Oswald Chambers (1874-1917) was a Scottish pastor whose teachings on the Christian's journey of faith still impact people today. He is best known as the author of the popular devotional, My Utmost for His Highest (first published in 1935). Among his many quotable quotes are these words concerning faith:
A team of German and Czech researchers who have studied satellite photos of thousands of cows around the world, believe that cattle have some sort of built-in compass. The reason for their conclusion: approximately 2/3 of all the cattle examined had their bodies aligned in a north-south orientation. They point out that this would not be the expected norm if cattle were totally random in their body's directional orientation. I am still trying to figure the "so what!" about this research (perhaps it shows that researchers have too much time on their hands and they should mooooooooooove on to other more pressing research!).
In yesterday's post, I promised to list some practical suggestions for you on how to obey Jesus' command to "render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's." I have gleaned and adapted these suggestions from a list in Jay Dennis' book, The Jesus Habits (the book is worth a read!). Here are four for you to "chew on!"
Well, the first of the two political conventions has arrived. Democrats are meeting even as I write these words out in the mile high city. And just around the corner, the Republicans will be gathering for their big hour in prime time. I thought I would take this time in light of these two political extravaganzas to remind all of us who follow Jesus about our responsibility to the government. Jesus put it plainly when he said, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's" (Luke 20:25). We see from these words that Jesus was not anti-government. He saw human government as an institution that should be obeyed and respected.
Our society seems to know one speed: FAST! My day often runs from one meeting to the next, one phone call to the next, one email to the next. As I write this, I am tired. And I know I am not alone! "HURRY UP!" is what our world screams at us day in and day out, 24/7/365. If I could only wear ear plugs!
When I had just turned 13, I went through what proved to be a very difficult time. My parents moved my family from the city of Harrisburg to a rural area of northern York County near the town of Lewisberry. Since I had grown up in Harrisburg, it was, to that point, all I had known. I loved my neighborhood, my school...but most of all I loved my friends. In fact, I had many, many friends. In my new home I had very few friends. Everything was different. And I had great difficulty adjusting. Going from hero to zero was not easy.
In 1972, Eddie Hart was a man on a mission. His mission? To win Olympic gold in the 100 meter race to be held in Munich, Germany. At the 1972 Olympic Trials, he tied the world record of 9.9 seconds in the 100-meter dash. And that set the stage for a showdown with the the top-ranked sprinter in the world, the Bionic Man, Valeri Borzov of the Soviet Union. It was a showdown that never happened. After easily winning his qualifying heat in the morning (the 100-meter final was to be run that afternoon) - the U.S. sprint coach gave Hart and two other sprinters the wrong start time for the race. So when they arrived back at the stadium for their warm ups - they realized the race was already over and Borzov the gold medalist! I cannot imagine how gut-wrenching that must have been for Hart! To be present - but not competing!Recently, my wife and I took a few days off and headed to Ocean City, Maryland. On the way home, we stopped at Rehoboth Beach. There we enc...
