To all of my Christian brothers and sisters… I love you all like, well, brothers and sisters. But it is time for us to have a family conference. Next time you are really concerned about my health, hard drive, or soul could I request that you just pray for me instead of forwarding dire e-mail warnings? I don’t want to appear ungrateful but I have to agree with this email I recently received. To all of you who have taken the time and trouble to “forward” emails over the past 12 months…Thank you for making me feel safe, secure, blessed and healthy. Extra thanks to whoever sent me the e-mail about cockroach eggs in the glue on envelopes – I now have to go get a wet towel every time I need to seal an envelope. Without you I would likely have gotten that flesh eating bacteria from bananas. Thanks to you, I have learned that God only answers my prayers if I forward an
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Today I am going to offer a gently read post from the past. Today it is not because I am lazy or really busy. I am repeating this post because I have been receiving a lot of emails about Christians behaving badly. While that is always disappointing such behavior should never come as a big surprise. Today’s repeat was actually the first iPod Devotional that I published. I hit the old shuffle button over a year ago and it became immediately apparent that God does indeed have a sense of humor. The song that came up was Smiling Faces Sometimes from a group called Undisputed Truth. The song was originally recorded by the Temptations but the version released by Undisputed Truth in 1971 became the number 3 song that year. What delicious irony that the guy who wrote When Bad Christians Happen to Good People gets a song about hypocrites for the debut of this little experiment. Here are the opening lyrics from that song… Smiling
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I start with an apology to Robert who thinks I use too many country songs for the iPod Devotional Series. I will point out defensively that I have recently featured rock (The Animals and Beatles, inspirational (Casting Crowns) and opera (???). So perhaps I have earned another foray into country. The song is by an artist I have featured in an earlier post. Tracy Lawrence has a simple yet thought provoking song called “As Easy As Our Blessings.” Here is the opening stanza: Lately I’ve been having more nights that I can’t sleepStorms of life keep blowing in sometimes it gets so heavyIt drives me to my knees and it’s coming down againThen a voice inside reminds me of the roof over my headAnd my wife and kids are tucked away warmly in their beds I have written often about Satan’s strategy to rob us of our joy. When we spend our time regretting the past  or living in fear of the
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I have had some e-mails asking how Joni is doing. Thanks for caring and especially thanks for praying! She is doing really well. Joni looks fantastic and she is feeling better everyday. She is getting comfortable with New Hair – Version 2.0. We just got back from a little family trip to Florida this past weekend and this shot is from our balcony. There are still a couple of areas for prayer. The chemotherapy did do some damage to Joni’s heart function but we hope that will recover in the next few months. To that end Joni has embarked on a walking program and is walking in the 3 Day Breast Cancer Walk in Dallas/Ft.Worth at the end of October. Joni, her sister Gayla and a couple thousand new friends will be walking 20 miles per day for three days to raise money for breast cancer research. You can check out Joni’s 3 Day Walk Webpage by clicking here. Yeah, I know. She is
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Warning: The following post may (or, sadly, may not) contain humor. This blog was produced in a program where irony and satire are processed. May contain sarcasm fragments. If you are allergic to humor or attempts at humor please avoid this product. Richard Dawkins is an atheist who loves to denigrate Christian intellect. In fact, for Dawkins the very phrase “Christian intellect” would be oxymoronic. When asked what the main difference between believers and atheists was, Dawkins had a quick answer: “Well, we’re bright.” I took that as I hope Dawkins intended it. I laughed. Because he surely does not believe that every single Christian in the world is dim-witted. Then again, perhaps he does. If Richard Dawkins genuinely believes that Christians are that intellectually challenged perhaps he should start a business geared toward people of faith. When we struggle with the difficult tasks of life like getting dressed or balancing a checkbook we could simply go to www.we-are-bright.com (not an actual site for any believers
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I miss Rich Mullins. It was just over ten years ago that Mullins was killed in a car accident in Illinois. His music is all over my iPod and one of his songs is the subject of today’s devotional. The song is called “We Are Not As Strong As We Think We Are” and it opens with this stanza. Well, it took the hand of God Almighty To part the waters of the sea But it only took one little lie To separate you and me Oh, we are not as strong as we think we are. If only we could acknowledge that we are not as strong as we think we are and then live accordingly. I believe we would see an amazing difference. Yet pride tells me that I am able to handle the situation. Fear tells me that telling the truth in love will only make it worse. So one little lie or misunderstanding dealt with in my own strength
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Today the iPod shuffle landed on a melancholy song by The Beatles. To be honest, the song fit my mood of recent days. The iPod landed on The Long and Winding Road. The lyrics express a feeling of futility. The long and winding roadThat leads to your doorWill never disappear…Paul McCartney talked about the song in a 1994 interview. “It’s rather a sad song. I like writing sad songs, it’s a good bag to get into because you can actually acknowledge some deeper feelings of your own and put them in it. It’s a good vehicle, it saves having to go to a psychiatrist … It’s a sad song because it’s all about the unattainable; the door you never quite reach. This is the road that you never get to the end of.” I talk to and hear from so many people who can relate to McCartney’s pessimistic words. They feel like they are on a road to the unattainable. They strive
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