To recoup!

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I felt a tickle.  Not big, just enough to cough once, then again, and again.

So, although my days are busy, I laid me down to rest.  At 7:00 pm.  I thought maybe I would arise shortly and do some hospital visitation. 

Now, three hours later, my throat is a bit better.  My soul feels rested.  And I’m off to bed once again.

Sweet dreams and may your rest be as deep!

Harkening back to healing

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From my blog on Thursday, June 21, 2007:

“To be healed is not so much about being able to “do more things” for God, but about bringing glory to God.”  I tend to think that it would be nice to get healed so I can throw myself back into all the stuff I think I should be doing.  Maybe it would be more important to see how God can use this, than to prove to others than I am a superman able to do everything!

I have been working on my own current understanding of healing.  I firmly believe that God can heal.  I’m looking forward to a healing service a number of churches will incorporate into their Good Friday service this year.

At the same time, the sentiment above has kept coming back to me over the past few years.  I wonder if I seek for healing for my own glory – to be able to do more so that people think well of me and they miss God’s miracle in it all?  I think I’m getting closer to the point of writing this sermon – although I’m not sure it will be easy!

Dallas Willard’s new book

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Ever wanted a book to let you think.  Quite literally, to let you think about thinking and faith.  Dallas Willard (The Divine Conspiracy) has a new book out called:  Knowing Christ Today:  Why We Can Trust Spiritual Knowledge (Harper Collins/Harper One, 2009).  Here is a sample of some of the thoughts:

. . . some people who enter the lottery know they will not win.  they will not win, and they have good evidence that they will not.   They may refuse to consider the evidence or hold it before their mind.  Yet they are prepared to act as if they might win.  In wagering they are irrational and irresponsible.  Human life is full of such self-delusions.

And that explains why gambling is morally wrong.  It is not a morally admirable practice, but rather just the opposite.  Rational and responsible persons will not do it.  (We have a duty to be rational.  It is virtue.)  And it also explains why the gambling industry presents itself as “entertainment.”  It wants to disguise what it really is.  When you gamble, according to it, you are just “enjoying yourself” or having a fling.  But rational and responsible people are those who strive to base their beliefs and actions upon their knowledge.

Or how about this convoluted way to get a point across, where Willard quotes Elton Trueblood who is quoting Kirsopp Lake (and now you can quote me quoting Willard quoting Trueblood quoting Lake):

Faith is not belief in spite of evidence, but life in scorn of consequences.

Or, how about this snippet (you’ll have to read the book to get the context):

That also explains how many people can now say, “All religions are equal.”  What is meant is that all religions are equally devoid of knowledge and reality or truth.  In fact, however, no know religions are the same; they teach and practice radically different things.  You only have to look at them to see that.  To say they are all the “same” is to disrespect them.  It is a way of claiming that none really matter, that their distinctives are of no human significance.

A luncheon date

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My wife and I set up a luncheon date with a couple and their daughter.

Now, if I were a youth pastor, you would expect this to be a time to explore the current state of the family.  We might talk of life goals, or values, or communication.  You might even expect the daughter to have either initiated the meeting, or to have vehemently opposed attending.

Just the opposite. 

This meal was held at the local senior’s complex.  The daughter is close to our age (we are no spring chickens!), and the parents are great grandparents!

The meal was one of those enjoyable conversational jaunts down known paths, enjoying shared thoughts and exploring life as it unfolds.  We have know the family for literally years.  This was just one more opportunity to reacquaint and reactivate friendship.

Besides, the roast beef and gravy sandwich was great!