The 23rd Cup

Caffeine is my shepherd: I shall not doze.
It maketh me to wake in green pastures;
It leadeth me beyond the sleeping masses.
It restoreth my buzz.
It leadeth me in the paths of consciousness for its name's sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of addiction,
I'll fear no Equal for thou art with me;
Thy cream and thy flavorings they comfort me.
Thou preparest a carafe before me in the presence of Starbucks.
Thou anointest my days with vigor; my mug runneth over.
Surely flavor and aroma shall follow me all the days of my life
and I will dwell in the House of Maxwell forever.
Latte

I don't remember where I found it but I didn't write it. I accused Debby of writing it. She said she didn't write it, but was definitely a believer.

A Heart for God

God promised Israel that he would bless them in the land if they would obey the commands. What are the commands? I think we tend to end up making a huge list of commands--all things that no doubt God wants us to do. Our list quickly becomes a cold, busy-work legalist formula. A list that grows into a tiresome impossible form which we struggle everyday to keep and it makes us fearful, fretful, and angry--we cannot keep from being overcome by our guilt of not be able to keep "the list."
Deut. 11:13 says, "So if you faithfully obey the commands I am giving you today--to love the LORD your God and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul--" There it is, to love the LORD you God and serve him with all your heart and with all your soul. Those are the commands: to love and serve God with all your heart and all your soul. To have God at your heart. You know if we truly put God at our heart in love and service:

• we wouldn't have so much trouble with people not coming to Bible Class.
• we wouldn't have so much trouble getting people to come to worship services.
• we wouldn't have so much trouble getting teachers to teach our children.
• we wouldn't have trouble filling our small groups.
• we would have more people serving others, not just the 20%.
• we would have more people encouraging each other through phone calls, visits, cards, service, and compliments of one to the other.
• we would love new songs and old songs.
• we would love seniors, middle aged, teenager, and babies the same.
• we wouldn't have guilt over "the list." These things would naturally occur.
• we wouldn't have so much concern over structures.
• we would realize the things that really matter.
• we would choose to be kind over being right.
• we would have a better reputation as Christians in our world.
• we would have more passion and zeal for the things of God.
• we would know that worship can happen not just on Sunday mornings in the assembly.
• we could ignite the world with the Spirit's fire.
• we would be more like Jesus than at any other time.

No wonder Jesus said the greatest command was to love God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.

Rene Descartes

I told Debby about a joke I heard and she didn't get it. Here it is.
A philosophy student was enthralled with a lecture about Rene Descartes. The professor was discussing Descartes theory of doubt and how that left one with the uncertainty of existence and most especially the non-actual existence of ourselves. The poor student was up all night wrestling with the thought that he did not exist. The next morning he got up and went to see the professor and he walked into his office and blurted out his fear, "Tell me professor, do I really exist?" The professor turned and looked toward the student and replied in his strong Yiddish accent, "Zo, who vants to know?"
Get it?
It's not as bad as when Randy Harris at ACU will try and test his class to see if they are paying attention. Before he continues a discussion about Descartes he always finds away to talk about horses in philosophy and his students continue to take notes not realizing the absurdity of what he is saying. He then makes the statement, "but let's not get the horse before des cartes." ....... And his students continue to take notes not even thinking about what was just said. And it's a philosophy course.

Spiritual Pathways

Growing up I was generally lead and came to accept that they way to God or to draw closer to God came through "going to church." I thought the only place to find God was in the midst of a "worship service." When I became a teenager I began to get the idea that God might be in your cloest as well, and that is where you could also go to pray and get in touch with God.
John Ortberg's book God Is Closer Than You Think, a number of Spiritual pathways are listed in chapter 7 that show how people in different ways are drawn closer to the presence of God. People relate differently to God and draw closer to God in different ways. They are all true and we can all draw to his presence through all of them, but one or two might be more true to you than some of the others. I believe this is perfectly exceptable in our spiritual growth and relationship to God.

1. Intellectual Pathways - we draw close by what we learn.
2. Relational Pathways - we draw close by the relationships we have with other spiritual people.
3. Serving Pathways - we draw close to God by serving others.
4. Worship Pathways - we draw close by our cooperate worship, or peer and family devotionals.
5. Activists Pathways - we draw close to God by standing up for a cause like feeding the hungry.
6. Contemplative Pathways - we draw close to God by alone times with God in meditation and appreciation.
7. Creation Pathways - we draw close to God by being close with his awesome creation.

Jordan Casey Russell (My New Grandson)

Cute! Huh? Absolutely!

Love is...

Love is...
Slow to suspect - quick to trust.
Slow to condemn - quick to justify.
Slow to offend - quick to defend.
Slow to expose - quick to shield.
Slow to reprimand - quick to forbear.
Slow to belittle - quick to appreciate.
Slow to demand - quick to give.
Slow to provoke - quick to help.
Slow to resent - quick forgive.

I believe that if the people in the churches that we attend would decidedly act in love toward one another in all these ways and others, churches would be so much better off. This ought to be true of families as well.
Why is it that we often hurt and are the hardest on those to whom we love or say that we love?
We must act in true agape love for each other, not to be suspicious of each other and we ought to seek and desire the very best for each other.
It seems we don't act in a way that is good for the whole rather we act on behalf of what we want. It's what Paul and James both said that we act in selfishness rather than on seeking the best for others. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
You might be asking yourself about now, "Well, who is he talking to?"
Yes, I'm talking to you (and me).