all the losses have been on the road, to injuries, to passion.
However, most of us have up and downs from time to time. Some days we are up to performing our best, and other days we desire to merely phone it in. (Again using the collective “we”.) However, I think it is times like this that we have to find it deep within our gut, to fight that urge to just be content with mediocre. It is that mediocre performance that maintains the status-quo. Even if we are great on some days at fighting the injustice in the world, striking out against the forces of “evil”, and bringing hope to the world, if we don’t contend with our own slipping into mediocrity, we endanger ourselves into becoming the biggest opponent to our own goals.
Therefore, each day go after greatness, even on those days when we are struck with injury, or are otherwise prone to fall into the trap of mediocrity. We can’t always control our situation, but we can control our response. Go forth and press forward bringing glory to our God Almighty.
Blame it on the Rain
Rain is a gift from God. I am thankful for all of the great things that come from rain! I love the smell in the air, the puddles that my son wants to play in, the clean cool breeze, and of course the water that makes things grow and the other beneficial effects of rain that I didn’t think of or mention.
However, sometimes it brings the worst out of some of us. Driving is more of a challenge, people drive slower because the roads are wet, and I am a great deal less patient with other drivers. The way this affects me is that I allow my stress level to rise, and I become more irritable. This is because I have allowed myself to reflect on the one or two inconveniences of rain, and given into the trap they have set upon me.
I pray that I allow myself to reflect further on the blessing of rain, rather than the fact that it takes longer to get around. I need to remember that, as a pseudo-popular country song says, “Rain is a good thing.”
For the record: I don’t like country music!
Revelations on a Blog
Sometimes I fall short of ambitious goals I set for myself, but I realize that what causes people to read blogs is not always predictable, and I have to make a decision about what I would want to do to drive people to read the blog.
First, I know that content needs to be of high quality. However, this should be my drive in all things, as God calls us to be holy and perfect just as God is holy and perfect. I know I need to have something that is worth reading, and if it isn’t worth reading I shouldn’t post it.
Second, it needs to be relevant. I should also be relevant to the group that is reading the blog, as well as any group of people to which I am ministering.
Third, it needs to be consistent. This is something that I set out to be at the beginning, but have failed. In ministry though, we need to be consistent. Thus, even if I don’t spend the time putting together a detailed post, I know that I need consistent, quality, and relevant posts that will serve all readers of the blog.
Elpis and Shalom 