OIL:

The oil is on its way to the Gulf Coast.
It is a horrible disaster. The last I heard the slick is the size of Rhode Island and growing. The shut-off valve, that should have stopped the flow from the open well, hasn't worked. The weather and water are getting rougher, and experts are saying it will take three months to get the flow to stop.
Louisiana, recently decimated by Katrina is now likely to take a major hit from the pollution headed its way. The price of shrimp will likely go up for us all.
It's easy to have a knee-jerk reaction--stop drilling or drill more, build more windmills, burn more ethanol or construct nuclear plants, open more bike paths. Each of those solutions and many others have advocates that tout their merit, but each needs to be considered on its own merits, and lack-thereof. None is the panacea enthusiasts claim. Each has a down-side.

Let's not forget that decisions on these matters involve people. Eleven people died when the oil-rig blew up. Families will lose their homes over the job lost from ruined fisheries. If the oil industry is shut down other homes will suffer. We have a responsibility to pass on a healthy world to the next generation.
Complicated?
You bet!
It reminds me of a picture I saw one time. The earth was nestled in as pair of rugged hands. The caption: "This world's a mess. Handle with Prayer."
Amen.
It's STTA.

Oldie, #8:

Something to Think About for
August 6, 2008:



A friend of mine recently send me a story about a guy who shot his lawnmower. It's an amusing account.
". . . Lawn Boy wouldn't start Wednesday morning. He told police, 'I can do that, it's my lawn mower and my yard so I can shoot it if I want.'"
What troubles me about the story is I totally understand. I would probably use a sledge-hammer rather than a gun, but I totally understand.
I have a lawnmower to work with, not work on. When something doesn't do that for which it is intended it is a source of great frustration. I clearly remember a day on which, if my dad had not been present with me, I would have thrown my chainsaw off
a cliff.
OK, here is a question for you and me. What is my purpose? Why did God create me, give me life, and place me in this world? The Westminster shorter catechism gives a great answer: ". . . to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever."
I sure am glad that God is more patient than I am.

It's STTA

Click here to read the story

More important: 2 Peter 3:9 tells us about God's great patience.

You can read about God's plan of salvation by clicking here:

Oldie, #7:

Something to Think About for
August 5, 2008:



"A nasal spray containing a naturally occurring brain hormone called orexin A reversed the effects of sleep deprivation in monkeys, allowing them to perform like well-rested monkeys on cognitive tests."
I just read this from a news-release. Of course it goes on to speculate that perhaps this drug will have the same effect on humans. I fail to see the big deal. I've known people, all my life, who perform like well-rested monkeys.
Seriously, the armed-forces are very interested in the drug. Keeping pilots, and guards awake longer, without diminishing their mental and physical abilities would be incredibly valuable in time of war.

So maybe I won't have to sleep anymore.
Combine that with another research project using mice. It showed that "couch-potato" rodents given an experimental drug and tested on a treadmill, performed like buff, jog-everyday, mighty-mice. Put the two together and you have what many guys regard as heaven. Stay up all night, watch TV & still stay healthy enough to go fishing or play softball.
Now, if we could just do something about this odor from my armpits.
Think about it and I think you'll see,
It is STTA.

[If you read the early chapters of Genesis and the book of Ecclesiastes it is clear that God intended work as a blessing.
God set the pattern for rest when He rested on the seventh day. It would appear that sleep is a blessing to be enjoyed, not a curse to avoid. Psalm 127:2, Proverbs 3:24, 19:23, Ecclesiastes 5:12]

Oldie, #6:

Something to Think About for
August 1, 2008:



I just visited a friend's house who keeps marine aquariums. In order to keep his fish, coral, crabs and shrimp alive and happy he faithfully tests and changes the water. He knows what to feed each kind of fish and just how much. The lights are on timers, so the aquatic life gets the right amount of light.
In short, my friend goes to an incredible amount of trouble to reproduce a miniature version of the ocean surrounding a living reef--an ecosystem that many scientists claim happened purely by accident.
As we have seen in recent decades, it only takes a relatively small amount of a foreign substance or a minor change in the environment to radically change--or even destroy--a living community. Not only must each organism be healthy, but each all of them must relate to one another in a healthy way.
Sitting here thinking about it I'm amazed at the blind-faith evolutionists have. In spite of constant evidence that random forces produce destruction, they believe that such a beautiful, complex system just happened.
Not at my friend's house, nor, I am convinced, in my Father's world.
It's STTA.

