Zarqawi and Other Thoughts
Am I glad Zarqawi is no longer causing havoc in the Middle East? OF COURSE I AM. Does the thought that he may have lost his soul for eternity make me glad? OF COURSE IT DOESN'T!! God loved him as much as He does me, you, Jimmy Allen, George Benson, Annie Lewis, Billy Graham, Alexander Campbell, Hillary or T. O. I believe that God is broken hearted over a lost child.
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I have a new favorite spiritual song................."How Great is Our God". We sang it a bunch at Pepperdine, and I can't sing it enough! Have you heard it?
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I heard a friend say the other day that he has a friend that announced that these are his four non-negotiables:
Baptism is essential for salvation
Women must remain silent
Worship has to be without instruments
We must take the Lord's Supper every Sunday
I could write volumes about that mind-set, but I would just be repeating what I have already written many times. It just makes me sad that the institutional mind-set is still very active and alive amongst us. Did you notice how 3 of these core values centered around the Sunday assembly? Deliver me!
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I knew it was just a matter of time! The attacks on Pleasant Valley in Little Rock have already started.............because of WHO they have invited to speak at their Leadership Conference. Check it out:
http://keithbrenton.blogspot.com/
Keep these good folks in your prayers.
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I am headed to Memphis today to have lunch with Matt and Liz, and then on to Florence tonight to be with my folks. My mom has a family reunion tomorrow in the country outside of Iuka, Mississippi.........and I am going to take her. It will be fun to throw horse-shoes, and eat good down home cooking all day on Saturday! Saturday night I am going to be with my brother Bryan in Memphis and then attend Sycamore View with him on Sunday morning. I can't WAIT to worship with those good folks! If you detect an extra glow coming from the Mid-South area, Bryan has a swimming pool and so I may swim a little bit. The glow will be the sun reflecting off this beautiful white skin! Right Lowell? :)
6 Comments:
Lotsa thoughts there...
Yeah, can't quit singing "How Great is Our God" either. Or "Blessed Be the Name of the Lord." The bridge especially speaks to me in this time of being where I don't want to be: "YOu give and take away, You give and take away. My heart will choose to say, Blessed be your name."
I find that list of non-negotiables sad as well. Out of one bondage and into another... whatever happened to freedom in Christ?
The kind of stuff happening around PV's conference raises my hackles. I feel just like I did the first time I picked up a copy of "Behold the Pattern," many moons ago. It sickened and angered me. I appreciate Keith's honest response.
Hope you have a good weekend. Don't forget the sunblock!
The list of non-negotiables is very sad. The only thing worse is that many just have a longer list. But like those who marched for freedom in the 60's, when you taste freedom, you won't settle for the chains no more. It was for Freedom, that Christ set us free.
I LOVE that song!
I came from a branch of our tribe that had a such a list of non-negotiables that, when I tried to lift it, I pulled a muscle. I admire their zeal and ache for their error.
Thanks for the link to Keith's post. Enjoy the pool. I don't lay out at the beach anymore; not since the last time when people from Greenpeace kept trying to roll me back into the water yelling "we have to save him!"
Thanks for the kind words, folks, and the link, David.
One thing is certain: the Lord has it all over me in the loving and forgiving department (seventh floor, to your right, watch your step). I don't know whether He is heartbroken in the same way over al-Zarqawi as He is over a child who starved before hearing the sweet story of Jesus, but the fact that He came at all is more than enough demonstration for me.
How great IS our God!
David,
Have a great time with your mom in Florence. I have fond memories of your mom and dad.
That is a wonderful song....
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