thank God i don't have the "fire" i watch some TV ministers express.
there is no joy for me in calling other religions blind or evil.
i didn't "get religion" to be "right."
many have tried and failed to make me feel "wrong."
my relationship with God is not based in "right and wrong."
you don't need a living God to have a right/wrong life.
you could get that life from a cereal box.
"these are the rules: they determine if you are right or wrong."
puh-leez.
people like to make up rules.
one of my ex-wives yelled, "that's not where the forks GO!"
i responded, "says who? God? who makes the 'fork rules'?"
(did i mention i have a few problems staying married?)
while some religions profess to hating rules, they still have 'em.
a conversation that always cracks me up
is when people argue that their religion has "better rules."
yeah? that's like bragging that your cell has prettier bars.
people say that God threatens us if we sin.
does He threaten us if we do righteousness?
because the "do's" are set up exactly like the "don't's."
"do this" and your life will be good.
"do this" and your life will be bad.
the same mouth that speaks blessing speaks curses.
the thing about having a living God is that life is continually surprising.
i love God's words, but more than that, perhaps, i love His ways.
watch marriages that you know are matched-up by God.
c'mon. you know when you see one.
and there is no "greater" or "lesser" mate.
they are counterparts.
complete and very different people who "happen" to match up perfectly.
both Pastor Don and Pastor Vern have marriages like that.
they both have strong, independent wives.
and both relationships are joined at the heart.
computer matching can be adequate.
but the best they can do is join you at the brain-level.
only God can fit hearts together.
here's another of God's ways that i love:
He empowers the gentle to do whatever He asks.
humans give power to the strong and assertive.
history has always been made by those with "positive mental attitudes."
but not all of history.
there have also always been those who don't "fit" the roles of leaders,
but move nations.
without God, Moses would have been a mechanic.
he stunk as a public speaker.
without God, Abraham would have been just another anonymous rich guy.
he had a huge, successful life before God said hello.
even Jesus said He did whatever He SAW the Father do. (emphasis mine.)
with strength of will and body, you can capture some power.
but the gentle, the meek, can be trusted.
so they are entrusted, empowered, because Father can direct or guide them.
a favorite teacher some thirty years ago
described faith as "coming in on a knock-out."
in boxing, you go out on a knock-out.
but in faith, you gotta understand that you lost
before you can accept what he won.
once again, the humble receive immeasurable treasure.
this is the answer for those of us
who wonder, "what do i have to offer?
i'm not billy graham or kenneth copeland or don young."
God uses them, no doubt.
but sometimes God uses empty stables as maternity wards
and shepherd boys as kings
and crosses as the raw materials for thrones.
if God can transform or use such things,
God can use us.
would you rather be anonymous and friends with God
or famous and alone?
i would be overjoyed to be non-famous
and fully aware of Him.
we can not fully love God without fully loving man,
so i do not wish to be completely alone.
but fame is a mist, not a goal.
my goal is to remind as many other "nobodies" as i can
that to God, we are somebodies.
in God's eyes, we are to die for.
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