Oldie, #5:

Something to Think About for
July 22, 2008:



I like the funnies. I read them most every day. Included in my list of daily cartoons is Dunesberry. Yes, it is very left-wing, but it is also incredibly witty. Most important--for me--the flat characters are really good at pointing out some rather conspicuous warts.
I don't have a clue as to exactly why, but lately the comic strip has featured the plight of Iraqi Christians. The plot-line has to do with an Iraqi Christian, who fled to Syria. He is trying to get the message about the plight of his people on the news, but dufus reporter, Roland Headly, is determined to spin the story to make the "surge" look more favorable. Ouch!
We Christians in North America are often blind and deaf to the plight of God's people in other parts of the world. We tend to see them through--our maybe I should say "we are blinded by"--our American, political grid.
Dunesberry got my attention, because I know a real, flesh-and-blood guy who is working with Iraqi Christians who have fled from persecution.
How sad that a liberal cartoonist is making the case more effectively than the Iraqi Christians' sisters and brothers in the West.

It's not funny, but it's STTA

Oldie, #4:

Something to Think About for
June 12, 2008:




I don't think they covered this in fire-fighter school. Some Pennsylvania fire-fighters were summoned to a porta-potty. Somebody inside was yelling--yelling loud enough that it got someone's attention who called 911. I'll let Deputy Fire Commissioner, Chris Miller, tell the tale.
". . . the subject was wedged in the tank. He would only say he needed to use the bathroom, and he claimed he fell in the toilet. When I asked him why he was naked, he just shrugged his shoulders."

Do I need to tell you alcohol was involved?
What makes a grown man strip naked and climb into--a--well, you know what?
Look at Proverbs 23:29-35. If this guy looked at the passage--doubtful--he didn't heed the warning. Those who climb into a bottle may find themselves waist deep in something else.
It's STTA.

Oldie, #3

My Dad has been gone, now, for about 20 years. I'm still working on being a Dad, and Father-in-law to my adult children, not to mention the Papa thing.
Both from observing the lack of father-involvement in many of the children and teens that I meet and from watching the generational influence in families I have known for decades, I am more convinced than ever of the value of a Dad's influence. It is essential.
This Sunday I invite you Dads, and all of you who would like to honor your Dad, or recognize fatherhood in general, to join us at 8:30 or 11:00.
Denny Tincher and I will be talking about passing on something worthwhile to the next generation.
Following the 11:00 service there will be a potluck picnic in honor of Dad.

Happy Father's Day from CBC.

It's STTA

Oldie, #2:

Something to Think About for
June 16, 2008:



For the record, I'm not planning to go see it, nor am I recommending that you do, but according to a review that I read in World Magazine (click here), Sex in the City, the movie, after some mega-shopping, and footage that could have been provided by the New York Chamber of Commerce, lands at a surprisingly conservative conclusion. Quoting from the article:
"the . . . ladies find surprisingly traditional roles to fill.
In the end, the quintessential sex columnist has come to embody the caricature she so often drew of women in relationships. It seems Carrie Bradshaw was looking for a man to solve her problems. It just took longer for her to realize it."
If indeed that is the conclusion of the movie, it is as flawed as the-perpetually-single-and-free-to-engage-in-sex-at-my-whim, notion that the HBO series portrayed.
Real needs are met by a relationship with God. Our human relationships are but are a part of that. A most rewarding part when we pursue them God's way.

