Stopping to Think

I saw a man walking around Moscow yesterday morning. I don't know why I noticed him. He looked to be about 40, maybe younger. Scruffy face, and looked like the sort of person who is constantly smelling of last night's booze. He had on a red shirt. I still don't know what stuck out to me. That would be weird on it's own. But then on my way to St. Maries I saw this same man in the red shirt, lying in the middle of Highway 5 just east of Rocky Point. I mean literally in the middle; I had to swerve to miss him. Fool. Just what that sort deserves. Think if I had swerved too hard and been in a wreck! I, a respected lawyer and state senator, put in peril by a drunk. Probably purchased his booze on unemployment checks. ---------- So here I was driving down Highway 5 between St. Maries and Plummer. I was running a little behind to get here in time, but I figured if they had the snow cleared off of Highway 95 I could make up time between Worley and Coeur d...

4 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6  For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” 7  So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” 8  and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. 9  But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you o ut of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 O nce you were not a people, b...

Luke 15:8-10 “Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” As an aside before we begin. Let's do a little Bible study 101. What we read here from Luke is one of Jesus' many parables. Now, when we look at parables, we need to be careful not to spiritualize every little detail. That isn't what parables are for. Parables are designed to communicate one main point, one big idea. The details of parables generally exist to help make the story more true to life and to engage the listener/reader. That said, I want to look at the main idea of this parable. Jesus says that if a woman has ten coins, or perhaps we would say ten $50 bills, and los...

A man went out into the world twas greatness that he hoped to find. But as life’s pressures ‘round him swirled, those dreams crumbled in his mind. Dejected by the hand life dealt, our friend’s life began to waver; because great failure he had felt, he trusted drugs to be his savior. “Just numb it all,” he told himself, as the needle slipped inside his vein. He felt he fought the world itself; that all of life was naught but pain. He lost both family and health while success was chief endeavor; but loss of job meant loss of wealth, he was left without all earthly treasure. He passed out one night beside the road, not to awake again on earth. Could one have his end foretold? What would that warning have been worth? The tragic end of this man’s life should cause each one to pause. What do I value in this life? What has been my greatest cause? Will I come to the end and find that all I've lived for is but naught? To what has been my heart inclined? What...

Sounds like a Pastor book Yeah, it sort of does. And it sort of is. It was written by Thabiti Anyabwile, senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Grand Cayman (and blogger at The Gospel Coalition and The Front Porch ). So, the first thing I want to do in approaching Finding Faithful Elders and Deacons (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2012), is answer the following question: Why should you, who are probably not a pastor, read a book about finding faithful elders and deacons? This is a totally legitimate question. But the answer is pretty simple. In this book Thabiti Anyabwile walks us through the characteristics and qualities required of a man called to the offices of elder and deacon. These are qualities to which all Christian men should aspire (perhaps excepting the aptitude to teach). And while you may not be a man in the position of making decisions on these matters, or a man actively desiring a position in the eldership or deaconate, or a man at all, this is information w...

A quitter is something I have always been afraid of being. I want to be steadfast; I want to be someone who people could count on. If there is ever a time I swear to my own hurt, I want to be the guy who follows through on it anyway. So in light of that, I didn’t originally have much interest in Jon Acuff’s book titled “ Quitter: Closing the gap between your day job &your dream job ” (Brentwood, TN: Lampo Press, 2011). Who wants to be a quitter? But alas, my dear wife had heard this book plugged on Dave Ramsey’s show a number of times, and was convinced I needed it. And so on my birthday, I received this book (along with one I had asked for!). This would be one case where I totally misjudged the book based on its cover…er, uh, title. This is a very good, exceptionally readable, practical, and helpful book. What’s it about? The first dose of practicality comes in the title of chapter one- “Don’t Quit Your Day Job.” You pick up a book about pursuing your dreams,...

“There is no such thing on earth as an uninteresting subject, the only thing that can exist is an uninterested person.” GK Chesterton Chesterton makes this statement in his book Heretics, precursor to the more well-known Orthodoxy. I love reading Chesterton for the simple fact that he is incredibly engaging, both in his fiction and non-fiction writings. He says things in a way that forces you to think, to re-shift your paradigms. This statement is no exception. No uninteresting subjects Nothing in this world is truly uninteresting. There is something fascinating about any subject you might take up. There are, no doubt, things which you may or may not have a greater interest in as compared to others. However, that does not mean those things which you take less interest in are uninteresting. There is a reason that some people (like my friend Kilian: lkfaithwithreason.blogspot.com ) study mathematics. There is a reason some people study science. There is a reason som...