Just Thinking . . .

As a situation is playing out before you, it is often within your power to escalate it or defuse it. And you know it.

What is 'emptiness'? Is it just a feeling? Nothing physically has changed since yesterday - but it's funny how a person can feel emptier.

Every moment is sacred. Not just the perfect church hour.

If you can take someone and remove their value as a human being, it is much easier to dismiss them. If you can dismiss them, you don't have to forgive them or seek reconciliation with them. This is how the abortionist can ease their conscience - they have devalued the child within. This is how the Christian can ease their conscience, they have devalued the lost.

Satan's entire existence is based on deception. Even his accusations against you.

People honor the 'sand' but they long for the 'rock.'

Extraordinary comes from ordinary. We need to prove ourselves in the mundane before we're brought to the mountaintop.

Satan is the master of 'death by a thousand cuts.' Most Christians are aware of the big sins. Satan will nick you with the small compromises until you bleed to death.

There is no sacrifice left. That's good news - and bad news. The Good News: There is no sacrifice left. The Bad News: There is no sacrifice left.

There should be a holy vomiting, a spiritual acid reflux, that occurs when we truly understand what He has done for us in saving us. Sins should come pouring out.

Church is about my brothers, not just about me. That's why we seek peace within the borders of Jerusalem. (Psalm 122). For the sake of my fragile brothers and sisters who need a protective covering as they heal.

My favorite miracle is in Luke 7 when Jesus restores a dead son to his mother. To be able to do that as a pastor or teacher would be my heart's greatest delight.

Evolutionists do have a god. TIME is their god. "I can do all things through TIME."

My gerbil poops in his wheel and then runs in it. Don't we all?

The virtuous wife of Proverbs 31 'extends her arms to the poor.' I believe that she is symbolic of the true Church. We shouldn't just open our doors and say, "We're here if you need us." We should extend our arms to the poor. As we bend our knees we should unbend our arms.

If "discombobulated" means all confused, does "combobulated" mean I have my act together? If I'm 'gruntled" am I happy? If I'm "gusted" does it mean that I love what's going on? If someone is 'tant' - is he too close to me? If I "turb" you, does that mean I leave you alone?

The measure of a Sabbath-day's walk was based on the distance from the corner of the camp to the Tabernacle in the middle. It was the furthest point of worship. We need to make sure we're never a Sabbath-day's walk away at any point in our life.

The message of Christ is covered in 2,000 year's worth of barnacles. What would it be like to hear a true, unadulterated message from a pulpit or in a church?

Never shut the door on anyone in your life. The Lord shut Noah in the ark. Gen. 7:16. Can you imagine if he had to go through life with those screams in his ears, knowing he shut the door ? God is so merciful. Only He can shut the door on someone. We don't bear that responsibility.

Victory requires an adversary.

The cross is a widow-maker. It kills all my previous marriages.

Amos has a Scriptural Speedbump at the end. 9:8. Read the entire book - it reads hard. Rebellion. Condemnation. Judgment. Then BAM! Mercy. Kind of like the story of my life.

Consecration comes only from the Lord. Defilement can pass from person to person. Haggai 2:12-14. You can not make someone holy. But you sure can contaminate them.

A mature Christian can listen to preaching without cynicism. A critical ear -yes. A critical spirit - no.

A mature Christian can dig into the details of his faith without losing the big picture. Christ came to save sinners, of whom I am the chief.

"Divine Dispossession" is a great phrase. God tells His people to "go in and dispossess the nations greater than you. " Deut. 9:1. Removing the authority of the strongholds. Their stranglehold over your life has been released, giving us a voice to win the lost, not destroy them. Dispossession is different from destruction.

The "cutting edge" of Christianity is wherever a lost person is residing.

My son threw up Christmas Eve and was sick all Christmas. There is no amount of internal adrenaline - even Christmas for a little boy - that can overcome certain sicknesses. Sin being the prime example.

The F5 button on a computer refreshes your screen. I think a lot of churches are in need of a good F5 button push. A refreshing that knocks yesterday's news off the page.

Gethsemane is another Scriptural Speedbump. You're all caught up in the Last Week and then BAM! - we find our savior on His knees in tears. Then we realize: This is not a game.

I have a Bible where I have written "This is not a game" on almost every page.

A good church should be like pus. Covering an infection so that healing can take place within, instead of exposing it to the world.