It's STTA.

Oldie #1:

I ran across some old STTAs I'm posting them here for posterity, :)

Some of these are so unbelievable that no one would have made them up. Others have that cluelessness that sounds just like--well you fill in the blank.

"I was late for work because I had to go audition for American Idol."
or
"The line at Starbucks was too long."
"My route to work was blocked by a presidential motorcade."
"I had transient amnesia."
OK, I can't say whether these are true excuses or not, but I do know that a lot of the people I see are very much time-stressed. Getting it all done, any where close to on time is a stretch.
In the mad rush to get work, school, and appointments on time, it is awfully easy to neglect that which is really important.
Our spouses, or children don't threaten to fire us if we are late, or even, fail to show up at all. The fact is, however, that our hurried and harried life-style can cause them to quit. To quit trying to reach out to us and build the kind of relationship with us that will make us both better.
We honor others with the gift of time.
It's STTA.

Storms:

I have been working on the end of Mark 4 for the message Sunday. The Apostles were worn out and it was night. A storm came up while the band was crossing the Sea of Galilee--really a lake. I don't think life-jackets had been invented yet. The boat was about to swamp.
"Don't you care that we are about to die?" the distraught disciples cried out.
I have felt the wind and the sting of the rain over the last few days. One of the healthiest men I know--or so I thought--had a heart attack while doing a stress test at a hospital. Another friend's first great-grandchild was born into pediatric intensive care unit. A friend with whom I worked and served for years--he helped raise my kids and I his--was in a head-on and currently is in an ICU (Thankfully the prognosis is optimistic.)

Lord, don't you care?

Yes. He does!

On that night two millennia ago the Lord stood up in that little gale-ravaged craft and said, not to the men, but to the howling wind and tossing water, "Hush, be still." And it did. Time and again over my nearly four decades of being privileged to minister God's word in times of crisis, I have watched the storms subside by the God's grace. Sometimes they last more than a night, but I have never doubted God's care.

Like those guys, I still ask myself, "Who then is this, that even the wind . . . the sea [the damaged cardiac muscle, the fractured bone, the heart broken by love gone bad, the hand of the surgeon, the touch of a nurse, and voice of the yielded counselor] obey Him?" (Mark 4:41)

My answer is the same as Marks.
He is the Lord! Trust in no one else.

It's STTA.

A Tribute to a Lovely Lady:

When I was in my fourth and fifth years of college I attended a small church in northeast Pennsylvania. The first year I was there I was separated from my fiance', Kathy. Just a few weeks after we were married we moved into our first home, a mobile-home out in the country between Baptist Bible College and the Osterhout Bible Church. There were many reasons why those two years in the little church by Susquehanna were a great time in my and our young lives. High on the list, though, of benefits of worshipping and serving with that group of country and small-town folk was the fact that Agnes Decker was the pastor's wife.
She was a pastor's wife in the old sense of the role. The life of the church was marked by her hard work, hospitality, teaching, compassion, willingness to do what needed to be done and prayer. She helped a guy who missed his girl feel at home and embraced us as newly-weds. We were welcomed to the Decker home on several occasions. Mrs. Decker, and her daughters, whom she had trained, were great hostesses and cooks. There was nothing fancy there, just good and plenty served with love.
In her later years, until her health declined, Mrs. Decker carried on a ministry via email. It was much the same as her ministry in person--she passed on what she had gained, shared kind words, and offered and encouraged prayer.
Mrs. Decker's funeral is tomorrow. To all the family, Kathy and I celebrate with Agnes Decker's life lived to the glory of God, and we pray for you in your time of loss.
Heaven will be sweet. Let's lay up treasures there. I think Mrs. Decker modeled that. I hope at one of the suppers in glory--surely there will be supper there--I can wait on Mrs. Decker. I fear, though, that she'll already have her apron on.

It's STTA.

