The week in review

sorry that I don’t have much to write about today as I have been too busy to study for my articles. Here’s all I did this week.
Sunday – had church
Monday- studied all day for my book and then stayed at church till 8:45pm waiting on Jessica’s Bible Study to finish.
Tuesday- Planned for FUSION and for the music on Sunday
Wednesday- had FUSION and 5 kids showed up! then had a good choir practice
Thursday – My Day Off!!! – slept in till 10:30, fed the cat and went to lunch with my mom, came home and finished Vixen 03 and started Night Probe. Had dinner at parents and went to the mall with Jessica and mom, and sister.
Friday – paid bills
Saturday – Funeral for a church member (Florence Smith) from 2:00-?

The World Is Your…Oyster Cracker?

O.k. This morning I was in our church’s kitchen waiting on the stale Maxwell House coffee to brew so I can officially wake up when I saw it! On the counter was a box of Oyster Crackers from Publix that someone had left for some reason. Well it was a philosophical statement on the bottom of the box that intrigued me. “The World Is Your Oyster Cracker!” What could that possibly mean? I asked Pastor Ron to take a stab at it as he walked in and only got the same puzzled look I had. Going about my business this morning, all I can think about is how is my world like an oyster cracker. Was this some stupid saying they put on the box to get people’s attention (it worked) or does it hold actual philosophical relevance? I want your opinions on this matter.

Possible Interpretations:

“You are what you eat?” well I am not an oyster but I am a Florida Cracker!

“The world is salty, flaky, and good with clam chowder?” hhhmmmm.

An oyster cracker is used to add flavor to a soup or salad so can we say the world adds flavor to our lives? What if you don’t like oyster crackers? do you hate the world then? Maybe the answer isn’t just about the cracker but whatever someone loves in life is considered to be their world! Is your world an oyster cracker?

Marrying Your Sister?

Who did Cain marry? Did Cain marry his sister? Why are these questions relevant to our daily life?

I like to ask questions that aren’t normally raised to get you to think about what and why you believe the Bible and God. This question has been raised by sceptics of the authenticity of the Bible saying that Leviticus 18-20 states that it is unlawful that anyone should marry his sister. If Cain married his sister…this contradicts God’s law and so the Bible is not true! Wrong!!!
Many Christians try to explain that there might have been another race of created people but this is contradicting to the truth that we are all descendants of Adam (Gen 2:7, 1 Cor. 15:21-22). The truth is that yes, Cain DID marry a sister! It is not clear which one or exactly when the marriage was but it is true. Adam and Eve had a total of 33 sons and 23 daughters! for the human race to survive they needed to marry their own relatives and reproduce. When you think about it, we are all brothers and sisters, we are all from “one blood”
So what about that law? My answer to people who raise such a stupid question is get your timeline straight! The law of Moses wasn’t written yet during the period of creation and the fall. Abraham even married his half-sister Sarah (Gen. 20:12) and God blessed his life and made the covenant that a great nation will rise from his seed! The laws were not given until about 400 years later with Moses.
So when you hear someone discrediting the Bible as truth because of issues like this…don’t try to make up some answer to fit, read the Bible, study the history, and find the truth. “always be ready to give an answer to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope in you” 1 Peter 3:15

God’s Sovreignty in Disasters

I listened to this interview with John Piper on the blog: Pilgrim In A Foreign Land it is very lengthy but good if you have the time. It helps answer the question why do bad things happen to good people like the tsunami victims. click here to listen
comment on what you think!

Forgiven Again

I had the great pleaseure of meeting with Jack Price the owner of Prism Music Publishing this past tuesday morning. I with about 15 other worship leaders and choir members got to sit in and sing some of the new music being published for churches. Besides that awesome fact that the actual owner of the company cares enough to teach us the music shows how great this music is. One song we looked at is titled “Forgiven Again” here are the words (chorus in bold)

I’d left my family, the love I had known,

I couldn’t believe how calloused I’d grown.

The I woke up one morning in cold freezing rain

and said I’ll go back where I caused so much pain.

Just in sight of the place where the lane meets the road,

the Father was waiting to carry my load.

His big arms were open to draw me to Him;

Forgiven, Forgiven, Forgiven again!

If you’ve broken the trust and betrayed your best friend;

If you’re lost and confused, wondering where it will end;

There’s a way you can know that wherever you’ve been

you can make your way home and be forgiven again!

It’s an awesome truth that no matter how far away we may run from God, his big arms are there open to accept us back into fellowship with him! Jesus knew while on the cross that we would sometimes doubt him, run away and deny him. Not only did he experience the physical anguish from the nails and the beatings but the emotional burden of his children rejecting him. He died so we can be forgiven, and stay forgiven!