Recently I stopped at our local drug store to get a flu shot. Apparently the older you are the more vulnerable you are to flu viruses due to the longer it takes to heal and the decrease of strength in the immune system. Now that is what I've been told by the experts so I follow their advice. Anyway it is a yearly discipline that I believe is true. I trust the experts and therefore faithfully submit to the needle. Bear with me on what may seem a rather mundane annual event.

But now…

This is a very good example of a "God-incidence." (similar to what many 

people call a "co-incidence"). I'm sending this to those who truly 

appreciate the difference between the two terms.

 

If you take the time to read it, you will be glad you did.

 

The SPARROW at STARBUCKS - The song that silenced the cappuccino 

machine.

 

It was chilly in Manhattan but warm inside the Starbucks shop on 51st 

Street and Broadway, just a…

A few years back while we were in Colorado skiing we went out for dinner at a typical ski resort restaurant with its wooden tables, crowded bar, TV’s blaring, loud laughter and the latest slope war stories. We looked at our menus and I noticed they had an item called jerk chicken. When the waitress came over to take our order I told her with a tongue in cheek smile that while I wanted the chicken dinner, I certainly didn't want a chicken that was a jerk. She immediately and humorously…

By now it has to be apparent that the Word, Holy Scripture, the Bible, is the focalizing 20/20 for seeing God and eternity while we are living in this world's hazy atmosphere. The Bible is the foglamp that clarifies our path and the steps to remain on it. As Paul says, “Now we see through a glass darkly...we know in part...(1Cor.13:12).” 'See' and 'know' are the operative words here. The Bible gives us spiritual vision and heart knowledge both of which are personal and just as real if not…

For This Reason 48

California TV Station Fox 5 gave this report yesterday 11/21/13:

“Costco has apparently had a “Come-to-Jesus” epiphany.

The national warehouse chain has apologized for labeling Bibles in a Simi Valley, Calif. store as fiction, calling it an error that they are working quickly to correct.

“We…

Some of us remember the days of the Sears, Roebuck & Co. catalog. Every possible material thing you could want was in those pages. That catalog was an event everyone waited for. It was the great wish book. It was loaded with pictures of people, machinery, tools, musical instruments, clothes and all kinds of other things. Everything in it was mail order only and the cost included shipping even for returned goods. Every house had one. Building one's life and kingdom became the acquisition…

Beginning with Gen.1:2 the Old Testament is filled with mention of the Spirit moving among the people of Israel. In prophecy we have Joel 2:28-29, Ezek.39:29 and Zech.4:6 as examples of the promise of the gift of the Holy Spirit. As we have already mentioned Jesus' personalization of the Spirit in the Gospel of John, we see Him revealed in a dramatic visual and verbal flash among the gathered disciples at Pentecost. With what sounded like a mighty wind and looked like tongues of fire…

For This Reason 45

Now that we know the Holy Spirit is our personal trainer let's look at the program He works through to mature our spirituality. Remember, it started with our spiritual birth in Jesus, having a relationship with Him and being given the Scripture as His written authority. In Scripture we find three maturing practices to build spiritual insight and stamina: prayer, spiritual gifts and being united to the Body of Christ. They are the framework containing our spiritual…

For This Reason 44

The big deal today, if you can afford it, is to have a 'personal trainer.' That is, someone who assesses your physical condition and sets you on a program toward fitness. The trainer takes your measurements, asks about your diet, the hours you sleep and what your daily routine is. He then determines your muscle strength and stamina by giving you some simple body exercises. After this the trainer draws up a program based on your condition. The rest depends on your…

The most unnerving sight for me when I watch the Olympics is the female gymnasts who tackle the balance beam. When I see it I find myself wincing at every move fearing that one of these tiny figures may miss by a sliver of an inch, fall and be severely injured. The months and even years of training that go into doing acrobatics on this narrow hard wooden structure raised several feet above the floor requires devotion, persistence and discipline, the road to athletic maturity. And this for…

For This Reason 42

Ultimately everything seen and unseen has spiritual significance. The road, the way, the truth about reality is that nothing exists outside of the spiritual dimension. The expansive universe in which we find ourselves is an expression of the mind of God at work. From the most distant edge, if in fact there is an edge, down to the most minute part of the cells of our bodies, if in fact there is a most minute part, all find their origin in the spiritual realm wherein…