We paid our debt

From announcements on TV, to a banner at our local Chevrolet dealer, GM is touting the fact that they have paid off the debt they owed to the American tax-payers. Five years early! In spite of the fact that I and the rest of US citizens still own a majority of the car company, and the deal won't really be done until private enterprise is back in the private realm, thanks.
Actually, I hope that the barons from Detroit set an example for the rest of our nation. There is a disturbing tendency in our culture to not pay "what you owe," but "what you have to."
The Bible says that our goal ought to be to, Owe no man anything, but to love one another." (Romans 13:8) Pay what you owe and realize that the debt of love is one you will never retire.

It's STTA.

ROOTS

Anyone who has ever removed a stump without the assistance of some serious mechanical help has a great appreciation for roots. To withstand storms, hold up the load of a wet snow, and provide the huge plant with nutrients for life a tree has to have a massive root system. The roots become firmly embedded in the ground, going around and under, rocks, other roots, and anything else in the sub-terrain.

Paul's desire for the Ephesian believers was that they would be "rooted and grounded in love."
This would lead to a comprehension of the incomprehensible love of Christ. (Ephesians 4:17-19) He said in Colossians 2:7, that the believers at Colossae were "firmly rooted" and were now being "built up." You can't do the latter without the former.

I want to be like "be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water," (Psalm 1:3) enjoying the sunshine of God's love, able to stand the storms of life, and bearing fruit.

It's STTA.

Watching the Sunrise:

The contrast between Isaiah 59 and 60 could not be more stark. Chapter 59 reads like a bad-news day. The prophet begins the next chapter with the sunrise.

When it is as dark as Isaiah 59 people wonder what is wrong. "It's not that God isn't able. Your sin stands between you and the Lord," says the prophet. He goes on the assure them that God will work it out,
"Arise, shine; for your light has come, And the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. "For behold, darkness will cover the earth And deep darkness the peoples; But the Lord will rise upon you And His glory will appear upon you." (Isaiah 60:1-2, NASB95)
But that is talking about eventually, a time that is called the Millennium, when the lion and the ox will dwell together in peace. What about right now? Warren Wiersbe, raises an interesting challenge/question in his comments on Isaiah 59. Paraphrasing his query: While we pray "Thy Kingdom come," shouldn't we be doing something about the darkness?
The little kids song proclaims, "This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine."

Indeed!

Let's look for opportunities to punch some holes in the darkness this week.

It's STTA.

Can we still pray?

A Federal judge in Madison Wisconsin just declared that the National Day of Prayer is an illegal violation of the constitutional ban on government-backed religion.

I'm not a constitutional scholar, but I find it strange that the National Day of Prayer has been part of our country's calendar since 1952, and we are just now figuring out that it is an inappropriate use of government authority. Obviously, since our money declares trust in God, and official buildings in Washington DC have more scripture quotations and allusions than most churches, not all mention of things spiritual is inappropriate. Of course Judge Barbara B. Crabb was not looking out for us back then. She would have put a stop to it.

I do, however, agree with part of the Judge's reasoning. She says that Prayer "must be left to individual conscience." Governmental decrees can't, and shouldn't try to, make people pray, and as the Old-Testament Prophet, Daniel clearly demonstrated, governmental edicts cannot prevent one from praying either. In her defense, Ms. Crabb is not trying to prevent people from praying, she is just saying that the United States cannot encourage us to do so. I can, though.

May 6 is the National Day of Prayer. I suggest that in addition to thanking the Lord for His blessing on our land and praying about the many needs that we have, that we offer prayer for Judge Crabb. She might not know it, but she needs it.

It's STTA.

He's in charge of the big stuff:

Listening to some people talk, and especially reading what some people have to say on websites, reminds me of an old joke. Of course lots of things remind me of old jokes. Anyhow, a husband was bragging about how he "wore the pants" in his family. I make all the big decisions." Further investigation, however, revealed that his wife had picked and dealt for the family's new car. She had decided on the neighborhood where they lived, not to mention the house they bought. She had picked the college Junior was attending, and chose and bought all the clothes that Mr. Wears-the-Pants wore to the job she had badgered him into taking.

