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Showing posts from January, 2008

Freedom

Psalm 119:45, "I will walk about in freedom, for I have sought out your precepts." The path for finding freedom - real, life-giving freedom - can be found by submitting ourselves to the commands of Christ. By living in faith and obedience, by walking in His ways, we put ourselves in a position to live free - free from the fear of God's wrath, free from the consequences of selfish, sinful choices, free from despair because we have a living hope, etc. Want to be free today? Then open your Bible and do what it says.

Family Portrait

So we were attempting to take a family picture for the church directory. This is Sunday morning, just before the 11:00 worship service. We are in the hallway as people are coming in, and Michael was quite entertained and not interested in posing. While humorous at the time, I realize just how precious these moments truly are because they come and go so quickly. Sunday had many distractions and possible annoyances, but it was indeed the day the LORD hath made. Remember to be thankful for every moment.

Good Intentions

By the way, I am not writing these entries at 4 a.m. I am not sure what time zone this blog thinks I am in, but I assure you I am not losing any sleep. In my Bible reading this morning I read Paul's concluding remarks to the Colossians . There can be a temptation to skip over these sections of Paul's letters because the names sound funny, we don't know a lot about the people and the situations involved, etc. However, this morning I came across a couple juicy nuggets. Here's one of them. Colossians 4:17, Tell Archippus : "See to it that you complete the work you have received in the Lord." We don't know much about Archippus , except that in Philemon 2 Paul calls him a "fellow soldier." I can't help but wonder what task Archippus was working on. What happened? Was he praying one day and the Lord spoke to him about something only he could do? Did he start out, like so many Christians do in church work, full of passion and urgency? If

Denial

So, I'll confess to a guilty pleasure of mine - the American Idol auditions. Idol's early seasons contained priceless footage of people - sincere, well-meaning people - auditioning for a spot on the show. Tragically, what made their auditions so entertaining was their lack of singing ability. Some were so bad that they were able to ride that badness to greatness and enjoy their 15 minutes of fame. The past several seasons have been frustrating to me because the auditions seem less and less sincere. Now I feel as if I am watching people who are only trying to get on TV . But it is still fascinating to watch and wonder if these people really believe they can sing. Some seem genuinely shocked when they are told by the judges that they have no talent. Here's something else that struck me last night as I watched the auditions - these people believe that American Idol is still their best and only shot at fulfilling the deepest longing of their hearts and making all their d

Failure

Yesterday I often thought of Brett Favre. There were times when I found myself near a television tuned in to a sports station showing highlights of the Packers' stunning loss to the Giants in the NFC Championship game. Some talking head would drone on endlessly about Favre's responsibility for the loss and then speculate on his future in the NFL. Now, let me confess that I am the exact opposite of a Cheesehead. The only thing more satisfying than the Packers losing to the Giants would have been the Packers losing to the Patriots in the Super Bowl. Tis better to not go to the Super Bowl than to go and lose. Anybody remember last year's loser? Exactly. I have never been a Favre fanatic. I take great pleasure in knowing that Favre has never won a game in Texas Stadium. I don't like him because he is good - one of the best, perhaps the best quarterback ever to play the game - but he doesn't play for my team, so I hate him. And it is very entertaining for me to watch as

Previous Pastors

The passing of Walter Knight has led me to reconsider some pre-conceived notions I have had in the ministry. I have always heard that it was inadvisable to accept a pastorate where your predecessor was still a member of the church. This was esecially dangerous if that predecessor had been there 10 or more years. When I began talking seriously with FBC Rockport, I learned that not only was the former pastor still a member of the church (Walter Knight - about a 10 year tenure), but his predecessor was there as well (Charles Fake - over 30 years as pastor!). The Pastor Search Committee spoke like this was a positive thing, a selling point for the church, while my wife and I were cautious. I'll never forget the first time I met them both. It was at a place in Rockport where we had decided to meet for lunch - Gaines, Allen Ray, Charles, Walter and me. My first impression of Charles Fake was that he is full of grace. He was humble, when he didn't have to be. He spoke softly

Kim's pregnancy news

Recently Kim, Michael and I met her new doctor. He is a specialist who will see Kim throughout her pregnancy and will deliver the baby. It turns out that there was only one specialist in Corpus Christi for Kim to see, so we expected to have difficulties getting in to see him. But, we scheduled an appointment with no problem, we got in to see him right away, both he and his nurse were very nice and took time to sit with us a while and answer all our questions, and he had wonderfully high-tech equipment! He will do an ultrasound every month. The first ultrasound showed that the baby was fine and developing normally. He took some measurements and decided that the risks for Downs Syndrome and other chromosoml disorders was very low. So he took Kim off her medications and told her she was doing as well or better than younger women, which was nice considering it is her age that has put her in a "high risk" category. Next month we may be able to find out if we are having a bo