UNITY

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

"In the movie Lawrence of Arabia, there is a scene where Thomas Edward Lawrence, the English colonel who helped organize the Arab revolt against Turkey, tells his Arab counterpart, 'If the desert tribes do not unite as a nation they will be forever destined to be a silly and inconsequential people.' We face the same alternatives in our churches." – Preaching Now, October 31, 2006

The Churches of Christ and Christian Churches came into existence as a unity movement. The desire was to go back to the Bible and let the church be the church of the New Testament. The motto was: “Speak where the Bible speaks and be silent where the Bible is silent.” All this was good—very good. However, today the Churches of Christ/Christian Churches are among the most divided in the world. Some of these churches are trying to at least unite these two groups—the Churches of Christ and the Independent Christian Churches. But still many oppose even this.

If things do not change we are forever destined to be a silly and inconsequential people.

HALLOWEEN

Monday, October 30, 2006

The lights will be on and my wife will go to the door with candy. I would go but I just can’t get into the spirit of Halloween. I never know what to say to the little “devils.” I can’t bring myself to say, “O how cute” because I don’t think they are. I can’t act afraid because I’m not, until the six foot teenagers show up. I’m just not believable—so I send Charlotte to the door with her gracious smile and genuine welcome.

I wish Halloween would go away and never come back. But it’s not going to. It’s here to stay. We could turn off all the lights and pretend not to be home. We could make our neighbors think we are better than they are. We could say to them, “We will participate with you only on our terms.” But since we do not believe that Halloween is evil and that one night does not a pagan make, we cooperate. Well, the truth is, Charlotte cooperates—I tolerate it.

Another thing I don’t like about Halloween is I usually gain a few pounds. We buy the candy early and then I sample it to make sure it’s good enough for the little terrorists. And then we usually have some left over and I eat that to avoid waste. But this year we have not opened the candy early. Last year there wasn’t much left over and hopefully it will be the same this year.

Tomorrow night the lights will be on and Charlotte will be waiting. Come and get it kids!

STARBUCKS, CLIF'S MAN LAW

Sunday, October 29, 2006

Starbucks is planning to increase their stores to 40,000.

WE DO NOT NEED A STARBUCKS ON EVERY CORNER. CLIF'S MAN LAW

THERE IS A GOD

Saturday, October 28, 2006

Theologian Daniel Hawk said, “The basic human problem is that everyone believes that there is a God and I am it.”

Yes, that is a problem: we believe we are God or at least at times we act like it.

Listen to these words from God found in the Book of Job: “Have you ever given orders to the morning, or shown the dawn its place?…What is the abode of light? And where does darkness reside?...Have you entered the storehouses of the snow or seen the storehouses of the hail?…What is the way to the place where the lightening is dispersed?…Do you give the horse his strength or clothe his neck with a flowing mane?…Does the hawk take flight by your wisdom and spread his wings toward the south?…Does the eagle soar at your command and build his nest on high?…Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him? Let him who accuses God answer him!”

My answer: “There is a God and I’m not Him!"

SCREWED UP STANDARDS

Friday, October 27, 2006

Yep, we’ve got our standards all screwed up.

Tom Cruise strongly disagreed with Matt Lauer on the Today Show. He didn’t curse him, hit him or even raise his voice. He just didn’t let Matt force his opinion on him. I personally believe that Cruise was wrong in his views and that Lauer was right. But what he did was not all that bad. And yet when you hear the media talking about it you would think that he had committed the world’s worse crime and that he sinned.

Tom Cruise went on Oprah’s show and when she asked him about his girl friend, Katie Holmes he jumped up and down on the couch. Criminal? No! Sinful? No! It was just silly—very silly. But the media describes it as being very wrong and they question his sanity.

Tom Cruise shacks up with Katie Holmes. They have had a baby together. They are not married yet. The media reports these facts but makes no judgments about it at all. They think this is ok behavior but strongly disagreeing with someone and jumping on a couch is wrong, wrong, wrong.

GO FIGURE!

GOOD GIFTS

Thursday, October 26, 2006

I like what writer, Beth Moore says about God giving good gifts to us:

“If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” (Matt. 7:11). If we, being comparatively evil parents, have priorities concerning what we believe to be the best life has to offer for our children, would we be surprised to think that God does too? Ours is a God of priorities. Might He have an A and a B list? I wouldn’t be surprised if He has a list for each of us stretching all the way from alpha to omega. After all, “How great is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you, which you bestow in the sight of men on those who take refuge in you” (Ps. 31:19). Scripture is replete with God’s bountiful desires for us, but He also clearly knows what He desires most to accomplish not only in each believer, but in each generation.