Finally the friend asked the Mrs. "Your husband says that he makes all the big decisions in this house. Is that right?" The inquisitive neighbor was looking for something to duck behind, when the lady calmly replied, "Yes, absolutely." Puzzled and intrigued the man asked, "Could you give me an example of big decision?"

"Oh, sure," she replied. "Something like whether the US should impose sanctions on Iran. That's a big decision. Bob would definitely make up his mind about that. Anything less, that's mine."

It is easy to wax eloquent about what should happen in Washington or Richmond, when, like most of us, I have no direct responsibility to do anything. I find it easier to ignore what needs fixing in my own sphere of influence, while talking loudly about the big stuff.

I'd encourage the reading of the Book of James. He doesn't put up with that kind of nonsense.

It's STTA.

Clever Cussing:

The Old Dominion, where I call home, is one of the leading states in the Union for customized or vanity plates. I was just parked in the local hospital lot; three cars, including mine (above) in adjacent spaces had special messages on the plates. I'll let you figure out what mine says; the SUV parked right in front of mine sported the owners' initials, while the compact to my left said "GRN APLE," I assume in reference to the car's color and round shape.

I doubt that the DMV has any more idea than some of you what my license plate says. They make it their business, though, to make sure that it doesn't say, particular things. Here in the home of Southern gentility we don't allow, the "vulgar, offensive, sexually explicit, excretory related, or messages that promote violence or illegal activities. Some combinations of letters and numbers are immediately rejected. Others that arouse suspicion are run through a software program, that considers backward as well as frontward reading. Finally, if there is still reason for concern doubtful combos are run by a 20 person committee. Even after all that screening some still get by. Last year, around 100 complaints were lodged here. Here is one that machines and people missed, "NOGOD." You can be an atheist in these parts, the state just won't help you advertise it.

As I read the article in the Roanoke times where I gathered this information (4/13, p.10) I thought, how sad that all that creativity is being directed at saying things, that in most cases would be better off unsaid. There is a prohibition given to followers of God in Ephesians 5:4, that fits here. Look at it. Take time to investigate the words.

More than what I have said here, It's STTA

Guys, Bring a Book.

I read somewhere that women shop. Men go hunting. One of my daughter-in-laws recently noted proudly, that she had gone into a store for one thing and came out with only one thing. Translation: She managed to suppress the urge to shop. For a guy the point would probably be expressed more like: "I went into the store and didn't forget what I went for--or I found it without having to waste a lot of time." He had a successful hunt.
I can't vouch for the accuracy, but a recent survey says that the average American lady will spend three years shopping in her life-time. That's a lot of taking it off the rack, holding it up, and putting it back.
In case you haven't noticed, guys and gals are different. Guys, carry a book. Ladies, realize that just because he gets impatient spending five hours to go to ten stores, looking for one blouse, which you don't buy anyhow, doesn't mean that he doesn't care.
The teaching in the Bible recommends respect. I encourage enjoying the difference.

It's STTA.

Do We Really Think It Is Valuable?

I went to school in Raleigh County West Virginia, attended church with miners, and have lived my adult life close by the hard-working men and women who dig black-gold from the ground. Everyday a trainload or more of coal rolls by my house. My prayers are with the families who have suffered such a great loss in the recent mine explosion.

Why do people go deep into the bowels of the earth in search of coal? The bottom-line is the bottom-line--it is valuable. In many ways our whole economy is based on the black rock. It produces electricity, steel, and other commodities. Entire regions are almost completely dependent on the mineral.

When something is valuable people are willing to work, and enter into situations of risk to obtain it.
Solomon speaks of the quest for wisdom, "If you seek her as silver And search for her as for hidden treasures; Then you will discern the fear of the Lord And discover the knowledge of God." (Proverbs 2:4-5, NASB95)

Great investment of resources--even the payment of the ultimate price--is put forth to obtain a mineral to be burned in the furnace. In comparison how casually so many of us are in our seeking for treasure that will withstand the fire of time and eternity.

