my burg

A friend sent a link to a site which compiled photos of weird Christian merchandise. And it is weird stuff. This is what I wrote to him in reflection... I looked at this and of course shook my head in dismay. Some of it may actually have been produced by enemies of the faith, I'm thinking. However, I've had a kind of new thought about Christian cultural oddities and a sort of paradigm shift about them. I always felt ashamed of preachers with big hair and loud voices, along with strange Christian commodities, like the praying hands statue that glows in the dark, that sort of thing. When I was in Ghana I laughed to see how many of the businesses, owned by Christians, would use biblical terminology in their store names. One example was a barber shop called "King of Kings Haircuts", which caused no end of amusement to me. Then today after looking at the link you sent I began to wonder if I have this right at all. Many of the things we feel to be culturally superio...

Standing by their men . Someone said recently that for once they'd like to see the politician standing without his wife, sporting a black eye! What public humiliation this brings upon the wives to stand there. Why doesn't the guy just 'fess up by himself ? This clip from ER demonstrates how postmodern spirituality does not answer the real questions when one faces death. And this blog is embarrassingly accurate!

The believer's judgment by his Lord is not the same as the divine wrath that will fall on unrepentant humankind in general. I Corinthians 3 tells us the believer, built upon the foundation of Christ will -- though personally secure -- be judged as to the quality of his work for Christ: 1 Corinthians 3:12-13 Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw- each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. Which raises the question, how do we determine which works are in the first category (gold, silver, precious stones) and which are in the second (wood, hay, straw). Big difference between the two and no mention of any kind of "in between" works. One clue follows in chapter 4: (1 Corinthians 4:5) Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things...

Caroline Elizabeth was born Feb. 28, and weighed in at 7# 15 oz. She's a very, very sweet young lady, I might add.

From his last written words... I feel like a prize in a box of cracker jacks with God's hand reaching down to pick me up. I have been under medical care for months. My wounds are getting bigger. I have trouble breathing. I am ready to fly home. ... Goodbye, farewell, we'll meet again Somewhere beyond the sky. I pray that you will stay with God Goodbye, my friends, goodbye. Larry Website here . Songlist from Only Visiting This Planet (This is what I listened to as a young Christian.) Side 1 "Why Don't You Look Into Jesus" "The Outlaw" "I've Got To Learn To Live Without You" "Without Love You Are Nothing" "I Wish We'd All Been Ready" Side 2 "Six O'clock News" "The Great American Novel" "Pardon Me" "Why Should The Devil Have All The Good Music" "Reader's Digest" "Oh, How I Love You" (Not listed)

But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? For when one says, "I follow Paul," and another, "I follow Apollos," are you not being merely human? What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. (1 Corinthians 3:1-8 ESV) I find myself at times being envious of other people's gifts and talents. (Why don't I have such abilities?) At other times I almost id...