It's STTA.

One or the Other:

I find myself alternating between two poles related to my reading:
Sometimes I wish that I were able to read much faster than I can, so that I could read more.
Other times I look at the pile of stuff on my desk, the cyber-heap on my computer and the even bigger accumulation of stuff that I know I ought to read, and others tell me I should read, and decide to go ride my bicycle. At least I get somewhere when I do that.
Part of the frustration comes like this:
A friend recently recommended a book on a hot topic in current church-life--so hot it has a one-word descriptor. I got about two-thirds of the way through that book when I received an article on the same subject from another friend. The book says A (the hot topic) is very good. The article recommends killing A at the earliest convenience. If this were something that didn't matter I could just shake my head and abandon both (the book and the article, not my friends). But it does matter, so now I have to read some more so I can make up my mind, or at least get closer.

Solomon said that to the writing of books there is no end. What would he say about today's blogs, webzines, and massive publishing houses?

I'll sort out the matter over which my friends disagree. A significant component of deciding will be to ask what the Bible says. It is the grand arbiter. It is for sure that I need to read it more.

It's STTA.

Doesn't Jesus Die Every Year?

(Today's STTA was written by a missionary friend. It is a great Good Friday Meditation.)

"Doesn't Jesus die every year on good Friday?"
It was one of those teachable moments.
After sharing a short devotion before literacy class from Hebrews 10:12, we had gotten into an interesting discussion about things the [people my friend works with] do over Easter weekend. Some of the beliefs are quite strange (like not eating chicken because it turns into buzzard meat, or abstaining from alcohol until Sunday morning at 3:00 AM. Then you are supposed to drink and drink a lot.). I had wanted to get more
information about these ideas for some colleagues who are teaching about animism. After recording what was said, I kind of figured we were done with it, and forgot about it until the next day. Then the next morning we were about to start class when I remembered I had neglected to get a devotion ready for class.
"Oh well, repetition never hurts" I thought as I quickly flipped through my Bible to Romans 6:10 and shared once more how that Jesus only had to die once for all time, and that now he lives forever to God. As soon as I was done reading, it was then that one of my friends from the tribe asked his question. What a joy it was to be able to read the Scripture again, and then read from Hebrews 10:12 again as well and tell him that without a doubt, Jesus only died once. He was buried, and arose from the grave, never to die again. His work of paying for our sins was done, and it was ONCE AND FOR ALL.
On hearing the news, my friend nodded and said, "I'm glad you told us 'more straight.' I had believed wrong because that's what what my grandparents had always told me."
In spite of knowing the Lord for a number of years, Good Friday was still a blind spot for this man.
But then I asked myself, "What kind of blind spots do we have about all that Jesus has done for us?" Maybe our biggest one is just not thinking much about it. Did you thank Him for it today?

With thanks to my friend, and Praise to God for the gift of His Son . . .

It's STTA.

April 1 - March 31 Fool:

So far no one has gotten me.
I'm not gloating. There are still a lot of opportunities for pranks on this lovely spring day.

The good natured definition of the "fool" we think about on April 1 is someone who is naive, easily taken in by a ruse, the kind of person you love to kid. Sally [name changed to protect the guilty], a girl from my youth, is the perfect example. Likely, you have a prime example as well. Be kind to the Sallys and Howards of the world on this day that celebrates the prank-vulnerable.
The first nine chapters of Proverbs speaks of the naive--in particular of the male variety--and warns them that they may be taken-in by those whose agenda includes much more than a good laugh.
Often, though, when the Bible speaks of a fool it is talking not about someone who is slow to catch on, but someone who is unwilling to yield, that is, yield to God.
"The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good." (Psalm 14:1, NIV

Don't be a fool. Today, or any day.

It's STTA.